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Of symposiarchs and doorkeepers: theorizing cultural appropriation and authenticity

University of British Columbia

This thesis examines contemporary public discourse concerning issues related to the politics of representation, cultural appropriation (the depiction of the members of one socially defined group by the members of another), interpretation and authenticity with a focus upon the example provided by the public controversy that surrounded Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum exhibition Into the Heart of Africa in 1989. This exhibition displayed artifacts from African cultures collected by Victorian Canadian missionaries and soldiers along with the collectors artifacts, photographs and commentaries. The exhibit appeared critical of colonialism and racism, yet protestors claimed that it was racist and presented a misrepresentative image of Africans and African history. In order to solve what was regarded as a problem of racism and inauthenticity in the exhibition, it was argued that the exhibit, (which was curated by a white anthropologist), ought to have been produced by a member of the black community. Similar arguments suggesting that members of distinct cultural groups ought to control the authenticity of images of their cultures, histories and identities through self-representation have emerged in relation to representation in a number of other disciplines including visual art and literature. The perceived need for "control" over the authenticity of cultural images through self-representation as a "solution" to the problem of misrepresentation and racism is treated as the central problematic to be explored. Drawing primarily upon the works of H.G. Gadamer, Hannah Arendt, Alisdair Maclntyre, Charles Taylor and Friedrich Nietzsche, this thesis examines the implications of the argument against cultural appropriation and the call for authenticity for a)the grounds for cultural understanding and reading, b) the relationship of individuals and groups to historical and cultural representation, and c) the achievement of cultural identity, knowledge and membership. Chapter One provides an outline of the general issues arising out of the public debate concerning representation and appropriation, and addresses the role of the theorist. The approach taken toward the discourse is what may be called a "social hermeneutics", serving as a basis for both methodology and argument. In Chapter Two, a discussion of Arendt's notions of the public sphere, human action and plurality, and Maclntyre's view of a narrative self-hood provides a theoretical framework through which to address the cultural usage concerning appropriation and to reformulate the concept of authenticity. In relation to this theoretical background, Chapter Three examines the understandings of identity, membership, voice, interpretation and cultural knowledge that are implied by the grounds for the argument against appropriation. Chapter Four reframes the concept of appropriation through Gadamer's hermeneutics and Nietzsche’s criticism of historicism in order to suggest an alternative view of cultural and historical understanding. As a point of departure for possible further reflection upon cultural appropriation and the politics of representation, the conclusion provides a brief consideration of the moral-practical or political implications of tact, friendship and civility.

Thesis/Dissertation

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2008-09-17

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/2198

Anthropology

University of British Columbia

UBCV

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