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Re: [!] Support the Musee de l'Homme (Paris) !ROCHU@vm.amu.edu.plThu, 21 Nov 96 20:11:07 CET
Comite de Defense du Musee de l'Homme <phm@mnhn.fr> (by way of David Roessli) writes: > > >DEFENCE COMMITEE FOR THE MUSEE DE L'HOMME, PARIS > >* Against its destruction and replacement by a museum of 'First Arts' >* For its renovation and maintenance within the Museum National d'Histoire >Naturelle > >What is the Musee de L'Homme? > >Like the Vincennes Zoo, the Jardin des Plantes, the Arboretum Chevreloup, the >station at Brunoy, etc., the Musee de l'Homme (Museum of Mankind) forms part >of the Museum national d'Histoire naturelle, created by government decree and >placed under the aegis of the Ministry for Education. By virtue of its three >departments (Anthropology, Ethnology and Prehistory), their collections, and >the knowledge they represent, the Musee de l'Homme is the only establishment >in the world which represents the biological and cultural diversity of >humanity in a single place. > >Its main originality resides in the fact that it draws together three aims: >conservation; research; and teaching and promotion of knowledge. It >represents a centre for the disciplines which it helps develop. As a result, >it receives many school groups. Specialists from the world over find an >unique situation for research and exchange in its laboratories associated >with the scientific collections. > > > >Why is the Musee de l'Homme under threat? > >A commission, instigated by the French President, has decided to replace it >with a 'Museum of Civilisations and First Arts' (Ministerial meeting of 7 >October 1996). > >The Musee de l'Homme would disappear. The collections of the department of >Ethnology, containing over 300,000 objects, would be attributed to the >Ministry of Culture and hence diverted from their scientific vocation. The >new museum would reduce the artefacts to just their aesthetic dimension, thus >removing them from their historical and cultural context. The origins and >biological diversity of humans would no longer appear as the essential >explanatory framework for the development of their civilisations, cultures >and arts. > >The proposed museum would be a new Public Administration Establishment (EPA), >which would open the door to temporary work contracts for its running. This >project implies a considerable waste of human and financial resources, due to >the fragmentation of services and research departments. What would happen to >the permanent staff of the National Education and Research in this context? > > > >What do we want? > >We call for the withdrawal of the project to create a museum of 'First Arts' >in place of the Musee de l'Homme. This project will not meet the needs of the >general public and nor will it be in the interests of scientific research and >teaching. > >We are asking for the renovation of the present Musee de l'Homme and its >maintenance within the Museum d'Histoire naturelle and the Ministry for >Education. > >We make this appeal all those who value the Musee de l'Homme and its >commitment to research and teaching. Please express your support for the aims >of the committee by completing and returning the form below, or by completing >our online bulletin at, > >http://anthropologie.unige.ch/cdmh/cdmh-us.html > > >I support the Committee for the defence of the Musee de l'Homme > >SURNAME, first name: > >Address: > >Position: > >E-mail: > >Signature: > >Send to: Comite de Defense du Musee de l'Homme, 17 Place du Trocadero, 75116 >PARIS, France. E-mail: phm@mnhn.fr
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