Indigena Mousa: Indigenizing Historic Ainu Studies and the National Museum of Scotland’s Permanent Ainu Exhibit

McGuire, Amanda Lee (2025) Indigena Mousa: Indigenizing Historic Ainu Studies and the National Museum of Scotland’s Permanent Ainu Exhibit. Masters thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

During the long nineteenth century, empowered by Western modernity and systems of colonialism, Western scholars set out across the globe, seeking knowledge that reflected and supported the ideals of the European Enlightenment and Scientific Revolutions. Contemporary Ainu Studies and the National Museum of Scotland are often overlooked products of these themes as well as rich examples of the ongoing conversations of decolonization in educational spaces, both academic and museological. Through a detailed analysis of Ainu Studies, its English-language historiography, and contemporary museum Ethics and Best Practice, this project contextualizes and analyzes the NMS’s Ainu collection and permanent exhibit. Rather than adhering to the ideals set out by the modern ideology developed from the European Enlightenment, this project aligns with the work of postmodern and post-postmodern scholars like Brett Walker, Tessa Morris-Suzuki, Eileen Hooper-Greenhill, and Christina Kreps. It adds to critiques of contemporary museum practice and deconstructs outdated modes of research that have held authority within Ainu Studies since the nineteenth century, contributing an updated, metamodern understanding to the field. Speaking in support of decolonization and Indigenization, this project continues the challenge of detangling contemporary modes of understanding from systems of colonialism.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of History
Depositing User:	Chris White
Date Deposited:	26 Nov 2025 12:10
Last Modified:	26 Nov 2025 12:10
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/101105
DOI:

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