Collectors, guides and companions : a textual and material analysis of collecting zoological specimens in the Raffles and its neighbouring museums (1800 - 1930)

In this thesis I explore the interaction between museum curators and their “native” assistants in the process of collecting zoological specimens for the Raffles and its neighbouring museums. These “invisible” actors are often left out of history despite playing vital roles in the processes and even...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Lee, Jia Min
Other Authors: Lisa Onaga
Format: Final Year Project (FYP)
Language:English
Published: 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10356/66280
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author Lee, Jia Min
author2 Lisa Onaga
author_facet Lisa Onaga
Lee, Jia Min
author_sort Lee, Jia Min
collection NTU
description In this thesis I explore the interaction between museum curators and their “native” assistants in the process of collecting zoological specimens for the Raffles and its neighbouring museums. These “invisible” actors are often left out of history despite playing vital roles in the processes and even practices of collecting for the museums. By recognising their role according to these three different categories — Guide, Collector and Companion — I propose that the interaction between these curators and the “natives” have emerged in an interplay of the utilitarian and the mystic over the course of the collecting activity on the collecting grounds of British North Borneo and the Federated Malay States from 1880 to 1930. This thesis seeks to illustrate that collecting expeditions organised by the museums are socially complex activities where multiple social worlds had collided and manifested themselves in its processes and practices. It expounds on these processes and practices of collecting by studying the collective application of local knowledge by these “natives” on the collecting grounds. Such knowledge refers to not just practical skills or tools but also refers to the understanding of one’s environment and local customs to the collecting field.
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spelling ntu-10356/662802019-12-10T12:57:57Z Collectors, guides and companions : a textual and material analysis of collecting zoological specimens in the Raffles and its neighbouring museums (1800 - 1930) Lee, Jia Min Lisa Onaga School of Humanities and Social Sciences DRNTU::Social sciences In this thesis I explore the interaction between museum curators and their “native” assistants in the process of collecting zoological specimens for the Raffles and its neighbouring museums. These “invisible” actors are often left out of history despite playing vital roles in the processes and even practices of collecting for the museums. By recognising their role according to these three different categories — Guide, Collector and Companion — I propose that the interaction between these curators and the “natives” have emerged in an interplay of the utilitarian and the mystic over the course of the collecting activity on the collecting grounds of British North Borneo and the Federated Malay States from 1880 to 1930. This thesis seeks to illustrate that collecting expeditions organised by the museums are socially complex activities where multiple social worlds had collided and manifested themselves in its processes and practices. It expounds on these processes and practices of collecting by studying the collective application of local knowledge by these “natives” on the collecting grounds. Such knowledge refers to not just practical skills or tools but also refers to the understanding of one’s environment and local customs to the collecting field. Bachelor of Arts 2016-03-23T03:02:12Z 2016-03-23T03:02:12Z 2016 Final Year Project (FYP) http://hdl.handle.net/10356/66280 en Nanyang Technological University 49 p. application/pdf
spellingShingle DRNTU::Social sciences
Lee, Jia Min
Collectors, guides and companions : a textual and material analysis of collecting zoological specimens in the Raffles and its neighbouring museums (1800 - 1930)
title Collectors, guides and companions : a textual and material analysis of collecting zoological specimens in the Raffles and its neighbouring museums (1800 - 1930)
title_full Collectors, guides and companions : a textual and material analysis of collecting zoological specimens in the Raffles and its neighbouring museums (1800 - 1930)
title_fullStr Collectors, guides and companions : a textual and material analysis of collecting zoological specimens in the Raffles and its neighbouring museums (1800 - 1930)
title_full_unstemmed Collectors, guides and companions : a textual and material analysis of collecting zoological specimens in the Raffles and its neighbouring museums (1800 - 1930)
title_short Collectors, guides and companions : a textual and material analysis of collecting zoological specimens in the Raffles and its neighbouring museums (1800 - 1930)
title_sort collectors guides and companions a textual and material analysis of collecting zoological specimens in the raffles and its neighbouring museums 1800 1930
topic DRNTU::Social sciences
url http://hdl.handle.net/10356/66280
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