It has been more than three decades since Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term ‘intersectionality’ as a conceptual tool with which to conceive subjectivity/identity as other than singular, and analyse the contextually-specific ways in which axes of power connect and cohere. The notion of intersectionality was also an attempt to move beyond the limitations of the ‘additive model’ which categorised individuals in terms of levels of oppression: for example, a working-class Blak lesbian with a disability would be understood as quadruply oppressed. While this model of identity had significant political import, it did not, and could not, grapple with the complex, shifting, situated, and oftentimes contradictory ways in which subjectivity/identity (and its multifaceted, interdependent components) is engendered, lived and experienced. The concept caught on quickly amongst scholars and activists working across many and varied forms of marginalisation, and by the 2010s was common in popular culture. As The Chronicle of Higher Education wrote in 2017, “The word has migrated from women’s-studies journals and conference keynotes into everyday conversation, turning what was once highbrow discourse into hashtag chatter.” What invariably accompanied the popularisation of the term was a watering down of its conceptual origins and its subsequent political power. For us, this raises the question of where and how theoretically engaged and politically effective intersectional accounts of subjectivity/identity, power, and the relations between them are being explored and/or articulated. Given the widely accepted view of twenty-first century museums as “facilitators of civic engagement, agents of social change and moderators of complex issues, built around relevance, reflectiveness and responsibility” (Smithsonian Institute, 2002: 18), we would hope that the institutions in which we work, and to which we are committed, would be one such place.
Interestingly, intersectionality has been a lens through which analyses of museum practice, in particular exhibitions, have been articulated by scholars of museology for quite some time, and yet intersectionality – as a critical term – has only recently begun to appear in museum practice. Panel discussions and public lectures around notions of intersectionality are becoming increasingly common, however, the term is much more rarely seen in other aspects of museum business. This is not to suggest that work that takes an intersectional approach has not been happening in museums, but rather, that, for the most part, it has yet to be explicitly articulated in this way. For us, this raises a number of questions, not least of which is why the term is not more commonly used in exhibitions, public programs, education programs, community engagement projects. We are also curious as to what the relationship between panel discussions around intersectionality and programming and planning more generally might be: are the former one-off events that have little or no relation to the museum’s business more generally. And if so, why?
In our exploration of the relationships between intersectionality and museums, we are also keen to explore the question of whether practitioners are using other conceptual terms/frames to refer to what might otherwise be called intersectional work, and if so why, and what are the terms used. Is intersectionality being thought through or explored with or alongside other concepts or theories that have contemporary resonance for museums – for example Actor Network Theory, Truth Telling, Queer/ing? Or is it the case that museum practitioners are still largely struggling to create spaces in which singular aspects of identity (in particular ability, class, race, sexuality, and so on) and marginalisation can be critically examined?
The aim of the proposed edited collection is to explore the ways in which intersectionality is taken up and articulated in museums – through exhibitions, education and public programs, community engagement strategies, catalogues, and so on. As we suggested above, there is a substantial body of scholarship that brings an intersectional lens to bear on museum practice, but for the most part, the authors of such analyses have not been involved in the development of the work they critique, nor are they full-time museum professionals. The proposed collection will offer an alternative focus, showcasing theoretically informed accounts and analysis of projects and programs in which the practitioners who author the papers have played an ‘insider’ role.
Possible topics:
Intersectionality in museum education
Exhibiting intersectionality
Intersectionality and the catalogue
Intersectionality and the socially purposeful museum
Intersectionality and participatory practice
Exploring the intersections of power and privilege in museum management
Critical engagements with intersectionality
Intersectionality and decolonisation
Intersectionality and queering
Remembering the black feminist roots of intersectionality
Intersectionality as critical museological practice
Intersectional tech
Intersectionality and human rights
Intersectionality and place
Institutionalising intersectionality
Intersectionality and museum ethics
Submission details:
Abstracts of up to 1000 words should be submitted to co-editors Nikki Sullivan and Craig Middleton by 30 September 2021. Please include details of the case study(s) you will be engaging with.
Successful papers are expected to be between 3,000 – 6,000 words.
Decisions regarding inclusion will be made by the end of November 2021.
First drafts of full articles will be required to be submitted by beginning of April 2022
Note: we have begun conversations with Routledge, and we will keep all potential authors up to date as negotiations evolve.
Please seek further information and submit proposals via email to nikkisullivan140@gmail.com and craig.robert.middleton@gmail.com by 30 September 2021.