Janine Prins | Leiden University (original) (raw)
Weblogs by Janine Prins
Papers by Janine Prins
Anthropology Today, Apr 1, 1993
Anthrovision, Jun 30, 2018
Over the past decade I have been directing my professional camera-curiosity as a visual anthropol... more Over the past decade I have been directing my professional camera-curiosity as a visual anthropologist towards the Indo-European side of my family, living witnesses from colonial times and experienced migrators. Since I am entangled in this heritage myself, autoethnography would have been an obvious choice. However, I opted for a more openended approach in order to allow space for contradiction, friction and inconsistencieseven when exploring just one, elitist, perspective. Choices made during the development of this personal project-Legacy of Silence-will be discussed here, as well as some first visitor responses, in order to determine how well the strategy of embedding video in a setup that included material culture objects worked. 2 Ethnographic museum approaches were what first sprung to mind when I decided to make my personal heritage public, since I had been involved with the National Museum of World Cultures in the Netherlands as part of my work (Internet Source 1) on RICHES (Renewal, Innovation and Change: Heritage and European Society, Internet Source 2). Also involved in this European-wide research project were Dutch students of Moroccan descent, who I had met previously when they were trying to find out more about their cultural backgrounds. To this end, they visited the small private Museum Tiskiwin (Internet Source 3) in Marrakech, where Bert Flint had dedicated his life to collecting the material culture of Amazigh populations (indigenous non-Arabic speaking populations of North Africa often referred to as 'Berber'). In this museum the students were allowed direct hands-on access to the collection, without having to overcome layers of bureaucracy and having to put on gloves. Some of the items on display could also be touched, which was demonstrated by a visitor who showed her daughters how she used to cook before migrating to the Netherlands.
This paper examines the spaces of engagement with cultural heritage afforded by online maker comm... more This paper examines the spaces of engagement with cultural heritage afforded by online maker communities. We argue that engagements with heritage in maker spaces, online and offline, are influenced by a strong craft ethos, which is one of the main reasons why these communities emerge and is for many members the main motivation to join and contribute. This ethos contributes to the outline and basic mechanisms by which communities are shaped, and contributes to configuring hubs of learning and exchange which recall the traditional craft guilds of the past, whilst featuring as well contemporary attributes that are unique for the digital era. Involvement in ‘virtual guilds’ shapes distinctive engagements with craft-related cultural heritage in online spaces and stimulates offline engagements that move dynamically between transmission and creative appropriation in new craft, art or design products.
Anthrovision
Over the past decade I have been directing my professional camera-curiosity as a visual anthropol... more Over the past decade I have been directing my professional camera-curiosity as a visual anthropologist towards the Indo-European side of my family, living witnesses from colonial times and experienced migrators. Since I am entangled in this heritage myself, autoethnography would have been an obvious choice. However, I opted for a more openended approach in order to allow space for contradiction, friction and inconsistencieseven when exploring just one, elitist, perspective. Choices made during the development of this personal project-Legacy of Silence-will be discussed here, as well as some first visitor responses, in order to determine how well the strategy of embedding video in a setup that included material culture objects worked. 2 Ethnographic museum approaches were what first sprung to mind when I decided to make my personal heritage public, since I had been involved with the National Museum of World Cultures in the Netherlands as part of my work (Internet Source 1) on RICHES (Renewal, Innovation and Change: Heritage and European Society, Internet Source 2). Also involved in this European-wide research project were Dutch students of Moroccan descent, who I had met previously when they were trying to find out more about their cultural backgrounds. To this end, they visited the small private Museum Tiskiwin (Internet Source 3) in Marrakech, where Bert Flint had dedicated his life to collecting the material culture of Amazigh populations (indigenous non-Arabic speaking populations of North Africa often referred to as 'Berber'). In this museum the students were allowed direct hands-on access to the collection, without having to overcome layers of bureaucracy and having to put on gloves. Some of the items on display could also be touched, which was demonstrated by a visitor who showed her daughters how she used to cook before migrating to the Netherlands.
Anthrovision, Jun 30, 2018
Over the past decade I have been directing my professional camera-curiosity as a visual anthropol... more Over the past decade I have been directing my professional camera-curiosity as a visual anthropologist towards the Indo-European side of my family, living witnesses from colonial times and experienced migrators. Since I am entangled in this heritage myself, autoethnography would have been an obvious choice. However, I opted for a more openended approach in order to allow space for contradiction, friction and inconsistencieseven when exploring just one, elitist, perspective. Choices made during the development of this personal project-Legacy of Silence-will be discussed here, as well as some first visitor responses, in order to determine how well the strategy of embedding video in a setup that included material culture objects worked. 2 Ethnographic museum approaches were what first sprung to mind when I decided to make my personal heritage public, since I had been involved with the National Museum of World Cultures in the Netherlands as part of my work (Internet Source 1) on RICHES (Renewal, Innovation and Change: Heritage and European Society, Internet Source 2). Also involved in this European-wide research project were Dutch students of Moroccan descent, who I had met previously when they were trying to find out more about their cultural backgrounds. To this end, they visited the small private Museum Tiskiwin (Internet Source 3) in Marrakech, where Bert Flint had dedicated his life to collecting the material culture of Amazigh populations (indigenous non-Arabic speaking populations of North Africa often referred to as 'Berber'). In this museum the students were allowed direct hands-on access to the collection, without having to overcome layers of bureaucracy and having to put on gloves. Some of the items on display could also be touched, which was demonstrated by a visitor who showed her daughters how she used to cook before migrating to the Netherlands.
Anthrovision Vaneasa Online Journal, 2018
Taking its cues from ethnographic museums and expanded cinema, an immersive exhibit got curated ... more Taking its cues from ethnographic museums and expanded cinema, an immersive exhibit got curated that includes all senses. Visitor responses do show that the non-linear open-ended exhibit strategies used to present the media and objects do evoke multiple perspectives on a contested colonial past in the present.
Books by Janine Prins
Letters from Insulindia, 2020
Reflections on daily life in the tropics, sent home to Amsterdam around 1900 by a critical coloni... more Reflections on daily life in the tropics, sent home to Amsterdam around 1900 by a critical colonial in the Dutch East Indies, nowadays Indonesia. Illustrated with his own photographs. Original author: G.C. Adolfs. Compilation by Janine Prins.
Anthropology Today, Apr 1, 1993
Anthrovision, Jun 30, 2018
Over the past decade I have been directing my professional camera-curiosity as a visual anthropol... more Over the past decade I have been directing my professional camera-curiosity as a visual anthropologist towards the Indo-European side of my family, living witnesses from colonial times and experienced migrators. Since I am entangled in this heritage myself, autoethnography would have been an obvious choice. However, I opted for a more openended approach in order to allow space for contradiction, friction and inconsistencieseven when exploring just one, elitist, perspective. Choices made during the development of this personal project-Legacy of Silence-will be discussed here, as well as some first visitor responses, in order to determine how well the strategy of embedding video in a setup that included material culture objects worked. 2 Ethnographic museum approaches were what first sprung to mind when I decided to make my personal heritage public, since I had been involved with the National Museum of World Cultures in the Netherlands as part of my work (Internet Source 1) on RICHES (Renewal, Innovation and Change: Heritage and European Society, Internet Source 2). Also involved in this European-wide research project were Dutch students of Moroccan descent, who I had met previously when they were trying to find out more about their cultural backgrounds. To this end, they visited the small private Museum Tiskiwin (Internet Source 3) in Marrakech, where Bert Flint had dedicated his life to collecting the material culture of Amazigh populations (indigenous non-Arabic speaking populations of North Africa often referred to as 'Berber'). In this museum the students were allowed direct hands-on access to the collection, without having to overcome layers of bureaucracy and having to put on gloves. Some of the items on display could also be touched, which was demonstrated by a visitor who showed her daughters how she used to cook before migrating to the Netherlands.
This paper examines the spaces of engagement with cultural heritage afforded by online maker comm... more This paper examines the spaces of engagement with cultural heritage afforded by online maker communities. We argue that engagements with heritage in maker spaces, online and offline, are influenced by a strong craft ethos, which is one of the main reasons why these communities emerge and is for many members the main motivation to join and contribute. This ethos contributes to the outline and basic mechanisms by which communities are shaped, and contributes to configuring hubs of learning and exchange which recall the traditional craft guilds of the past, whilst featuring as well contemporary attributes that are unique for the digital era. Involvement in ‘virtual guilds’ shapes distinctive engagements with craft-related cultural heritage in online spaces and stimulates offline engagements that move dynamically between transmission and creative appropriation in new craft, art or design products.
Anthrovision
Over the past decade I have been directing my professional camera-curiosity as a visual anthropol... more Over the past decade I have been directing my professional camera-curiosity as a visual anthropologist towards the Indo-European side of my family, living witnesses from colonial times and experienced migrators. Since I am entangled in this heritage myself, autoethnography would have been an obvious choice. However, I opted for a more openended approach in order to allow space for contradiction, friction and inconsistencieseven when exploring just one, elitist, perspective. Choices made during the development of this personal project-Legacy of Silence-will be discussed here, as well as some first visitor responses, in order to determine how well the strategy of embedding video in a setup that included material culture objects worked. 2 Ethnographic museum approaches were what first sprung to mind when I decided to make my personal heritage public, since I had been involved with the National Museum of World Cultures in the Netherlands as part of my work (Internet Source 1) on RICHES (Renewal, Innovation and Change: Heritage and European Society, Internet Source 2). Also involved in this European-wide research project were Dutch students of Moroccan descent, who I had met previously when they were trying to find out more about their cultural backgrounds. To this end, they visited the small private Museum Tiskiwin (Internet Source 3) in Marrakech, where Bert Flint had dedicated his life to collecting the material culture of Amazigh populations (indigenous non-Arabic speaking populations of North Africa often referred to as 'Berber'). In this museum the students were allowed direct hands-on access to the collection, without having to overcome layers of bureaucracy and having to put on gloves. Some of the items on display could also be touched, which was demonstrated by a visitor who showed her daughters how she used to cook before migrating to the Netherlands.
Anthrovision, Jun 30, 2018
Over the past decade I have been directing my professional camera-curiosity as a visual anthropol... more Over the past decade I have been directing my professional camera-curiosity as a visual anthropologist towards the Indo-European side of my family, living witnesses from colonial times and experienced migrators. Since I am entangled in this heritage myself, autoethnography would have been an obvious choice. However, I opted for a more openended approach in order to allow space for contradiction, friction and inconsistencieseven when exploring just one, elitist, perspective. Choices made during the development of this personal project-Legacy of Silence-will be discussed here, as well as some first visitor responses, in order to determine how well the strategy of embedding video in a setup that included material culture objects worked. 2 Ethnographic museum approaches were what first sprung to mind when I decided to make my personal heritage public, since I had been involved with the National Museum of World Cultures in the Netherlands as part of my work (Internet Source 1) on RICHES (Renewal, Innovation and Change: Heritage and European Society, Internet Source 2). Also involved in this European-wide research project were Dutch students of Moroccan descent, who I had met previously when they were trying to find out more about their cultural backgrounds. To this end, they visited the small private Museum Tiskiwin (Internet Source 3) in Marrakech, where Bert Flint had dedicated his life to collecting the material culture of Amazigh populations (indigenous non-Arabic speaking populations of North Africa often referred to as 'Berber'). In this museum the students were allowed direct hands-on access to the collection, without having to overcome layers of bureaucracy and having to put on gloves. Some of the items on display could also be touched, which was demonstrated by a visitor who showed her daughters how she used to cook before migrating to the Netherlands.
Anthrovision Vaneasa Online Journal, 2018
Taking its cues from ethnographic museums and expanded cinema, an immersive exhibit got curated ... more Taking its cues from ethnographic museums and expanded cinema, an immersive exhibit got curated that includes all senses. Visitor responses do show that the non-linear open-ended exhibit strategies used to present the media and objects do evoke multiple perspectives on a contested colonial past in the present.
Letters from Insulindia, 2020
Reflections on daily life in the tropics, sent home to Amsterdam around 1900 by a critical coloni... more Reflections on daily life in the tropics, sent home to Amsterdam around 1900 by a critical colonial in the Dutch East Indies, nowadays Indonesia. Illustrated with his own photographs. Original author: G.C. Adolfs. Compilation by Janine Prins.