What are museums for? The enduring friction between nationalism and cosmopolitanism

ABSTRACT

This response to Peggy Levitt’s book Artifacts and Allegiances argues that, as cultural institutions, museums are too deeply embedded within the nation state to be able to present cosmopolitan narratives that go beyond the biased particularities of the nation. Rather than conceiving nationalism and cosmopolitanism as a continuum, the relationship between the two should be seen as one of enduring friction, creating a major challenge for museums around the world to tell stories suited for our mobile, global times.

KEYWORDS:

• Museums
• nationalism
• cosmopolitanism
• Peggy Levitt
• transnational migration
• Europe

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.