A1 Journal article (refereed)
Categories and boundaries in Sámi exhibitions (2020)
Potinkara, Nika (2020). Categories and boundaries in Sámi exhibitions. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 43 (12), 2140-2157. DOI: 10.1080/01419870.2019.1674347
JYU authors or editors
Publication details
All authors or editors: Potinkara, Nika
Journal or series: Ethnic and Racial Studies
ISSN: 0141-9870
eISSN: 1466-4356
Publication year: 2020
Volume: 43
Issue number: 12
Pages range: 2140-2157
Publisher: Routledge
Publication country: United Kingdom
Publication language: English
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2019.1674347
Open Access: Publication channel is not openly available
Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/72500
Additional information: The article is based on the author’s doctoral dissertation that was published in Finnish: Potinkara, Nika. 2015. Etnisyyden rakentuminen kahden saamelaismuseon perusnäyttelyissä. Jyväskylä: Jyväskylän yliopisto.
Abstract
This article examines the construction of ethnicity in the permanent exhibitions of two Sami museums: Siida, the National Museum of the Finnish Sami and a Nature Centre of Metsahallitus, and ajtte, the Swedish Mountain and Sami Museum. The aim of the article is to find out how ethnic categories and boundaries are created by the exhibitions, and how the museum presentations relate to contemporary public discussions about Sami ethnicity. The presentations are analysed within the framework of discourse analysis. The findings suggest that the two museums, with a few possible exceptions, tend to produce a clear and stable ethnic boundary between the Sami and other ethnicities. Like the Sami ethno-political movement, the exhibitions emphasize the unity and togetherness of the Sami people rather than cultural or social heterogeneity within Sami societies.
Keywords: ethnicity; Samis; Sami identity; museums; museums of cultural history; discourse analysis
Free keywords: ethnicity; museum exhibitions; the Sami; discourse analysis
Contributing organizations
Ministry reporting: Yes
Preliminary JUFO rating: 3
