Representing Nature in Museums: the Roles of Attitude and Authority

The Manchester Museum is in the process of recontextualising its Natural History galleries with a view to redevelopment. ‘Natural history’ has been considered to be in decline for over 100 years and the role of museum natural history stands in question. In this talk, some of the preconceptions and changing attitudes to ‘nature’ and ‘natural history’ will be touched upon. The changing role of museum galleries, from presenting a particular world view to one which advocates global citizenship and earth stewardship, will be explored. As a specific example, the representation of gender in a natural history gallery will be explored.