In this post, you will find some information relating to our first community engagement theme, ‘Restitution and the Anatomical Museum’.

Aim: To conduct an in-depth investigation into the work of repatriating the ancestral human remains linked to the histories of colonialism and slavery that are currently being held within the Anatomical Museum and ascertain what resource is required to expedite their restitution and repatriation/rematriation.

This focus group will explore the need for the repatriation of human remains (and other non-human artefacts) to their original communities. It will look at the history of the university’s policy and previous examples of repatriation that have taken place, and will seek to contribute to developing policies that are more proactive in their approach in collaboration with museum professionals, academics, activists and communities. This group will also think through some of the reparatory dimensions of restitution and will aim to further understanding around the alternative concept rematriation. Building on existing work, it will also explore ways of opening up the history and archives behind the collection and its links to the development of racial sciences to internal and external communities.

Our first workshop was held on 31 October 2023: Workshop 1_Restitution and the Anatomical Museum Attendees Programme and Guidance.

A summary of the discussions from that workshop will shortly be available here:

The initial workshop was followed by four focus group sessions held on 15 and 22 November and 6 and 13 December 2023 at the Scottish Storytelling Centre.

A summary of those meetings and our draft recommendations will be discussed with participants, including representatives from the Anatomical Museum, on 7 February 2024, 1-4pm at the Scottish Storytelling Centre.

Theme 1: Restitution and the Anatomical Museum / Decolonised Transformations by blogadmin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0