From Blindness to blindness: Museums, Heterogeneity and the Subject

This chapter critically engages with the idea of heterogeneity that has been important to actor-network theory. By looking at the history of the museum and the kind of art associated with it at different points in time, the chapter shows how what we understand as heterogeneiety has changed over time. The history of the ordering and displaying role of the museum reveals different responses to an idea of heterogeneity and to consequential conceptualisations not only of vision and agency but also to subject-object relations. The idea of heterogeneity is caught up with these changing relations between subject and object and with the spatial configuration through which they are constituted. The museum is an important historical site through which such changing relations and changing understandings of heterogeneity can be analysed

Mutant Sodium Channel for Tumor Therapy

Viral vectors have been used to deliver a wide range of therapeutic genes to tumors. In this study, a novel tumor therapy was achieved by the delivery of a mammalian brain sodium channel, ASIC2a, carrying a mutation that renders it constitutively open. This channel was delivered to tumor cells using a herpes simplex virus-1/Epstein–Barr virus (HSV/EBV) hybrid amplicon vector in which gene expression was controlled by a tetracycline regulatory system (tet-on) with silencer elements. Upon infection and doxycycline induction of mutant channel expression in tumor cells, the open channel led to amiloride-sensitive sodium influx as assessed by patch clamp recording and sodium imaging in culture. Within hours, tumor cells swelled and died. In addition to cells expressing the mutant channel, adjacent, noninfected cells connected by gap junctions also died. Intratumoral injection of HSV/EBV amplicon vector encoding the mutant sodium channel and systemic administration of doxycycline led to regression of subcutaneous tumors in nude mice as assessed by in vivo bioluminescence imaging. The advantage of this direct mode of tumor therapy is that all types of tumor cells become susceptible and death is rapid with no time for the tumor cells to become resistant

`China Design Now'

This article draws from cultural studies, political theory, international relations, art history and museum studies in order to consider `China Design Now' — the blockbuster exhibition, recently held at the V&A. It argues that, despite the inclusion of a number of interesting exhibits, the attempt to frame contemporary Chinese design independently of political contextualization has led to an exhibition which is largely unsatisfying. The approach taken by the V&A is further shown to have produced several ironic outcomes. First, by attempting to avoid `contentious' political issues, the museum has, in fact, forced the `political' to the fore. Second, by taking such an approach, the V&A demonstrates that it has failed to understand the essentially political nature of the design problem. Third, it has produced an exhibition which appears to advocate a (highly political) neoliberal agenda — one which insists on an inexorable drive towards greater global economic integration. Finally, it has failed to mention its own embeddedness within larger strategies of `cultural diplomacy' and the significance of such strategies for international relations and for cultural production. As well as drawing on a range of relevant literature, the article makes direct reference to exhibition wall texts, exhibit labels and quotations from the catalogue in order to support its argument

Objeto, sujeito, inimigo, vovô: um estudo em etnomuseologia comparada entre os Mebêngôkre-Kayapó e Baniwa do Brasil

International audienceAbstract Ethnomuseology seeks to put indigenous people in dialog with their own material culture heritage. This article reflects on collaborative research carried out with Mebêngôkre-Kayapó and Baniwa consultants on important collections of both groups from the early twentieth century. In addition to noting differences between museological or scientific and indigenous concepts about museum objects, we also noticed a number of cultural differences in the way the two indigenous groups related to objects from their past. While both cultural groups attributed subjective characteristics to museum objects, for the Mebêngôkre-Kayapó this subjectivity expressed itself mostly in terms of possible threats to visitors of the museum collections, leading to a hesitancy to handle museum objects, assumed to be war trophies captured in the past from dangerous enemies. The Baniwa, by contrast, expressed great affection for ‘grandpa’s things’, and they felt they had a right to handle objects that represent the heritage of patrilineal clans. This experience in ethnomuseology highlights the diversity of indigenous concepts, attitudes and expectations about museum collections and the need for the dialogical approach to collaborative research.Resumo A etnomuseologia visa engajar os povos indígenas em um diálogo com a sua cultura material. Este artigo reflete sobre uma experiência efetuada no acervo etnográfico do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi com interlocutores Mebêngôkre-Kayapó e Baniwa sobre importantes coleções de seus respectivos povos, as quais datam do início do século XX. Além de perceber diferenças entre conceitos museológicos, ou científicos, e indígenas sobre as peças e os processos de musealização, também foi possível observar uma série de diferenças culturais entre os Mebêngôkre-Kayapó e os Baniwa no que concerne à maneira de se relacionar com os objetos de seu passado. Ambos os grupos atribuíram características subjetivas aos objetos no acervo, mas, no caso dos Mebêngôkre-Kayapó, a subjetividade das peças antigas representava uma ameaça aos visitantes do acervo, levando a um certo receio em manusear as peças, concebidas com troféus de guerra capturados de inimigos perigosos. Os Baniwa, ao contrário, expressavam grande carinho com os ‘objetos do vovô’ e sentiam-se no direito de manusear as peças que representam o patrimônio de clãs patrilineais. Esta experiência em etnomuseologia comparada ressalta a diversidade de conceitos, atitudes e expectativas dos povos indígenas perante às coleções museológicas, e a necessidade desta nova abordagem de pesquisa colaborativa