Project information
Project manager
Liv Nilsson Stutz
Other project members
Hayley Mickleburgh, Linnaeus University.
Sarah Tarlow, University of Leicester, UK.
Participating organizations
Linnaeus University and University of Leicester
Financier
Riksbankens Jubileumsfond
Timetable
1 Jan 2021 – 31 Dec 2024
Subject
Archaeology
Website
https://livnstutz.wordpress.com
More about the project
Research on human remains is a part of a long scientific tradition. Today museums are the custodians of extensive collections of both skeletal remains and soft tissues.
In the Humanities and Social Sciences (archaeology, biological anthropology, history of medicine) research on human remains provide valuable information on the lived experience of people in the past. At the same time, reservations are made against research on the remains of people who were never able to consent.
Laws and guidelines have been developed to regulate the issue, but these have for the most part been developed to handle the remains from indigenous peoples/minorities, and do not include provisions for all remains. Similarly, medical laws and regulations do not consider older remains. Researchers who work on these collections therefore find themselves in a relatively unregulated area, which risks undermining the legitimacy of the research. Through a series of comparative studies of practices and guidelines in museums in Sweden and abroad, this project seeks to elucidate how ethical decisions are made and what values inform these decisions.
The study will be carried out through a combination of text analysis (legal documents and recommendations), surveys and interviews with museum professionals, and studies of exhibitions. The purpose of the study is to inform a more initiated discussion about the complexity of the issue, strengthen the ethical awareness within the field, and inform recommendations.
The project is part of the research in Linnaeus University Centre for Concurrences in Colonial and Postcolonial Studies
Staff at Linnaeus University
