Wolf Lepenies in favour of an ethnological museum in Berlin

German sociologist Wolf Lepenies proposes the establishment of a new ethnological museum in the Humboldt Forum planned for Berlin's Schlossplatz. He bases his conclusions on the concept underlying the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris: "Should a museum of ethnological art be founded in the Humboldt Forum? Should 'objects' become 'works of art' there, too? ... With the right approach one could create a museum that offers double or even multiple perspectives in Berlin, one which makes clear to visitors the extent to which the character of what they see depends on how it is presented by the curator and on their own individual perceptions. The colonial rule of the Europeans came to an end long ago. It has been outlived by an intellectual colonialism that still represents an entirely European perspective of non-Western cultures. This perspective ignores the manifold contacts among non-Western cultures. An ethnological history outlining these relations would serve to highlight these contacts. No place could be more appropriate for such a project than a Humboldt Forum in the very centre of Berlin."

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