In recent years, many museums and universities have begun to address past colonial injustices by critically examining their collections of human remains, often leading to their restitution to their assumed countries of origins. Such efforts are usually framed as acts of recognition, reconciliation, and repair. However, the diverse difficulties and frictions that accompany restitutions often escape public attention. This post introduces some of such difficulties that need to be taken into account to understand the complexity of restitution processes.
Author: Malin S. Wilckens
Malin S. Wilckens is a postdoc at the Leibniz Institute of European History (IEG) in Mainz. Her research interests include global history, the history of science and knowledge, historical race studies (18th and 19th centuries), and the history of the environment and technology.
