The Ben M. Bronzes in Nigeria are not going to be returned to communities, she says. The museum of a museum was brought together to show the hierarchy of cultures by comparing the different things that they made - but it inevitably didn't quite achieve that. There's a sort of finger wagging now with institutions which tells you very little about the past,. more about the museum mindset of these certain curators and more about what they think of the audience.
Should the British Museum return the Elgin Marbles, taken from the Parthenon in Athens about 200 years ago? What should be the purpose of museums, education or social justice? Listen as Tiffany Jenkins, author of Keeping Their Marbles, discusses these questions and more with EconTalk host Russ Roberts.