Civil Society, Science, and Empire in Late Republican France: The Foundation of Paris's Museum of Man

Abstract

In 1938 an important civic institution for the support of science opened in Paris: the Musée de l'homme, a state-of-the-art anthropological museum under the direction of Paul Rivet. From the outset, there was more to the museum than met the eye. A socialist and humanist, Rivet used both bones and objects to try to convince the public of the equality of all peoples and cultures. Behind these displays lay research facilities designed to lure practitioners from all branches and schools of French anthropology under a single roof, that humanity might be studied there in its totality. Ironically, at this most "democratic" of museums, artifacts and funds from the empire were essential. Therefore colonialism at the Musée de l'homme went unchallenged.