How do you decolonize a museum? The current debate on colonialism and museums with Americanist content in the Spanish press

Abstract

The question “how to decolonize a museum?” implies that it has been assumed that it is convenient, or even necessary, to do so. Could be said that in Spain we are at a previous point in the discussion. Here the question of whether or not there was colonization, whether it is manifested in museums, and whether this whole issue is a scientific matter, or the result of the political situation is still being debated. However, at the same time, the question of how to decolonize is frequently put on the table and also attempts are made to answer it. This debate that we have described has been taking place in Spain in recent years. And the controversy intensifies at certain times, with the interventions of politicians, journalists, and academics, which are recorded in the press, and which we will take as a primary source. We consider that assuming that the implications of the debate are restricted to what we have just said would be reductionist, since they are much richer and are related to the interweaving of science and politics, and more particularly to the contribution of former American colonialism to Spanish national identity.