Paper short abstract:

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Paper long abstract:

UNESCO might be understood as the ultimate humanist museological experiment; an organisation that strives for universal peace through the collection, ordering and archiving of human culture. Like the anthropology of humanism, the organisation rests on a central paradox of both cultural plurality and universal ethics, sharing its early history with the development of modern anthropology. This paper explores how UNESCO's physical spaces, such as its head office in Paris, may be understood in museological terms. Its main assembly hall is both a space for the collection and display of objects, such as an artefact (what artefact?) from the North-West Coast, as well as meeting space for delegates. This paper will examine this space, focusing on how the post-World War II ideals of international peace based on principles of cultural plurality are manifested in it, and what the implications of this are for thinking about the potential for humanism to play a more prominent role in the anthropology museum.