Can we pause on the word “Anthropological”? Structuring knowledge of global violence in the exhibition Gewalt und Geschlecht (Violence and Gender) at the Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr

Abstract

Building on current work into German representations of violence beyond Germany’s borders, this essay considers a cultural history exhibition held at the Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr in 2018. Gewalt und Geschlecht (Violence and Gender) opened a window onto violence worldwide. While acknowledging that theories of structural violence provided the exhibition with a firm foundation, the essay asks what it means for the curators to call their approach “anthropological.” This leads to broader discussions of Eurocentric perspectives and of how knowledge is “disciplined” in the complex institutional practice of the museum.