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Enter through the Gift Shop: Signifying a Modern National Identity through Qatar Museums’ Merchandise
Abstract
This study aims to show that something significant is taking place in Qatar’s museum gift shops—a reformulation of the signifiers of national identity through contemporary commodities. While traditional gifts and handmade crafts remain prized and promoted, the introduction of modern museum merchandise is a sign that Qatar has entered into a new stage of national identity formation. Souvenirs narrating the nation are no longer natural or traditional aspects of the country’s heritage, as they have been for decades, but are now made of synthetic materials that —— in an age of global neoliberalism —— are internationally recognizable. If souvenirs are meant to signify Qatar’s cultural heritage, then how do the new products on the block— iPhone covers, accessories, t-shirts—fit into the narrative? How do modern museum merchandise and commercial artifacts sold in Qatar’s museums, souqs, and shopping malls problematize Qatar’s traditional historical narrative? Or do they extend Qatari national identity into new directions—ones that are no longer beholden to the past?
Discipline
Media Arts
Geographic Area
Arabian Peninsula
Sub Area
Cultural Studies