Museums in the Wake of Empire examines how museums in Europe and North America confront colonial collections, restitution claims, and demands for structural change

Museums in the Wake of Empire centers on how museums in Europe and North America are being reshaped by the afterlives of colonialism. Colonial collecting, contested ownership, restitution demands, and pressure from source communities drive the book's focus on institutional accountability and structural change. The volume brings together perspectives on empire, race, memory, and display, with attention to how museums frame knowledge and authority. Decolonization appears not as a symbolic gesture but as a practical challenge involving collections, interpretation, governance, and public responsibility. The subject matters because museums remain influential cultural institutions whose holdings and narratives were often built through imperial extraction. Debates over repatriation, representation, and repair connect historical violence to contemporary ethical obligations and broader struggles over cultural sovereignty.