Ideological manipulation at the Museum of Brittany
Manipulation idéologique au Musée de Bretagne
Le Club de Mediapart, June 29, 2022.
| The article criticises the Musée de Bretagne’s exhibition ‘Celtique?’ (Celtic?), which it considers ideological and manipulative under the guise of scientific inquiry. Structured like an essay, it concludes that there is no connection between the Celts of Antiquity and contemporary Brittany. The author denounces three falsifications: reducing the Celts to their material culture by excluding languages and intangible traditions; attributing ‘Celticness’ solely to Breton nationalists without mentioning that the French state itself has exploited a ‘Gallic’ heritage for nationalist and racial purposes; and finally, ignoring linguistic and ethnological evidence attesting to cultural continuities. In addition, rhetorical devices (rigged questions, selective omissions) contribute to a biased view that denies Breton otherness in favour of a ‘banal nationalism’ of France. The exhibition, the author concludes, perpetuates the logic advocated by Renan: historical oblivion or error as the foundation of national unity. |