With reference to the British Museum discuss whether Britains imperial Essay

With reference to the British Museum discuss whether Britains imperial legacy still has an influence on British cultural identity - Essay Example The society as a whole would start to worry about their loss of individual identity, and their emotional pursuits. Cultural identity of a legacy is a primary source for people to identify themselves with and obtain belongings. Museum has the responsibilities to protect a people’s cultural heritage through various exhibitions and collections to promote cultural identity. Based on this, this essay seeks to examine the ways British Museum prospects of Britain’s imperial legacy and its impact on the cultural identity of Britain. Museums in the simplest aspect is the result and reflection of social progress and development (Bennett, 1995 p14). The developing ideology of British Museum is to let the public become the center of museums, and let the museum become the center of the society. British Museum takes many measures and works to make it become a real physical space through imperial legacies. British Museum is one of the world’s first national museums if it is juxtaposed against the world’s three most famous museums in Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (Smith & MacGregor, 2007 p26). British Museum was established on the basis of British political, economic and cultural progress. The collections in British Museum are the reflection of the power of Britain because most artefacts and souvenirs are housed in there. It is important to note and mention that the cultural tenets and foundations are also preserved and housed in the museum. The term culture refers to a way and lifestyle of a people. Cultural identity refers to the cultural inclination and recognition of human beings. Individuals obtain cultural identity through belonging to their cultures and cultural groups (Klanten et al., 2013 p142). Therefore, cultural identity is a social psychological process of keeping and innovating their cultural society. Cultural inclination also identify a process to construct identity