Abstract
This thesis gives an insight into some of the collections and exhibitions of human remains that are being held at institutions and museums in Norway. The main focus is on exhibitions at Nasjonalt Medisinsk Museums located at Norsk Teknisk Museum. Exhibitions and collections that are based on the same theme are also a focus. The thesis mainly revolves around the people that work with exhibitions that contain human remains, and the people that visit these exhibitions. A recurring question throughout the thesis is how different people (museum workers, the audience, other academic interests) relate to human remains in museums and collections. It also asks questions of what the audience think of them, and how the human remains themselves “communicate” with other people. In this thesis, themes like the connection between Anthropology and human remains is explored. The focus on human remains is connected to aspects of research, agency, conceptions of life and death, emotions, and senses. The exhibitions of human remains also reflect a material culture and the ethical issues surrounding them. This thesis tries to argue that human remains are always placed in a liminal state between what is considered dead and alive. Their functions and statuses are always changeable, and they can mean different things to different people.