My PhD research investigates how ethical discourses surrounding embryonic and foetal remains (EFR) displays are multimodally materialised in museum design and visitors’ meaning-making practices. It presents a multi-site ethnography of medical museums in three European countries with different levels of human remain display regulations and reproductive politics. The main analytical framework of this thesis, Systemic Functional Multimodal Discourse Analysis, is integrated with complementary frameworks to create a coherent and flexible approach for interdisciplinary ethnographic research.
This work analyses museum communication beyond exhibitions, acknowledging the agency of museum staff and visitors in negotiating institutional discourses. It aims to provide practical insights for creating locally appropriate EFR displays that can address historical medical inequalities and support the wellbeing of visitors. It also seeks to identify gaps between theory and practice in legislative frameworks and museum practices and inform the planned revision of ethical guidelines on human remains displays.
