Description
Book SynopsisA Companion to Museum Studies captures the multidisciplinary approach to the study of the development, roles, and significance of museums in contemporary society.
- Collects first-rate original essays by leading figures from a range of disciplines and theoretical stances, including anthropology, art history, history, literature, sociology, cultural studies, and museum studies
- Examines the complexity of the museum from cultural, political, curatorial, historical and representational perspectives
- Covers traditional subjects, such as space, display, buildings, objects and collecting, and more contemporary challenges such as visiting, commerce, community and experimental exhibition forms
Trade Review"This account captures a fresh, multi-disciplinary approach to the study of the development, roles, and significance of museums in our society. It expands museum studies and presents a wide range of theoretical perspectives. The essays examine the complexity of the museum from cultural, political governance, curatorial, historical, and representational perspectives, Sharon Macdonald is the author and Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Manchester." (Neopoprealism Journal, 24 November 2011)
“The collection is not primarily a compendium of the work of ethnographers. The group of scholars Macdonald brought together reflects the current makeup of museum studies as an interdisciplinary endeavor.” (Museum Anthropology, April 2009)
"Required reading for museum professionals and scholars in museum studies, art and cultural history, sociology of art, and anthropology ... The text is rich in information and diverse in perspectives; it both introduces and complicates in an intriguing and necessary way what we 'know' about museums ... Essential." (Choice)
“This is a wonderfully comprehensive collection of essays, offering diverse perspectives, covering all aspects of the museum profession, and addressing contemporary and historical discourse … It really is the best compendium I’ve read in years.” (Museums Australia)
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations ix
Notes on Contributors xii
Acknowledgments xix
Bibliographical Note xx
1 Expanding Museum Studies: An Introduction 1
Sharon Macdonald
Part I Perspectives, Disciplines, Concepts 13
Introduction 14
2 Cultural Theory and Museum Studies 17
Rhiannon Mason
3 Sociology and the Social Aspects of Museums 33
Gordon Fyfe
4 Art History and Museology: Rendering the Visible Legible 50
Donald Preziosi
5 Museums and Anthropologies: Practices and Narratives 64
Anthony Alan Shelton
6 Collecting Practices 81
Sharon Macdonald
7 The Conundrum of Ephemerality: Time, Memory, and Museums 98
Susan A. Crane
Part II Histories, Heritage, Identities 111
Introduction 112
8 The Origins of the Public Museum 115
Jeffrey Abt
9 World Fairs and Museums 135
Robert W. Rydell
10 Making and Remaking National Identities 152
Flora Edouwaye S. Kaplan
11 Museums and Community 170
Elizabeth Crooke
12 Re-staging Histories and Identities 186
Rosmarie Beier-de Haan
13 Heritage 198
Steven Hoelscher
Part III Architecture, Space, Media 219
Introduction 220
14 Museum Architecture: A Brief History 223
Michaela Giebelhausen
15 Insight versus Entertainment: Untimely Meditations on the Architecture of Twentieth-century Art Museums 245
Vittorio Magnago Lampugnani
16 Civic Seeing: Museums and the Organization of Vision 263
Tony Bennett
17 Space Syntax: The Language of Museum Space 282
Bill Hillier and Kali Tzortzi
18 New Media 302
Michelle Henning
Part IV Visitors, Learning, Interacting 319
Introduction 320
19 Living in a Learning Society: Museums and Free-choice Learning 323
John H. Falk, Lynn D. Dierking, and Marianna Adams
20 Museum Education 340
George E. Hein
21 Interactivity: Thinking Beyond 353
Andrea Witcomb
22 Studying Visitors 362
Eilean Hooper-Greenhill
Part V Globalization, Profession, Practice 377
Introduction 378
23 Globalization: Incorporating the Museum 381
Mark W. Rectanus
24 Cultural Economics 398
Bruno S. Frey and Stephan Meier
25 The Museum Profession 415
Patrick J. Boylan
26 Museum Ethics 431
Tristram Besterman
27 Museum Practice: Legal Issues 442
Patty Gerstenblith
28 Non-Western Models of Museums and Curation in Cross-cultural Perspective 457
Christina Kreps
Part VI Culture Wars, Transformations, Futures 473
Introduction 474
29 Incivilities in Civil(-ized) Places: “Culture Wars” in Comparative Perspective 477
Steven C. Dubin
30 Science Museums and the Culture Wars 494
Steven Conn
31 Postmodern Restructurings 509
Nick Prior
32 Exposing the Public 525
Mieke Bal
33 The Future of the Museum 543
Charles Saumarez Smith
Index 555
