{"product_id":"extinct-monsters-to-deep-time-conflict-compromise-and-the-making-of-smithsonians-fossil-halls-9781800732018","title":"Extinct Monsters to Deep Time: Conflict,","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e \t\u003cstrong\u003eVia the Smithsonian Institution, an exploration of the growing friction between the research and outreach functions of museums in the 21st century.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \tDescribing participant observation and historical research at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History as it prepared for its largest-ever exhibit renovation,\u003cem\u003e Deep Time\u003c\/em\u003e, the author provides a grounded perspective on the inner-workings of the world’s largest natural history museum and the social processes of communicating science to the public.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cem\u003eFrom the introduction:\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cem\u003eIn exhibit projects, the tension plays out between curatorial staff—academic, research, or scientific staff  charged with content—and exhibitions, public engagement, or educational staff—which I broadly group together as “audience advocates” charged with translating content for a broader public. I have heard Kirk Johnson, Sant Director of the NMNH, say many times that if you look at dinosaur halls at different museums across the country, you can see whether the curators or the exhibits staff  has “won.” At the American Museum of Natural History in New York, it was the curators. The hall is stark white and organized by phylogeny—or the evolutionary relationships of species—with simple, albeit long, text panels. At the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Johnson will tell you, it was the “exhibits people.” The hall is story driven and chronologically organized, full of big graphic prints, bold fonts, immersive and interactive spaces, and touchscreens. At the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, where Johnson had previously been vice president and chief curator, “we actually fought to a draw.” That, he says, is the best outcome; a win on either side skews the final product too extremely in one direction or the other. This creative tension, when based on mutual respect, is often what makes good exhibitions.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e \t\u003cem\u003e“Marsh’s work makes a significant contribution to museum ethnography; it provides and invites detailed inquiry into the ways in which museums work to develop public displays within their own changing histories, values and processes. Relevant to anyone engaged in museum anthropology and institutional ethnography,\u003c\/em\u003e Extinct monsters to Deep Time \u003cem\u003ewill also be of interest to those within the discipline of museum studies, as well as museum and heritage professionals.”\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e• Social Anthropology\/Anthropologie sociale\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cem\u003e“Findings in this work are new and useful, presenting evidence showing the benefits to ‘friction and complementarity’ whilst offering insights that can be used by other institutions and collaborative projects to achieve more balanced results in their work…[It] contributes significantly to museum ethnography by delivering a thorough study to the existing body of work…The aspect of practical museology is crucial for museum studies as well as for other disciplines that examine informational institutions that serve and are responsible to the public. For museum researchers the work serves as a fascinating example of multidimensional research in the field.”\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e• Museological Review\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cem\u003e“This book is an excellent contribution to our understanding of the history of the Smithsonian, of the representation of paleontology, of the changing dynamics of departments and disciplines over time, and of the shift in museums from an emphasis on research to public outreach. It is also an important contribution to the genre of museum ethnography.”\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e• Jennifer Shannon\u003c\/strong\u003e, University of Colorado Boulder\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e \tList of Illustrations and Table\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cstrong\u003eForeward\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003cem\u003eJennifer Shannon\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cstrong\u003ePrologue:\u003c\/strong\u003e Fieldnotes from the Badlands\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \tAcknowledgments\u003cbr\u003e \tList of Abbreviations\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cstrong\u003eChronology A:\u003c\/strong\u003e Lists of Relevant Leadership\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003cstrong\u003eChronology B:\u003c\/strong\u003e Geologic Time Scale\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003cstrong\u003eChronology C:\u003c\/strong\u003e Fossil Exhibits Timeline\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cstrong\u003eIntroduction\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cstrong\u003eChapter 1.\u003c\/strong\u003e Increase and Diffusion: Early Fossil Exhibits and a History of Institutional Culture\u003cbr\u003e \t \u003cstrong\u003eChapter 2.\u003c\/strong\u003e Group Dynamics: Exhibit Meetings and Expertise\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003cstrong\u003eChapter 3. \u003c\/strong\u003eGroup Dynamics: The Roots of Team Frictions and Complementarities\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003cstrong\u003eChapter 4.\u003c\/strong\u003e Content Development: Debates about Interconnected Processes and Static Things\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003cstrong\u003eChapter 5.\u003c\/strong\u003e Content Development: The Roots of Interpretive Frictions and Complementarities\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003cstrong\u003eChapter 6.\u003c\/strong\u003e Diffusion and Increase: Shifts in Institutional Culture from Modernization to Now\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003cstrong\u003eChapter 7.\u003c\/strong\u003e Conclusion\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003cstrong\u003eChapter 8.\u003c\/strong\u003e Coda: The Nation’s \u003cem\u003eT-rex\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cstrong\u003eAppendix A:\u003c\/strong\u003e Consent Form\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003cstrong\u003eAppendix B:\u003c\/strong\u003e Interview Questionnaires\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \tSample Team Interview Questionnaire\u003cbr\u003e \tSample Oral History Interview Questionnaire\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \tGlossary\u003cbr\u003e \tBibliography\u003cbr\u003e \tIndex\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Berghahn Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51042741616983,"sku":"9781800732018","price":18.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781800732018.jpg?v=1750955421","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/extinct-monsters-to-deep-time-conflict-compromise-and-the-making-of-smithsonians-fossil-halls-9781800732018","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}