A Companion to Museum Studies

by Macdonald , Sharon

• ISBN13: 9781405108393
• ISBN10: 1405108398
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-04-21
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

A Companion to Museum Studiescaptures 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.

Author Biography

Sharon Macdonald is Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Manchester. Her books include Theorizing Museums (edited with Gordon Fyfe, Blackwell 1996), Reimagining Culture (1997), The Politics of Display (ed., 1998), Behind the Scenes at the Science Museum (2002), and Exhibition Experiments (edited with Paul Basu, Blackwell 2007).

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	ix
Notes on Contributors	xii
Acknowledgments	xix
Bibliographical Note	xx
Expanding Museum Studies: An Introduction	1	(12)
Sharon Macdonald
Part I Perspectives, Disciplines, Concepts	13	(98)
Introduction	14	(3)
Cultural Theory and Museum Studies	17	(16)
Rhiannon Mason
Sociology and the Social Aspects of Museums	33	(17)
Gordon Fyfe
Art History and Museology: Rendering the Visible Legible	50	(14)
Donald Preziosi
Museums and Anthropologies: Practices and Narratives	64	(17)
Anthony Alan Shelton
Collecting Practices	81	(17)
Sharon Macdonald
The Conundrum of Ephemerality: Time, Memory, and Museums	98	(13)
Susan A. Crane
Part II Histories, Heritage, Identities	111	(108)
Introduction	112	(3)
The Origins of the Public Museum	115	(20)
Jeffrey Abt
World Fairs and Museums	135	(17)
Robert W. Rydell
Making and Remaking National Identities	152	(18)
Flora Edouwaye S. Kaplan
Museums and Community	170	(16)
Elizabeth Crooke
Re-staging Histories and Identities	186	(12)
Rosmarie Beier-de Haan
Heritage	198	(21)
Steven Hoelscher
Part III Architecture, Space, Media	219	(100)
Introduction	220	(3)
Museum Architecture: A Brief History	223	(22)
Michaela Giebelhausen
Insight versus Entertainment: Untimely Meditations on the Architecture of Twentieth-century Art Museums	245	(18)
Vittorio Magnago Lampugnani
Civic Seeing: Museums and the Organization of Vision	263	(19)
Tony Bennett
Space Syntax: The Language of Museum Space	282	(20)
Bill Hillier
Kali Tzortzi
New Media	302	(17)
Michelle Henning
Part IV Visitors, Learning, Interacting	319	(58)
Introduction	320	(3)
Living in a Learning Society: Museums and Free-choice Learning	323	(17)
John H. Falk
Lynn D. Dierking
Marianna Adams
Museum Education	340	(13)
George E. Hein
Interactivity: Thinking Beyond	353	(9)
Andrea Witcomb
Studying Visitors	362	(15)
Eilean Hooper-Greenhill
Part V Globalization, Profession, Practice	377	(96)
Introduction	378	(3)
Globalization: Incorporating the Museum	381	(17)
Mark W. Rectanus
Cultural Economics	398	(17)
Bruno S. Frey
Stephan Meier
The Museum Profession	415	(16)
Patrick J. Boylan
Museum Ethics	431	(11)
Tristram Besterman
Museum Practice: Legal Issues	442	(15)
Patty Gerstenblith
Non-Western Models of Museums and Curation in Cross-cultural Perspective	457	(16)
Christina Kreps
Part VI Culture Wars, Transformations, Futures	473	(82)
Introduction	474	(3)
Incivilities in Civil(-ized) Places: ``Culture Wars'' in Comparative Perspective	477	(17)
Steven C. Dubin
Science Museums and the Culture Wars	494	(15)
Steven Conn
Postmodern Restructurings	509	(16)
Nick Prior
Exposing the Public	525	(18)
Mieke Bal
The Future of the Museum	543	(12)
Charles Saumarez Smith
Index	555