(P/B) MUSEUMS AND THE SHAPING OF KNOWLEDGE

Παρουσίαση

The concept of the museum has evolved over the last 600 years, from private collection, to the grand national museum, until the present day when museums can be found in contexts which are far removed from the traditional, austere museum - in prisons, or on boats or farms. Many museums today are responding to commercial pressures by actively re-organising their spaces and collections, in order to present themselves as environments for self-directed learning, often to new audiences. Museums and the Shaping of Knowledge examines past and current museum practices to consider what constitutes a museum, what its role is in society, and how it is active in the shaping of knowledge, Eilean Hooper-Greenhill shows how the interpretation of objects has long been shaped by the cultural context within which they are displayed. She uses analytical tools drawn from Foucault's theories of history, institutions and classification to illuminate the study of the past, present and future of museums. This innovative review of past and contemporary practices and theories will provide a valuable point of reference for museums professionals planning future policies. It will also provide powerful insights for academics and students in the fields of cultural studies, an history and material cultures. Eilean Hooper-Greenhill is Director of the Department of Museum Studies at the University of Leicester. She is the editor of Museum, Media, Message and The Educational Role of the Museum, and the author of Museums and their Visitors (all published by Roudedge). (from the publisher)
"[Museums and the Shaping of Knowledge] is useful for both museum historians and students of material culture generally. Hooper-Greenhill has produced an important book that will be standard reading for those interested in museums as a cultural product of particular times.'"
(Gerald Pocius, Material History Review)

Περιεχόμενα

List of plates
1. What is a museum?
2. The first museum of Europe?
3. The palace of the prince
4. The irrational cabinet
5. The 'cabinet of the world'
6. The Repository of the Royal Society
7. The disciplinary museum
8. A useful past for the present
Bibliography
Index