
Visual Arts Publications
Critical Museum Theory/Museum Studies in Canada: A Conversation
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Winter 11-1-2017
Volume
46
Issue
2
Journal
Acadiensis
First Page
223
URL with Digital Object Identifier
https://doi.org/10.1353/aca.2017.0029
Last Page
241
Abstract
CANADIAN SCHOLARS HAVE BEEN CRUCIAL in shaping the active field of critical museum theory/museum studies, with anthropologists, sociologists, historians, art historians, and curators working to challenge and reimagine the educational function, social role, politics, and pedagogy of museums while expanding the very notion of what a "museum" has been in the past and could become in the future. The trajectory of this endeavour has been examined at length in university courses, essays, and handbooks, which all highlight arguments made since the 1960s about the powerful role of museums in reinforcing class distinctions, creating narratives of national identity, and glorifying colonial attempts to subjugate Indigenous peoples as well as more recent considerations of how museums foster the active contributions of visitors, promote varying modes of intercultural exchange, and enable affective encounters with memory. In an effort to reflect on the current state of this field in Canada and share some of its diversity, Lianne McTavish decided to pose questions to leading scholars and invite their response. Her goal was to highlight the issues of particular interest to Canadian museum scholars, which have developed alongside but also in distinction from the burgeoning literature on museums stemming from the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia – all centres of research on museums.
Notes
The article is also openly available at: https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/Acadiensis/article/view/25957