Dynamics in the Field of Museums: Contemporary Challenges for Polish Museologists

Elżbieta Nieroba

doi:10.3390/socsci7050077

Abstract

The aim of this text is to present and analyze the attitudes of Polish museologists towards the changes currently taking place in the field of museums. More specifically, it will focus on their opinions regarding the evolution of museums—from the traditional model, based on symbolic violence, to the contemporary model, which accents the subjectivity of the audience. Its conclusions, based on analyses of 26 qualitative interviews with employees of Polish museums, are as follows: the organizational changes taking place in Polish museums do not relieve museologists from bureaucratic work; the collections in museums distinguish them from other institutions of culture; there is a struggle for symbolic advantage among actors in the field of museology; museologists do not know their audience well. The interviews also revealed that the assumptions of the New Museology have less impact on practice than is suggested in literature, and that everyday museology combines elements of the ‘old’ and ‘new’ philosophies.

Highlights

In the 18th century, the standard functioning of museums was called into question
My aim is to analyze the extent to which Polish museologists have internalized the idea behind the New Museology, and whether or not they are ready to put its principles into practice
I assumed that the attitudes of the actors towards the aforementioned changes would depend on their experience,2 as well as the profile of the museums where they worked

Summary

Introduction

In the 18th century, the standard functioning of museums was called into question. At the same time, modern museums began to appear. Consideration of the function of the museum in a wider sociocultural context has opened up a dialog on its relations with official authorities (Duncan and Wallach 1980; Duncan 2006), its legitimization of high culture (Bourdieu et al 1991; Bourdieu 1996; DiMaggio 1986), and its role as a venue for the production of knowledge, truth, rationality, and social discipline (Hooper-Greenhill 2003) While this dialog has mainly focused on art museums, it has significantly developed the discourse on the role museums in general, again raising John Cotton Dana’s key question from 1917: does the world need museums While this dialog has mainly focused on art museums, it has significantly developed the discourse on the role museums in general, again raising John Cotton Dana’s key question from 1917: does the world need museums (Dana 1917, p. 29)?

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Conclusion