37226 - Museum and Scientific Institution

Learning outcomes

The course is designed for students with an interest in science and technology museums, science centres, and industrial and corporate museums, Students will be introduced not only to the history and evolution up to the present of these institutions, but also to of other equally important forms of permanent and temporary exhibitions presenting and representing to the public science- and technology-related narratives. The aim is to offer them an opportunity of exploring the variety of such institutions and exhibits, their distinctive features, organization, structure and objectives, the development of specific professional profiles, and their changing relation with the public.

Course contents

Part 1. Historical introduction

1. The gradual transition from private to public collections.

Private cabinets of natural objects and artefacts were created and managed in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth centuries by members of royal families, of the aristocracy and of the wealthy bourgeoisie primarily for status and private entertainment. The aim of this section is to examine the process by which they became accessible to a larger public, and changed their original structure and objectives.

2. Museums in the Nineteenth Century.

The new status and objectives of the collections of natural items (including live specimens as in the case of botanical gardens and zoos) and of artefacts. Among the themes that will be discussed will be the growing importance of the educational mission of the museums, and role of local and national governmental agencies in their organization and structure.

3. National and international exhibitions as forms of (re)presenting scientific and technological progress.

The nineteenth century saw the extraordinary development of large scale temporary exhibitions as a forum for displaying the progress of science, technology and the arts to a large public, consisting in the case of the international events of millions of visitors. We shall consider the cultural, socio-economic and political aspects of these events, and the change of their format over time, and in particular their impact on the organization of science museums

4. Museums in the first half of the twentieth century

In this session we shall examine the location of most major museums in specially designed buildings, the development of a professional approach to the organization of exhibits.. Although the traditional commitment to education and the format of the museum as a “book in objects” continued to prevail, in the early twentieth century the first attempt to engage visitors in a more active role made, resulting in the creation of the first interactive displays.

Part 2. Contemporary science museum and exhibits

5. Science museums after 1970

Object of the this class is the re-formulation of the scope and organization of museums that took place from the 1970s onwards. Particular attention will be devoted to the rise of the science centres, and the diffusion of interactive and multimedia displays and generally of the participatory approach which is the distinctive feature of contemporary museums. The “public understanding of science” approach, and the blending of education and entertainment in new specially designed environments, will also be discussed.

6. Private (corporate) museums

Private and especially corporate museums and collections are a rather recent and rapidly expanding phenomenon. The aim of this section is to compare and contrast different types of such exhibits, discuss their organization, the way in which they construct narratives of their own historical background and production processes, their distinctive agendas and organization.

7. Controversies under the roofs of the museums

In the recent past exhibitions dealing with historical events, important theories, discoveries or inventions and their subsequent developments and implications, have generated intense debate not only among the professionals but also the lay public. We shall discuss some of the most interesting such interesting controversies and their implications with regard to the organization and management of exhibitions, and the response of the visitors.

8. The new “language” and communication tools of museums

Websites are not only vital channels for promotion and for providing essential information to potential visitors, but also a way of keeping in touch with then and of reaching out to a virtual public. Ever more sophisticated websites are available, offering virtual tours, thematic in-depth explorations of particular sections, and engaging interactive platforms. The aim of this section is to examine some of the digital platforms, compare their approaches, and discuss how they developed distinctive profiles.

NB: The topics of the syllabus may be changed, in which case the variations will be communicated by the end of September 2015. Students are responsible for keeping informed about such changes.

Readings/Bibliography

1. The early history of science museums: Motivations, practices and organization

Jeffrey Abt , “The Origins of the Public Museum”, in Sharon Macdonald (ed.) The Politics of Display: Museums, Science, Culture (London Routledge 2008), p. 115
Paula Findlen, Possessing Nature Museums, collecting and scientific culture in early modern Italy (Berkeley; University of California Press, 1994)

Chapter 3, “Sites of knowledge”, pp. 97-150

2. Museums in the Nineteenth Century

 Stella V. F. Butler, Science and technology museums (Leicester; Leicester University Press, 1992), Chapter 1, “Science and technology in display”, pp. 1-14

Tony Bennett, The birth of the museum. History, theory, politics (London New York Routledge 1995), Chapter 1, “The formation of the museum”, pp. 17-58

3. Other forms of presenting scientific and technological progress

Paul Greenhalgh, Ephemeral vistas: The “Expositions universelles, Great Exhibitions and world’s fairs 1851-1939 (Manchester University Press, 1988), Chapter 1, “Origins and conceptual development”, pp. 3-26

Robert W. Rydell, “World Fairs and Museums” in Sharon Macdonald (ed.) The Politics of Display: Museums, Science, Culture (London Routledge 2008), 135

4. Museums in the first half of the twentieth century

Stella V. F. Butler, Science and technology museums (Leicester; Leicester University Press, 1992), Chapter 2, “Monuments to manufacture”, pp. 15-42

5. Museums after 1970

Marc-Denis Weitze, “Science Centers: examples from the U.S. and from Germany”, in Jürgen Teichmann, Arthur Stinner, Falk Rieß, eds., From the itinerant lecturers of the 18th century to popularizing physics in the 21st century – exploring the relationship between learning and entertainment (Munich, Winnipeg, Oldenburg 2004)

Macdonald, Sharon. “Supermarket science”, Science as Culture, pp. 106-123

6. Private (corporate) museums

Seligson, Joelle, “Corporate, culture? One part education, one part sales: this is the corporate museum”, Museum, November-December (2010),

Nick Nissey and Andrea Casey, “The Politics of the Exhibition: Viewing Corporate Museums Through the Paradigmatic Lens of Organizational Memory”, British Journal of Management, 13 (2002)

7 Controversies under the roofs of the museums

Macdonald, Sharon, Silverstone, Roger (1992) “Science on display: the representation of scientific controversy in museum exhibitions”, Public Understanding of Science, 1: 69-87

Thomas F. Gieryn, “Balancing Acts: Science, Enola Gay, and History Wars at the Smithsonian,” in Sharon Macdonald (ed.) The Politics of Display: Museums, Science, Culture,ed. (London/New York: Routledge, 1998), pp. 197–228

NB: The readings of this syllabus may be changed, in which case the variations will be communicated by the end of September 2015. Students are responsible for keeping informed about such changes.

Teaching methods

Class-room teaching

Class discussion is a fundamental component of the course: students will be expected to read in advance the assigned readings, and to be prepared to comments on them.

Visits

The class will visit three typologically different museums.

- A national science and technology museum (Museo Nazionale della Scienza Leonardo da Vinci, Milan, to be confirmed)

- A local museum (Museo del Patrimonio Industriale, Bologna)

- A private corporate museum (Museo Ducati, Borgo Panigale, to be confirmed)

Working talks with the personnel of the museums (administrators and curators) will be arranged.

The class immediately preceding the first of the visits will be devoted to their preparation. It will be base on documents provided by the museums, including those available in their websites. The day following the last visit will be devoted to the discussion of the visits and the meetings with the museums’ personnel.

Assessment methods

The final assesment will consist of two parts, each of them contributing 50% of the final marks

1. Oral examination based on 3 of the thematic sections of the programme (4 for the students aspiring to marks above 27).

2. A report on one of the museums visited or on other institutions (science/technology museum, science centre, corporate museum) of students’ choice. The reports can be prepared either individually by each student, or – preferably - by groups of 2/3 students.

Teaching tools

The lectures will be complemented by powerpoint presentations.

The websites of museums, and other on-line documents, will be accessed during the classes, using both class-room facilities and students’ PCs and tablets

Office hours

See the website of Anna Guagnini