Nation, History, Museum: The Politics of the Past at the National Museum of Australia
The National Museum of Australia opened its doors to the public on 11 March 2001. Located in Canberra, the federal capital, the Museum was the centre-piece of celebrations marking the centenary of Australia’s federation. As such, the Museum’s director, Dawn Casey, described the AU $155 million, state-of-the-art institution as ‘a gift to the nation’. But for some, this was not the sort of present that Australia wanted. In officially opening the Museum, the Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, seemed somewhat under-whelmed, struggling to find anything positive to say about the new edifice. In his speech, the Prime Minister parsimoniously claimed that ‘Whatever may be said and whatever has already been said about the Museum … [it] will change in a very profound way the enjoyment of life for people who live in the national capital’ (Howard, 2001).
Nations as zones of conflict
Introduction An Alternative Model Organisation PART ONE: ZONES OF CONFLICT Introduction The Modernist Critique Ethnosymbolists and Recurring Factors Ethnogenetic Factors Ethnie as Social and Political Actors The Rise of States and Modern Processes Ethnic Continuities and Modern Nations Conclusions PART TWO: THE REVIVALIST REVOLUTION Introduction Romanticism as an Ethnocultural Movement National Revivalism and Social Transformation Moral Innovators National Sacrifice and Mythic Overlaying Conclusions PART THREE: CULTURAL WARS Introduction Cultural Wars in Modern Nations The Roots of Conflict Significance and Consequences Polarisation The Elaboration of a National Identity Persisting Differences Conclusions PART FOUR: HOT AND BANAL NATIONALISMS Introduction The Rise of the Mass Nation Nationalism from below Patterns of Mass Identification with the Nation Fluctuating Identities Banal Nationalism Conclusions PART FIVE: NATIONALISM AND THE CLASH OF CIVILISATIONS Introduction Globalisation and Nationalism Regionalism European Union and the National States The Clash of Civilisations Conclusions
Strangers, Guests, or Clients? Visitor Experiences in Museums
This article discusses how museums relate to their visitors. It introduces three interpretive categories to summarize the ways that museums view their visitors: as Strangers, Guests, or Clients. Strangers: This attitude arises when the museum maintains that its primary responsibility is to the collection and not to the public. Guests: From this point of view, the museum wants to “do good” for visitors primarily through “educational” activities. Clients: In this attitude the museum believes that its primary responsibility is to be accountable to the visitor. This article suggests that social trends will force museums to treat visitors as clients. Institutions will then acknowledge that visitors have needs, expectations, and wants that the museum is obligated to understand and meet. Also discussed are four major categories of experiences that individuals find most satisfying in museums: (1) Social experiences center on one or more other people, besides the visitor; (2) Object experiences give prominence to the artifact or the “real thing”; (3) Cognitive experiences emphasize the interpretive or intellectual aspects of the experience; and (4) Introspective experiences focus on the visitor's personal reflections, usually triggered by an object or a setting in the museum. The categories are based on empirical research conducted in different Smithsonian museums. The article concludes with a brief discussion of museum settings, or “servicescapes,” that support or detract from the experiences of visitors.