Interpreting the new museology

Abstract

The museum world has undergone radical change since the 1970s. Political and economic pressures have forced its professionals to shift their attention from their collections towards visitors. Whereas in the past the museum tended to be exclusive and elitist, signs of a progressive opening-up and greater accessibility have appeared. A climate of increasing reflexivity within the profession is identified as a ‘new museology’. The paper draws on data derived from semi-structured interviews with curators and directors from five local museums. I argue that the movement towards a more visitor-centred ethos can be seen as entailing a corresponding shift in the identity of the museum professional, from ‘legislator’ to ‘interpreter’ of cultural meaning. The argument, adapted from Zygmunt Bauman, is that intellectuals are being redefined in a shift from legislator to interpreter. Finally, I argue that this process of transition, as it occurs in museums, is by no means complete. Drawing on Basil Bernstein’s seminal work in educational sociology I propose that museums are also resistant to these forces of change.