Civilizing the Museum

Heumann Gurian, Elaine

Drawing on thirty-five years of experience, and involvement in groundbreaking museums, Gurian presents twenty-two essays that explore the possibilities for making museums more central and relevant to society. Both students and professional in the field will find this of immense interest.

Foreword, Acknowledgments, List of abbreviations, Introduction: reflections on 35 years in the museum field, PART I: The importance of "and": about opportunities, possibilities, taxonomy, and definitions, 1. The concept of fairness: a debate at the American Association of Museums, 1990, 2. The importance of "and": a comment on Excellence and Equity, 1992, 3. The molting of children's museums? An observation, 1998, 4. What is the object of this exercise? A meandering exploration of the many meanings of objects in museums, 1999, 5. Choosing among the options: an opinion about museum definitions, 2002, 6. Timeliness: a discussion for museums, 2003, PART II: A safer place: museums in a civil society, 7. The museum as a socially responsible institution, 1988, 8. Turning the ocean liner slowly: about the process of change in larger institutions, 1990, 9. The opportunity for social service, 1991 8210. A savings bank for the soul: about institutions of memory and congregant spaces, 1996, PART III: Space, the final frontier: museums, construction, architecture, and space planning, 11. Function follows form: how mixed-used spaces in museums build community, 2001, 12. Threshold fear: architecture program planning, 2005, 13. Free at last: a case for the elimination of admission charges in museums, 2005, PART IV: Noodling around with exhibition opportunities: examining the process that influences them, 14. Answers to the ten questions I am most often asked: a review of exhibitions and learning, 1981, 15. Noodling around with exhibition opportunities: the potential meanings of exhibition modalities, 1991, 16. Let's empower all those who have a stake in exhibitions: about the uses, meaning, and failings of the team approach, 1990, 17. Reluctant recognition of the superstar: a paean to individual brilliance, and how it operates, 1992, 18. A blurring of the boundaries, 1994, 19. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: history or metaphor? 1993, PART V: Spirituality: the end of the age of the rational, 20. A Jew among the Indians: how working outside of one's own culture works, 1991, 21. Repatriation in context: the important changes brought to museums by indigenous communities, 1991, 22. Singing and dancing at night: a biographic meaning to working in the spiritual arena, 2004, Bibliography, Index