engleski

Constructing heritage through subjectivity

Working in museums today does not seem to be an easy task, especially for those who have not yet developed mechanisms for adapting to the constantly changing socio- cultural, political and economic circumstances of the postmodern, post- industrial era. Transformed views on culture and heritage in general, the growing importance of digital networking, marketisation of culture, mass tourism, democratisation of voices and the like ‘escape the horizons of curatorial control’ (Fyfe 2006: 40) and transform the authoritative status of museums. Although many museums still try to resist these changes, new developments and transformations still find their way into museum practices. Heumann Gurian’s (2010) distinction between classical and inclusive museums is apparent today, as there are different levels and types of inclusivity that are being explored in a growing number of museums. These might include everyday experiences and important issues that people regularly face in their lives around the globe, ranging from cultural disenfranchisement, natural disasters, migration problems and atrocities during war to more peaceful endeavours to engage local communities. The influence of these museums and heritage projects is considerable, ‘because they experiment with multiple strategies of interactivity, interesting administrative techniques and controversial subject matters that push the boundaries of the field as a whole’(Heumann Gurian 2010: xiii). These institutions, or whatever administrative status they have, also challenge the epistemological foundation of the conventional museum as a producer of objective knowledge (Cameron 2010).

heritage ; museum ; post-modern ; emotion, affective

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