Cultural Dynamics: Museums and Democracy in Motion

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Guido Fackler
• Subject Area: Social and Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology ; General and Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies ; Art History
• Term: since 2022
• Website: Homepage
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 508330765

Museums are in a moment of change - the idea of what a museum is, who it is for and why it does what it does needs to be considered more carefully, as the institution repositions itself within contemporary social and cultural dynamics of democracy. Museums internationally are undergoing a process of renegotiation and repositioning - sparked from within and in response to external factors. Many now position themselves as socially-important actors addressing contemporary political topics, relating to inclusion and exclusion, representation and recognition. From the 19th century, the UK and Germany have similar national museum histories, yet very different political trajectories. The contemporary museum landscape allows for international crossfertilisation of ideas, concepts and practices, yet the idea of 'the museum' in the UK and Germany differs markedly.The project's premise is that while museums and notions of democracy in the two countries are different, they are changing as a result of a dynamic process of global interrelations and contrasting reactions. In other words, the developments in each country respond to similar globally-circulating issues, to shared transnational histories and humanistic values, yet they do so in different ways. Rather than focussing on a historical perspective and analysis, our project is innovative in taking a contemporary critical museological perspective to address this phenomenon. It aims to analyse how, and to understand why, these interconnected processes produce results that are often quite different, despite using the same terminology, emerging from 'universal' ideas and within the same form of institutional setting. Examining the idea of 'the museum' in each country, through case studies which address, represent or respond to issues of democracy, our project highlights such contrasts, while simultaneously allowing for critical analysis of the differences, similarities and changes.Our project involves researchers from the UK and Germany undertaking transnational research on and in museums in both countries. The methods include institutional and exhibition analyses, interviews, visitor research, and questionnaires to collect and analyse data, and workshops with museum professionals to discuss preliminary findings, and co-produce sector-specific training and a toolkit. Our results will be published in a co-edited project book, in academic journal articles and conference presentations, in public communication articles, a PhD thesis, bespoke museums sector training events and a co-produced online toolkit for museum staff internationally. We aim to enrich the development of a new reflexive Museum Studies and museum practice - a field which has too often rested on the assumed 'universality' of dominant national understandings of museums. Furthermore, in times of increasing populist tendencies, the project intends to strengthen the capabilities of museums to act as dialogical democratic public spaces.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: United Kingdom
• Partner Organisation: Arts and Humanities Research Council
• Cooperation Partner: Professorin Dr. Susannah Eckersley