Museum Studies: An Anthology of Contexts provides a comprehensive interdisciplinary collection of approaches to museums and their relation to history, culture, philosophy and their adoring or combative publics.

• Brings together for the first time a wide array of texts that mix contemporary analysis with historical documentation
• Includes five sections that highlight central themes in museum studies: issue-oriented contexts in museology; states of "nature"; the status of nations; history, memory and other locations; and arts, crafts and visitors
• Addresses the development of museums, the role of the museum in society, and issues central to contemporary museum studies
• Opens with an introductory essay that situates museum studies in a truly interdisciplinary context and includes an opening essay for each section that guides the reader through the selections
• Includes a bibliography and list of resources devoted to museum studies that makes the volume an authoritative guide on the subject

About the Author
Bettina Messias Carbonell has recently joined the faculty of the Department of English, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York. Prior to this she taught interdisciplinary seminars in visual cultures, museum studies, American studies, aesthetics, and ethics at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University. She also taught in the Graduate Program in American Studies / Museum and Communities concentration at Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut.

Reviews
"Combining important historical texts, classic critical analyses, and current commentary on the museum, this anthology is a unique resource for Museum Studies. It is especially useful in assembling sophisticated discussions of many kinds of institutions, including museums of art, history, anthropology, and natural history." Bruce Altshuler, New York University

"The rich diversity of contexts and commentaries in this collection reveals the fascination of the museum not only for curators and museologists, but also for anthropologists, architects, politicians, historians, critics, and poets. The breadth of the survey is a timely reminder that the condition of our museums is - and has always been - a barometer of social attitudes and change." Helen Rees Leahy, University of Manchester

Book Information
ISBN 9780631228257
Author Bettina Messias Carbonell
Format Hardback
Page Count 680
Imprint Wiley-Blackwell
Publisher John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Weight(grams) 1332g
Dimensions(mm) 255mm * 181mm * 52mm