Defining the Modern Museum: A Case Study of the Challenges of Exchange

Abstract

The entry point of Defining the Modern Museum is the claim that the modern museum, a synecdoche of the intellectual and physical World (singular and capitalized), has been a powerful yet mythical idea, impossible to be materially accomplished. Rather than focusing on theoretical – therefore ideal – paradigms of what a museum should be, Lianne McTavish’s goal is to apply critical theory to the (historically traceable) practices of one institution in particular: the New Brunswick Museum (NBM), the oldest continuing museum in Canada. Throughout the volume, the writer criticizes the abundance of investigations that use her same theoretical scope, yet to ultimately prove the democratic success of certain contemporary museum models, or the commodification and dissolution of this type of institution into mere massive spectacle. She warns readers that her endeavor in Defining the Modern Museum is to identify continuities and contradictions rather than offer a definite diagnosis of this institution or museums at large.

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