1. The book presents an interdisciplinary examination of museum practice and constructs a useful theory of museum use as formative societal activity.
2. The book will be of interest to academics and students engaged in the study of museums and social justice. It will also be essential reading for practitioners with an interest in theory and museum transformation.
3. There are very few sole-authored titles that focus on museums and social responsibility and even fewer that focus on the theory behind the social role of museums. The proposed book will fill that gap.
Kevin Coffee is a museum practitioner and museologist who has worked in the museums sector for more than 35 years, including as head of exhibitions for the American Museum of Natural History in New York and the Chicago Academy of Sciences, and within the National Park Service. During that time, he has advised, managed, and directed scores of projects for a range of museums and cultural organizations in North America, Europe, and Asia, and in that work has engaged culture creators and users in developing new forms of exhibitions, programs, landscapes, and museums. He currently resides in Lowell Massachusetts, United States.
Title: Museums and Social Responsibility: A Theory of Social Practice
Author: Coffee, Kevin
ISBN: 9781032120539
Binding:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
Publication Date: 2022-12-23
Number of Pages: 202
Weight: 0.3401 kg
Kevin Coffee's new book - Museums and Social Responsibility - is much needed by researchers, administrators and practitioners alike. Coffee tackles the hard problems of ideology and social responsibility in cogent, logical ways not often seen in museum reform critiques. A fundamental tenet ,with which I wholeheartedly agree, is that museums are not neutral organizations. Nor should we expect them to be. Coffee fearlessly tackles the 'isms' - racism, sexism and so on, as well as power and privilege in ways that make us sit up and re-think past stances in new ways.
Doris Ash, Ph.D., Professor of Science Education, Emerita, University of California Santa Cruz
Kevin Coffee is a veteran scholar/practitioner having spent his career thoughtfully using method and theory to inform museum practice, and vice versa, with a critical assessment of its signs, symbols, values, and meaning. Museums are at a crossroads of accountability and relevance, and this book provides essential guidance in the transformation of museums as a learning experience.
Robert R. Janes, Founder: Coalition of Museums for Climate Justice: https://cmcj.ca/
