Dr. Christian Müller-Straten:

It isn't about BETTER, it's about DIFFERENT. Perhaps this is a 
particularly American attitude...something arising from the American 
notions of equality and fairness that formed early in our Colonial period 
and are strongly held today. 

Judith Martin (aka Miss Manners) wrote a fascinating book defending 
American etiquette and exploring the social and political milieu under 
which many of our modern attitudes arose. 

I highly recommend it as a tool for understanding why the Americans on 
this list are more open to "outsider" interpretations than are the 
Europeans. 


Diane G. 

On Sun, 5 Mar 2006 21:28:00 GMT, "Dr. Christian Müller-Straten" 
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>"Jeremy" <[log in to unmask]> schrieb:
>Hi Darryl,
>
>Just to clarify, I am entirely in favour of
>'unauthorized' tours. I was using the term simply to
>distinguish them from the official tours produced by
>museums themselves.
>
>Jeremy.
>
>Dear Jeremy and rest of the list,
>
>Before getting into another discussion about a wonderful chaotic idea, I
>would like to remind all in favour of unauthorized tours that such group
>tours by real persons from the outside are forbidden in many museums
>allover the world to prevent the worst (just imagine Nazis conducting
>unauthorized tours in European former concentration camps and memorials)
>and protect the right of work of their own interpreters. Have you
>forgotten the conflicts with the museums missions?
>
>Why always thinking that outsiders are better than the staff? Is the
>staff in US museums really unable to do a good job? Have they lost their
>inventive power, their creativity, their scientific impetus? Why always
>being in favour of something totally anarchic?
>
>I am satisfied with ordinary work done well. For me as a longtime ICOM
>member it is up to museums to care for the objects, inform, to
>interprete, to combine education with entertainment. This can nowadays
>only be done knowing the vested interests of the visitors. If they don'
>t do it for any reasons, they loose the right to be called "museum".
>
>Sorry to be that rigid again, but I do not esteem the background of
>these proposals.
>
>Best regards
>
>Dr. Christian Müller-Straten
>
>Verlag Dr. Christian Müller-Straten / MUSEUMS AGENTUR
>Kunzweg 23, 81243 München, T. 089-839 690 43, Fax -44
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