Responding to Steven de Clercq (message 2 November 2003)
Steven, I thank you for the suggestion, and completely agree - and ask Gary
Edson to take the amendment into his record of the definitions we are
working with.
I have always been concerned to nourish that link between scientific and
cultural heritage (and I have said in earlier comments in these
conversations that scientific heritage is intimately linked to cultural
heritage - not separate, as many people assume - since both natural history
and an operational experimental science depend on a history of scientific
ideas and concepts, and once we acknowledge that, we must see that
scientific heritage is in fact WITHIN cultural heritage as a totality of
human thought and expression, not outside it).
So I thank you, Steven: that small insertion you suggest is a quite crucial
improvement, and even reinforces my intentions.
Bernice Murphy
===================
At 4/11/2003 07:14 AM, you wrote:
>Dear Bernice, Geoffrey and Gary,
>
>Allow me one amendment to Bernice's last suggestion: Please change "...
>Cultural heritage ..." in "... cultural and scientific heritage ...'.
>
>After all, museums of natural history, botany, geology, paleontology,
>archeology, anthropology (to name a few) keep the primary sources of
>evidence of an enormous part of our scientific heritage, collected over the
>last couple of centuries.
>Of course, one can argue that our scientific heritage is part of our
>culture, and I will immediately agree. However, it is unfortunate that many
>see culture and science as different and often even hostile worlds, as
>illustrated in the fact that many national and local governments have
>different departments of Science and Education and for Culture, often
>reflected in different 'governing bodies' of different types of museums and
>in the debate on the position of research in museums as was earlier
>mentioned during this discussion.
>
>Bernice's definition would then read:
>
>"Museums are institutions that serve society by promoting knowledge,
>appreciation and conservation of the natural world and the cultural and
>scientific heritage of humanity through collections, memories, sites and
>processes they care for, research and interpret for public benefit."
>
>Sorry for this late reaction, I should have noticed this earlier!
>
>Thanks and with best regards,
>
>Steven W.G. de Clercq
>
>Utrecht University, senior consultant Academic Heritage
>Vice-Chair of UMAC, ICOM's International Committee for University Museums
>& Collections
>website: <http://www.icom.museum/umac>
>Straatweg 17, 3603 CV MAARSSEN, the Netherlands
>Tel: OO31-(0)346-567.573; Fax: 0031-(0)346-578.843
>E-mail: [log in to unmask]
>__________________________________________________________________________
>
>
>
>On 02-11-2003 14:38, "Bernice Murphy.com.au" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > Responding to Gary Edson (29 October 2003):
> >
> > Thank you, Gary, for the message indicating how you see the discussion has
> > evolved. I endorse strongly the effort to include more colleagues through
> > incorporating whatever you can accomplish now by way of summary translation
> > into French and Spanish.
> >
> > I have taken time to reflect on the responses of colleagues, and to
> > consider their different perspectives. I also paid attention again to
> > Geoffrey Lewis's suggestions - for his insightful comments on behalf of the
> > work of the Ethics Committee (which he has chaired through the detailed
> > process of revising the ICOM Code of Ethics). I strongly endorse his point
> > that we should be thinking of a definition that advances the interests of
> > 'the museum profession' in its largest scope, not simply museums or museum
> > professionals, or even ICOM members.
> >
> > Concerning one of the definitions you are keeping in circulation (the one I
> > proposed some weeks past), I would prefer to substitute this (revised)
> > version:
> >
> > "Museums are institutions that serve society by promoting knowledge,
> > appreciation and conservation of the natural world and the cultural
> > heritage of humanity through collections, memories, sites and processes
> > they care for, research and interpret for public benefit."
> >
> > In response to Gary's query: to my mind 'memories, images' are not
> > necessarily part of 'collections', but carry a movement towards
> > acknowledging the living, the virtual, the oral or literary image, and the
> > intangible aspects of culture.
> >
> > I have retained 'memories', surrendered 'images' but included 'processes'
> > this time (which could be both scientific and cultural).
> >
> > The important issue about a museum being presumed to be a permanent
> > institution (and some other details) could be added in the points of
> > application that would follow whatever revised definition is finally
> > adopted in the ICOM Statutes.
> >
> > (For clarity, my previous suggestion - now withdrawn - was:
> > Museums are permanent institutions that conserve and communicate knowledge
> > of the natural world and the cultural inheritance of humanity through
> > collections, records, memories, images, and sites they care for, research
> > and interpret, in public trust, for present and future generations." )
> > Bernice Murphy
> > ===============
> >
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