David:

I didn't suggest that academic writing was inherently "better" than exhibit writing, YOU did in the post to which I was responding.  Your comment continued the existing polarity which was the topic of discussion.  I thought the discussion was started by a student who perceived that academicians felt they were superior - I never said museum folk were better than academicians, I only agreed that academicians tend to look down their noses at "applied" versions of their fields.  I, too, think museum and academic work should be complimentary, and have often hired academics to conduct research and write reports which we then turn into exhibit scripts.  In fact, I've hired historians to conduct research into areas not previously covered, and thereby supported their work - making them dependent on the museum in a sense.  Why, some of my best friends are historians    :)))

Chris Dill

========================================================Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).