> >On Tue, 27 Feb 1996, Eric Siegel wrote: > >> This thread gets weirder and weirder: are museums "agents of social >> reproduction?" And if so, what does that mean? And does this tie back >> to the thread about sex in the diorama? >> >> Eric Siegel >> [log in to unmask] >> And Mr. Perry replied: >"Museums are agents of social reproduction" means that museums aid in the >perpetuation of the social hierarchy, that the children of working-class >parents end up in working-class jobs while the children of upper-class >parents inherit their positions, as well. Museums are avowed to transmit >knowledge that is useful for circulation within the uppermiddle strata, >and these places are made friendly to those who already "know" what to do >in a museum and are somewhat conversant with the traditions and fetishes >of academic (read "high") art. {snip} >Richard Perry, UC San Diego, [log in to unmask] So, perhaps the way to put it concisely would be "Museums re-inforce the status quo" and cement the position of the elite"? Still a loaded statement, if less kinky? -- - The free mind must have one policeman: Irony. -- Elbert Hubbard [[neil hathaway [log in to unmask]]]