I can't resist the impulse to discuss Claude Ardouin's interesting points
regarding those elusive elements of material culture, and how they are
changing our perceptions of what museums are and will be. One of the first
lectures we do in the prerequisite museum studies course at U of C concerns
material culture. We define it very broadly as "anything created or used by
humans". Material culture in this sense includes the air in a balloon, the
songs on the airwaves, the farm's plough horse. And, yes, the virtual museum!

But how do we preserve and present material culture? Obviously we have to
train our professionals to use every scrap of available technology along
with all their personal creativity. The problem is packaging that into a
graduate program!



At 12:43 PM 29/12/98 EST, you wrote:
>Dear Ms Thomson,
>
>Now, in museum studies, it is not easy to say, what is needed, and what is
>not. Museums are undergoing deep transformations, with a complex role played
>by technology. Just among the possible examples (which in turn combine in
>various ways):
>- We can see virtual museums developing (completely virtual), even if many in
>the profession do not very much like that;
>- We can also see various roles played by images and other non material media,
>either in relation with, or independently of, material collections.
>
>So, it is possible that, in your case, the choice of what to include as basic
>and optional courses will also depend on what audience you target. Let me try
>to explain in another way. I am myself a specialist of African museums and
>African cultures. We have seen that we cannot separate, on one side, material
>collections of traditional African arts and crafts, and, on the other side,
>all the non material cultural creativity which creates and determines the
>whole context in which they are produced, utilized, etc. Particularly, we have
>to pay attention to the oral traditions, to songs, dances, etc. So, courses
>designed for museum professionals in Africa will have to include a solid
>introduction to oral tradition as a medium of cultural knowledge, and as an
>important tool in understanding / interpreting material collections. I wonder,
>whether you will not have the same need in Canada, in museums dealing with
>Native-american cultures.
>
>This can bring to look at the importance of the management of information for
>museums. There is a tradition to put the emphasis on collection management,
>which is of course a primary responsibility of museums. The role of
>information management is less stressed, maybe because it is understood as
>part of collection management, or as collection documentation. However, it
>seems obvious that, today, the way information is managed by museums
>(involving the management of collections, the strategies of exhibition, of on
>site and distance outreach, of research, of collecting and utilizing relevant
>information, etc.), and the very wide and dynamic connections which are
>crossing the world, make information management a very sensitive aspect of
>museum work. So, it is appropriate to reflect upon, whether, and in which
>ways, your students can get familiar with these issues (which relate also to
>other significant fields, such as cultural resource management and
>preservation).
>
>Another field of interest to the profession deals with the role of new
>technologies in museum work. It is important for general museum management,
>for collection management, for exhibition, education, etc., etc.
>
>This was the short contribution I wanted to make to your question. I hope it
>will be useful.
>
>With respect, and Happy New Year to all the list,
>
>Claude Ardouin
>Free-lance consultant in Montpellier, France
>
>
Jane Sproull Thomson