Museological criticism and museum practice : how far can museum practice be informed by museological criticism? : (with reference to the National Galleries of Scotland and the Royal Museums of Scotland)

Abstract

In this dissertation I will be looking at a selective range of museological criticism that has been applied to the educative purpose and functions of museums and more specifically to galleries from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. I will give an outline of these criticisms, their development, the basis of their arguments and the implications they have had for museum and gallery educational practice. This will, it is hoped, illustrate some of the social, cultural and economic developments which have affected both museological criticism and museum practice. In conclusion I will evaluate the extent to which museum and gallery practice can be informed by museological criticism by looking at the current educational practices of two institutions whose collections incorporate the subject areas of the museological criticisms that I have selected.