What do you think?
Rate this book
Museums: A History
This comprehensive history of museums begins with the origins of collecting in prehistory and traces the evolution of museums from grave goods to treasure troves, from the Alexandrian Temple of the Muses to the Renaissance cabinets of curiosities, and onto the diverse array of modern institutions worldwide. The development of museums as public institutions is explored in the context of world history with a special emphasis on the significance of objects and collecting. The book examines how the successful exportation of the European museum model and its international adaptations have created public institutions that are critical tools in diverse societies for understanding the world. Rather than focusing on a specialized aspect of museum history, this volume provides a comprehensive synthesis of museums worldwide from their earliest origins to the present. A History tells the fascinating story of how museums respond to the needs of the cultures that create them.Readers will come away with an understanding the comprehensive history of museums from prehistoric collections to the presentthe evolution of museums presented in the context of world historythe development of museums considered in diverse cultural contextsglobal perspective on museumsthe object-centered history of museumsmuseums as memory institutionsA constant theme throughout the book is that, useums have evolved to become institutions in which objects and learning are associated to help human beings understand the world around them. Illustrations amplify the discussions.
- GenresMuseums
326 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 7, 2016
2 people are currently reading
39 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 14, 2024
Museums have an outstretched history, travelling back to the 3rd century BC, when the first known museum was opened in the University of Alexandria in Egypt. Over the years, conversely, the museum culture has spread to practically every part of the world and today it has become scarce to find a country that does not have a museum, no matter how diminutive it may be. This implies that the perception of the museum has become a worldwide notion that has managed to survive the ravages of the 20th century.
John Edward Simmons, the author of this book, has been a zookeeper, collections manager, museum studies instructor, director of a graduate program in museum studies, and a museum expert. With over forty years of know-how in the foeld of museum studies, Simmons analyses how the character of museums has changed over time, in consonance with their time-honored role of collecting, preserving and sharing prosperous collections. Museums now find that they bear an additional responsibility in sustaining the expansion of communities. No doubt, museums can be a place to help contour community identity and bring diverse community groups together, a catalyst for regeneration through the creation of new venues and civic spaces and a resource for developing the skills and confidence of members of those communities. Museums are using their exclusive collections and services to address social issues. They are striving to be places where all sections of the community can have a voice and be reflected in a museum's collections and displays.
The product description of this book specifies the fact that readers of this book will come away with an understanding of: 1) the comprehensive history of museums from prehistoric collections to the present; 2) the evolution of museums presented in the context of world history; 3) the development of museums considered in diverse cultural contexts; 4) global perspective on museums; 5) the object-centered history of museums and 6) museums as memory institutions. Simmons shows, how, the museum as an institution tells the story of man the world over and how humanity has survived in its environment over the years. It houses things created by nature and by man and in our modern society it houses the cultural soul of the nation. In our modern society, it has become necessary and indeed urgent for museums to redefine their missions, their goals, their functions and their strategies to reflect the expectations of a changing world.
Today, museums must become agents of change and development they must mirror events in society and become instruments of progress by calling attention to actions and events that will encourage development in the society. They must become institutions that can foster peace, they must be seen as promoting the ideals of democracy and transparency in governance in their communities, and they must become part of the bigger communities that they serve and reach out to every group in the society.
In contemporary years, regardless of the augmentation of data on museums, there are few books, which have been competent to offer a more succinct foreword to museum history. Simmons unquestionably seeks fill this vacuum. Simmons makes his reader deliberate over the fact, that for museums to keep hold of their consequence and become positive partners in the advance of our societies, they should use their distinctive resources and potentials to become more reactive to the dynamics of contemporary society and urban alteration. As institutions possessing critical resources in society, they can encourage, promote and foster the best of the cultural and democratic ideals of the nations. Without being political, they can give voice to the citizenry in matters pertaining to how they are governed by creating avenues for free discussions and dialogue; they can create a confluence where the events of today can be exhibited and discussed for the collective good of all.
As past keepers, museums embrace the information of cultural origins and the meaning of societies' transformations. Rooted in the historical time hypothesis, museums have already chosen the criteria which qualify objects to penetrate history. Hence, museums turn the object into a cultural past worthy of preserving as a symbol of its time. The object loses 'its innocence' to join the well-organised 'labelisation process' of time. This selection of information and communication affects the perception people have about their culture and about the world since museums have the ability to transform a selective and partial history into 'absolute truth'.
A past reviewer infers thus: ‘Simmons has given us an intellectual, yet easily readable, enjoyable publication. This book is so interesting that it is like a gripping novel that captures you from the beginning and holds you right through to the end. This reader could hardly put it down.’ I wholeheartedly agree.
The price is tad on the upper side. But when you mull over the conscientiously selected examples, tables, and figures sprinkled all the way through the text, you do not seem to mind. As for me, the sum with which I ended up making the online buy was meant to be spent for a medical checkup. Thank God that my better half believed that I had truly done the checkup. Thank God for my dishonesty and the gullibility of the lady. After all, what's the point in living if you cannot feel alive?
John Edward Simmons, the author of this book, has been a zookeeper, collections manager, museum studies instructor, director of a graduate program in museum studies, and a museum expert. With over forty years of know-how in the foeld of museum studies, Simmons analyses how the character of museums has changed over time, in consonance with their time-honored role of collecting, preserving and sharing prosperous collections. Museums now find that they bear an additional responsibility in sustaining the expansion of communities. No doubt, museums can be a place to help contour community identity and bring diverse community groups together, a catalyst for regeneration through the creation of new venues and civic spaces and a resource for developing the skills and confidence of members of those communities. Museums are using their exclusive collections and services to address social issues. They are striving to be places where all sections of the community can have a voice and be reflected in a museum's collections and displays.
The product description of this book specifies the fact that readers of this book will come away with an understanding of: 1) the comprehensive history of museums from prehistoric collections to the present; 2) the evolution of museums presented in the context of world history; 3) the development of museums considered in diverse cultural contexts; 4) global perspective on museums; 5) the object-centered history of museums and 6) museums as memory institutions. Simmons shows, how, the museum as an institution tells the story of man the world over and how humanity has survived in its environment over the years. It houses things created by nature and by man and in our modern society it houses the cultural soul of the nation. In our modern society, it has become necessary and indeed urgent for museums to redefine their missions, their goals, their functions and their strategies to reflect the expectations of a changing world.
Today, museums must become agents of change and development they must mirror events in society and become instruments of progress by calling attention to actions and events that will encourage development in the society. They must become institutions that can foster peace, they must be seen as promoting the ideals of democracy and transparency in governance in their communities, and they must become part of the bigger communities that they serve and reach out to every group in the society.
In contemporary years, regardless of the augmentation of data on museums, there are few books, which have been competent to offer a more succinct foreword to museum history. Simmons unquestionably seeks fill this vacuum. Simmons makes his reader deliberate over the fact, that for museums to keep hold of their consequence and become positive partners in the advance of our societies, they should use their distinctive resources and potentials to become more reactive to the dynamics of contemporary society and urban alteration. As institutions possessing critical resources in society, they can encourage, promote and foster the best of the cultural and democratic ideals of the nations. Without being political, they can give voice to the citizenry in matters pertaining to how they are governed by creating avenues for free discussions and dialogue; they can create a confluence where the events of today can be exhibited and discussed for the collective good of all.
As past keepers, museums embrace the information of cultural origins and the meaning of societies' transformations. Rooted in the historical time hypothesis, museums have already chosen the criteria which qualify objects to penetrate history. Hence, museums turn the object into a cultural past worthy of preserving as a symbol of its time. The object loses 'its innocence' to join the well-organised 'labelisation process' of time. This selection of information and communication affects the perception people have about their culture and about the world since museums have the ability to transform a selective and partial history into 'absolute truth'.
A past reviewer infers thus: ‘Simmons has given us an intellectual, yet easily readable, enjoyable publication. This book is so interesting that it is like a gripping novel that captures you from the beginning and holds you right through to the end. This reader could hardly put it down.’ I wholeheartedly agree.
The price is tad on the upper side. But when you mull over the conscientiously selected examples, tables, and figures sprinkled all the way through the text, you do not seem to mind. As for me, the sum with which I ended up making the online buy was meant to be spent for a medical checkup. Thank God that my better half believed that I had truly done the checkup. Thank God for my dishonesty and the gullibility of the lady. After all, what's the point in living if you cannot feel alive?
Displaying 1 of 1 review