What do you think?
Rate this book
The Return of Curiosity: What Museums are Good For in the 21st Century
The Spy Museum, the Vacuum Cleaner Museum, the National Mustard Museum—not to mention the Art Institute, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Getty museums have never been more robust, curating just about everything there is and assuming a new prominence in public life. The Return of Curiosity explores museums in the modern age, offering a fresh perspective on some of our most important cultural institutions and the vital function they serve as stewards of human and natural history.
Reflecting on art galleries, science and history institutions, and collections all around the world, Nicholas Thomas argues that, in times marked by incredible insecurity and turbulence, museums help us sustain and enrich society. Moreover, they stimulate us to think in new ways about our world, compelling our curiosity and showing us the importance of understanding one another. Thomas looks at museums not simply as storehouses of old things but as the products of meaningful relationships between curators, the public, history, and culture. These relationships, he shows, don’t always go smoothly, but they do always offer new insights into the many ways we value—and try to preserve—the world we live in.
The result is a refreshing and hopeful look at museums as a cultural force, one that, by gathering together paintings, tropical birds, antiques, or even our own bodies, offers an illuminating reflection of who we are.
Reflecting on art galleries, science and history institutions, and collections all around the world, Nicholas Thomas argues that, in times marked by incredible insecurity and turbulence, museums help us sustain and enrich society. Moreover, they stimulate us to think in new ways about our world, compelling our curiosity and showing us the importance of understanding one another. Thomas looks at museums not simply as storehouses of old things but as the products of meaningful relationships between curators, the public, history, and culture. These relationships, he shows, don’t always go smoothly, but they do always offer new insights into the many ways we value—and try to preserve—the world we live in.
The result is a refreshing and hopeful look at museums as a cultural force, one that, by gathering together paintings, tropical birds, antiques, or even our own bodies, offers an illuminating reflection of who we are.
144 pages, Paperback
Published August 15, 2016
8 people are currently reading
102 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 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 11, 2016
In July, an article entitled ‘Revitalised University Museums Still Face Big Challenges’ caught my eye. The content was very relevant to the day job, and linked to a funding application we were submitting. However in the article the author called university museums “object laboratories” and referred to collections as an “original expression of big data” really piquing my interest, what a great turn of phrase! The blurb at the end shared the author Nicholas Thomas had recently published a book, I had to seek out more about these phrases and the ideas behind them.
An approachable book with three chapters and conclusion it was an enjoyable time getting through it. Thomas is not shy at coming forward with practical thinking of collections, history of museums and their recent ascendency. On the topic of repatriation his argument is pragmatic encouraging all parties to talk and collaborate for the desired outcome. Stopping short of using the analogy of two boys playing with a ball and when the one who owns the ball is beaten, he threatens to leave and take his ball home! The suggested solution is dialogue and collaboration so all parties get more from it. Whether it means returning the objects now or later there is much to be gained by having open conversations to learn more, share the knowledge with the museum’s visitors and add to the provenance and richness of the object. Not collaborating results in years, decades or centuries of research and knowledge lost.
The theme of the book is about addressing questions which museology texts have yet to tackle, like what do museums contain - collections, and how they have contributed to the growth of museums.
An audience - in definition a passive group for listening - isn’t a fair use for the museum visitor. For one thing there is far more engagement opportunities than someone attending a play; guided tours, self selecting objects to look at, label reading at will, etc. Similarly someone reading a novel is controlled throughout by the author in the layout of the story, not so with museum visits offering as many different of journeys as there are visitors. Finally settling on the metaphor of museums being encyclopaedias for the visitor allowing them to dip in wherever and for however long they wish the passage resonated to me as a museum worker and an avid visitor.
Not surprisingly for a professor of material culture, Thomas selects collections as the main topic for the meaty middle chapter ‘Museum as Method’ and doesn’t resist reminding the reader even books can be categorised as material culture in their binding, design, etc. He investigates the tension between an object in terms of what it was and what it is now, a book on display as an object being the perfect example. To me, that tension is experienced everyday I handle objects, however I agree that it may not be made is explicit for ‘the visitor’.
Large museum collections have millions of objects and smaller venues less so, however according to Thomas objects are all loaded with relations not yet discovered. Relations may be the obvious chronological relations, for example in a painting documenting an artist’s development. Of more interest are the less obvious connections. In reading, I likened this to objects having a conversation at a dinner party or conference and trying to find common ground with which to share a conversation and the author’s analogy was to a person’s distant cousin where a connection is obvious, just never investigated more fully. My question: does that mean if museums had more staff to investigate these relations there would be more outputs for exhibitions and displays to attract wider range of people?
Not being someone who loves objects the book has left me with a better understanding of curators and how they can spend their time with collections and I imagine them searching for these relationships and facilitating the discussions between the objects shelved in different areas of the store.
The author views collections more than historical resources “…it is something that we work with prospectively, a technology that enables the creation of new things.” Considering the phrase in the original article of collections being big data this idea of creating new things from collections is exciting in an age of hackathons, start-ups and funded innovations. Having an ability to seek new relations and hopefully be rewarded with the odd serendipitous pairing must keep curators and those working with material culture interested - I totally agree, as long as they can recognise the potential when they see it.
The conclusion places the arguments and value of collections as where museums should be focussed. Investing in curators, researchers in collections and getting the message out that museums “should be themselves”. After explaining why he thinks collections are the reason museums have reached their current popularity the author seems to be asking them to be returned to how they used to be in staffing and the collections lauded by experts. A mention of curiosity and sociality which can occur in museums and the value of arts and museums contributing to better citizens appears in the conclusion.
I agree there is great excitement to be had from collections, they are the foundation for any museum narrative, however the lack of two way conversation in the model expressed in the book is harking back to the age where knowledge was valued because to find the answer took trained curators expertise and time. Now, most answers are seconds from the question, in fact sometimes it is more than one nuanced answer which results. It would be great to have more curators and research on collections because more stories and relations would appear and be of interest to the visitors. However until there is an appetite to pay for the research/knowledge, museums have to struggle to meet their costs through different services.
An approachable book with three chapters and conclusion it was an enjoyable time getting through it. Thomas is not shy at coming forward with practical thinking of collections, history of museums and their recent ascendency. On the topic of repatriation his argument is pragmatic encouraging all parties to talk and collaborate for the desired outcome. Stopping short of using the analogy of two boys playing with a ball and when the one who owns the ball is beaten, he threatens to leave and take his ball home! The suggested solution is dialogue and collaboration so all parties get more from it. Whether it means returning the objects now or later there is much to be gained by having open conversations to learn more, share the knowledge with the museum’s visitors and add to the provenance and richness of the object. Not collaborating results in years, decades or centuries of research and knowledge lost.
The theme of the book is about addressing questions which museology texts have yet to tackle, like what do museums contain - collections, and how they have contributed to the growth of museums.
An audience - in definition a passive group for listening - isn’t a fair use for the museum visitor. For one thing there is far more engagement opportunities than someone attending a play; guided tours, self selecting objects to look at, label reading at will, etc. Similarly someone reading a novel is controlled throughout by the author in the layout of the story, not so with museum visits offering as many different of journeys as there are visitors. Finally settling on the metaphor of museums being encyclopaedias for the visitor allowing them to dip in wherever and for however long they wish the passage resonated to me as a museum worker and an avid visitor.
Not surprisingly for a professor of material culture, Thomas selects collections as the main topic for the meaty middle chapter ‘Museum as Method’ and doesn’t resist reminding the reader even books can be categorised as material culture in their binding, design, etc. He investigates the tension between an object in terms of what it was and what it is now, a book on display as an object being the perfect example. To me, that tension is experienced everyday I handle objects, however I agree that it may not be made is explicit for ‘the visitor’.
Large museum collections have millions of objects and smaller venues less so, however according to Thomas objects are all loaded with relations not yet discovered. Relations may be the obvious chronological relations, for example in a painting documenting an artist’s development. Of more interest are the less obvious connections. In reading, I likened this to objects having a conversation at a dinner party or conference and trying to find common ground with which to share a conversation and the author’s analogy was to a person’s distant cousin where a connection is obvious, just never investigated more fully. My question: does that mean if museums had more staff to investigate these relations there would be more outputs for exhibitions and displays to attract wider range of people?
Not being someone who loves objects the book has left me with a better understanding of curators and how they can spend their time with collections and I imagine them searching for these relationships and facilitating the discussions between the objects shelved in different areas of the store.
The author views collections more than historical resources “…it is something that we work with prospectively, a technology that enables the creation of new things.” Considering the phrase in the original article of collections being big data this idea of creating new things from collections is exciting in an age of hackathons, start-ups and funded innovations. Having an ability to seek new relations and hopefully be rewarded with the odd serendipitous pairing must keep curators and those working with material culture interested - I totally agree, as long as they can recognise the potential when they see it.
The conclusion places the arguments and value of collections as where museums should be focussed. Investing in curators, researchers in collections and getting the message out that museums “should be themselves”. After explaining why he thinks collections are the reason museums have reached their current popularity the author seems to be asking them to be returned to how they used to be in staffing and the collections lauded by experts. A mention of curiosity and sociality which can occur in museums and the value of arts and museums contributing to better citizens appears in the conclusion.
I agree there is great excitement to be had from collections, they are the foundation for any museum narrative, however the lack of two way conversation in the model expressed in the book is harking back to the age where knowledge was valued because to find the answer took trained curators expertise and time. Now, most answers are seconds from the question, in fact sometimes it is more than one nuanced answer which results. It would be great to have more curators and research on collections because more stories and relations would appear and be of interest to the visitors. However until there is an appetite to pay for the research/knowledge, museums have to struggle to meet their costs through different services.
December 22, 2024
Interessant, maar soms zo langdradig: alsof hij te veel alcohol ophad tijdens het schrijven van het boek en elke mogelijk zijsprong erbij wou nemen om zijn verhaal te doen. (Het boek is niet eens zo lang).
January 13, 2024
Ett fantastiskt försvarstal för museet i den moderna tiden. Ett försvar för att objektet och berättelsen mästrats i fokus.
May 18, 2024
I found this technically difficult to read.
The sheer number of words and unique use of grammatical conventions produced an irritability that made me feel kinship with the French.
The sheer number of words and unique use of grammatical conventions produced an irritability that made me feel kinship with the French.
July 27, 2024
An insightful and critical exploration of 21st century museums, from their historical roots as showcases for elite culture and hegemony to their current transformation into dynamic and modern institutions and platforms for cross-cultural exchange, innovation and knowledge sharing. Thomas explores the decolonization process, diverse heritage collections, educational programs, institutional management models and the expansion of museums to China and the Middle East. His observations on museums as places of discovery, reflection, free-thinking, social relevance and shared humanity provide thought provoking reflection for museum professionals and visitors.
October 3, 2017
This brief book was very engaging and made a strong case that museums are uniquely able to provide the broad array of the population that visits them an environment that sparks curiosity and discovery. The digital catalogs that almost every institution now has do facilitate exploration and research. Highly recommended.
April 10, 2019
A good introduction to the growing subject of the politics of museums.
You may be interested in my humble thoughts on the matter
https://www.culturematters.org.uk/ind...
You may be interested in my humble thoughts on the matter
https://www.culturematters.org.uk/ind...
May 31, 2019
Governmental bureaucrats that have lived a good life in their sinecures, want some more of this 18th century goodness, and they want you to pay for it because it's magically good for you to have them sit on a chair all day for the rest of their lives.
March 11, 2018
This book didn’t live up to the expectations created by its brilliant title. A few excellent points lost in the middle of a lot of blah blah blah.
August 30, 2020
An interesting look into the (mostly) recent history of museums and their changing roles in society.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews