Main content

Museums: Then and now. Laurie Taylor explores their evolution and current dilemmas.

Museums - Laurie Taylor talks to Adam Kuper, most recently Centennial Professor of Anthropology at the London School of Economic, about their history and future. Originally created as colonial enterprises, what is the purpose of these places now? How do we regard the ways in which foreign and prehistoric peoples were represented in museums of anthropology? What should be done with the artefacts and human remains in their custodianship and how can they help us to understand and appreciate other cultures?

Kerry Wilson, Reader in Cultural Policy at Liverpool John Moores University, discusses House of Memories, a multiple award-winning dementia awareness programme, led by National Museums Liverpool. The programme promotes the use of social history collections and museum objects to inspire communication and connection between carers and people with dementia, via dedicated museum-based events. Is this an example of how museums can offer social value to local communities today?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Available now

28 minutes

Last on

Mon 6 Feb 2023 00:15

Guests and Further Reading

The Museum of Other People: From Colonial Acquisitions to Cosmopolitan Exhibitions (Profile Books)


House of Memories: Care and Equality in the UK Museum Sector in Museums and the Working Class (Routledge)


Broadcasts

  • Wed 1 Feb 2023 16:00
  • Mon 6 Feb 2023 00:15

Explore further with The Open University

Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Thinking Allowed is produced in partnership with The Open University

Download this programme

Subscribe to this programme or download individual episodes.

Podcast