National Museums

"National Museums" is a major thematic collection of new research papers from around the world. The book is an interrogation of the origins, purpose, organisation, politics, narratives, philosophies, of national museums. It combines new research from both leading and new researchers in the fields of history, museum studies, cultural studies, sociology, history of art, media studies, science and technology studies, and anthropology. Comprising a major comparative analysis of national museums, "National Museums" examines the past, present and the future of the national museum. This volume goes beyond individual histories of national museums and examines the phenomenon on a global scale. For the first time the concept of the national museum is scrutinised in the round.