Museological Review Issue 23: (Dis)empowered Museums
Museological Review is an online peer-reviewed journal, published annually by the PhD community of the School of Museum Studies, University of Leicester. We are now inviting you to submit your research to reflect on our theme.
The theme for Museological Review Issue 23 is ‘(Dis)empowered Museums’. As an active response to the 7th PhD-led conference ‘Museums (em)Power’ (13th – 14th September, School of Museum Studies, University of Leicester), we invite people to reflect on the power of museums today.
Museums have the power to influence behaviours, foster change, improve lives and establish partnerships between different individuals and communities. Nevertheless, some would argue that museums are gradually losing their power. Disempowerment can be traced back to several factors, from financial restrictions to the current political situation. A very recent example is the Brazil’s National Museum fire, where insufficient financial resources from the Brazilian government was a significant factor in the permanent loss of invaluable museum collections.
What does power (or lack of power) in museums look like today? And how does this impact their social role?
We welcome submissions around the topic of museums and power, whether that be empowerment or disempowerment. Topics include, but are not limited to:
- Museums and contested histories
- Re-interpretation and/or repatriation projects
- Activist practices in cultural institutions
- Decolonising the museum
- Diversity, representation and inclusion in museums
- The role of social media/activist campaigns
- Museums without collections and permanent displays
- Participatory museums
- Radical museology
- Museums and political attitudes
There are several ways to engage with Museological Review this year: an academic article, an exhibition or book review, a visual submission. Please see the attached document for more information.
The deadline for the submission of abstracts/reviews/visual depictions is Monday 3rd November 2018, 17:00 GMT. Submissions can be:
· emailed to: Museologicalreview@leicester.ac.uk
OR
· uploaded through the online form: https://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/museumstudies/forms/museological-review-articles-submission-form
The authors of the selected abstracts will be contacted by the editorial team in late-November 2018. The deadline for the submission of the final articles is mid-January 2019.