Museums and the Active Citizen

Tackling the Problems of Social Exclusion

Bibliographic Data

ID4524924
AuthorsAndrew Newman (0000-0003-1828-8869, Newcastle University, corresponding author), Fiona Mclean (Glasgow Caledonian University), Gordon Urquhart
Year2005
Volume9
Issue1
Pages41-57
Publication date2005-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCitizenship Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1362-1025 • E-ISSN: 1469-3593
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/1362102042000325351
OpenAlexW2052532087
LanguageEN
Citations received18
References cited24

The aim of this paper is to attempt to determine the role of museums in combating social exclusion through facilitating active citizenship. It does this by presenting the results of an analysis that used a modified form of a model of citizenship created by Makela as a framework to explore the data generated by an empirical study. By focusing upon respondents in an holistic way, so understanding their experiences of museum based exhibitions and community development projects within the contexts of their lives, the study concludes that museums were able to overcome many of the barriers to active citizenship that were identified. However, it was also evident that they themselves were creating barriers as some were physically or intellectually inaccessible to a number of study participants. The most significant contribution of museums in developing active citizens was to provide a context for constructing a sense of identity and so develop greater self-confidence. The paper concludes that if the potential that museums have fostered is to be released government agencies need to work together

Active citizenship · Aesthetics · Citizenship · Exhibition · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Social exclusion · Sociology · Visual arts · Art Education and Development · Engineering · Law · Museums and Cultural Heritage · Theatre and Performance Studies

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