追求民主──作為公共空間的博物館

Attempting Democracy: The Museum as Public Space

Jennifer Barrett ； 邱家宜

《博物館學季刊》 26卷4期 (2012/10) Pp. 7-28

https://doi.org/10.6686/MuseQ.201210_26(4).0002

摘要

晚近博物館領域的許多發展，看起來好像不同於前幾世紀的實踐，它們被「介入公共」的需求所驅使，企圖以各種創新的方式達到這個目地；然而，從博物館世界性的歷史發展軌跡看起來，這些新的取向似乎並不少見。博物館近期的發展態勢強調必須更具反省性，並企圖把博物館理解為多元地詮釋世界及其歷史的推動者，新的取向包括了在各項展覽中強調與社區的互動，以及透過實際參觀或網路，讓觀眾對博物館的蒐藏知識可以做出貢獻。晚近博物館學的任務之一，就是要掃除過去博物館的權威性，為了達到此目的，博物館被認為必須採取多元的表現方式，並透過社會媒介(social media) 鼓勵新的參觀和參與形式。要求博物館能吸引人、並與公眾產生關連，並不是新的概念，此一概念從18 世紀博物館誕生成為一種公共機構時，就已經存在。彼時，國家與文化及文化機構之間發展出一種新的關係，此歷史變遷如今已廣為人知、詳於記載。特別是18 世紀後期的歐洲，經常將國家視同於「公眾」(the public)；此一等同，也預設博物館是一個公共空間(a public space)：是為了公眾、屬於公眾的機構。但關於民主公共空間的物質性，與民主論述之間的關係卻鮮少被理解。本文將討論這些論述的限制與潛力，並及於21 世紀博物館脈絡下，空間與民主之關係的新思考。

關鍵字

博物館 ； 公共領域 ； 公共空間 ； 國家 ； 哈伯瑪斯

並列摘要

Many recent developments in museums are driven by the need to engage with the public in new and innovative ways, as distinct from the universalising practices of previous centuries. Yet, traces of the historical development of the museum internationally can often be found in these new approaches. Recent aspects of museum development reveal a desire to be more reflexive, attempting to understand the museum as advocating multiple ways of interpreting the world and its history. These approaches include emphasizing the importance of consultation with communities in devising exhibits, and understanding the visitor as a contributor to knowledge about museum collections, whether that is through direct visitation or virtually. One of the aims of recent museology has been to demystify the authoritative function of the museum. Achieving this aim is seen as necessary to represent diversity and to encourage new forms of visitation and engagement via social media. The quest to attract, and be relevant to, the public is not new for museums. It has been a concern for museums since their invention as a public institution in the late eighteenth century. At that time, the State developed a new relationship with culture and cultural institutions. This historical shift is now well known and documented. In late eighteenthcentury Europe, in particular, a tendency to conflate the State with ＂the public＂ becomes common. With this conflation also comes an assumption that the museum is a public space: for the public, of the public. Yet the relationship between the materiality of democratic public space and discourses about democracy is little understood in museology. This paper discusses the limitations and potential of these discourses and presents new ways of thinking about the relationships between space and democracy in the museum context in the twenty first century.

並列關鍵字

museums ； public sphere ； public space ； the State ； Habermas

參考文獻

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