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The Material Cultures in Public Engagement volume seeks to document and explore the significant change in the relationship of Museums with collections of the Ancient World and their audiences. The volume establishes a new approach to the study of public archaeology as a discipline and application within Museums, by bringing together the voices and experiences of museum professionals (curators, conservators and researchers) and public engagement professionals. Chapters in this volume present clear case-studies of the variety and diversity of public engagement projects conducted currently within European Museums and beyond. While the majority of case studies presented in the volume’s chapters stem from European Museum programmes, plenty of reference is made on parallel strategies and successful public engagement programmes outside Europe. Case studies within the volume provide important insights as to why public engagement programmes have developed in different ways between Europe and the Americas, as well as whether these differences may stem from different curatorial practices. Finally, a number of studies included in this volume point out that methodologies and practices of public engagement applied currently by Museums in or outside Europe, are rarely the subject of theoretical and methodological scrutiny, unlike other fields of study of the Ancient World or other social sciences. In summary, chapters within the book promise to contribute to the advancement of public engagement with the Ancient World, as well as to the advancement of public archaeology itself as a practice.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
A. Theoretical Principles and Challenges
1. Introduction: Public Archaeology Initiatives within Museum spaces, Dr Anastasia Christophilopoulou & Dr Lucilla Burn.
B. Public engagement in Museums and archaeological sites: a survey of case studies
2. Forty years in engaging the public with the restoration of the Acropolis of Athens, Eleni Eleftheriou, Ioanna Lembidaki & Eirini Kaimara.
3. The New Concept of the Berlin Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte – Archaeology in a historically-engaged Museum building, Dr Marion Bertram.
4. ‘Isn’t there an App for that yet?’ Evaluating the ‘Wall of Cambridge’ iPad App as a means of Public Engagement, Dr Jody Joy & Sarah-Jane Harknett.
5. Music as a means of opening up archaeological museums to new audiences: The Morning Concerts at the National Archaeological Museum, Athens (2014), Ariadne Klonizaki.
6. Experiment in temporary exhibition, Dr Nicholas James.
7. Re-inventing Public Archaeology in Greece, Dr Nena Galanidou.
C. Voices from the public: audience and community driven engagement within Museums.
8. Rendering the public visible in curatorial exhibition practice, Dr Effrosyni Nomikou.
9. Steps towards the Learning Museum: The National Archaeological Museum "Inside Out", Dr Maria Lagogianni-Georgakarakos, Dr Despina Kalessopoulou, Panagiota Koutsiana and Dr Maria Selekou.
10. Sensory approaches to material culture: theories and reality of the imagined sensorially-engaged Museum: Dr Anastasia Christophilopoulou
11. Casting Light on the Ancient World: Education in the Museum of Classical Archaeology, Cambridge, Jennie Thornber.
D. Conclusions:
12. Towards a meaningful discourse between Archaeology, Museums and Public Engagement, Professor Robin Osborne.
