Public Art acknowledges the trend among contemporary museums to promote participatory and processual exhibition strategies meant to elicit subjective experience. At the same time it valorizes the object-oriented tradition that has long differentiated museums from other institutions similarly committed to public service and the perpetuation of cultural values. To blend and expand these aims, Hein draws upon a movement toward ephemerality and impermanence in public art. She proposes a new dynamic for the museum that is temporal and pluralistic, while retaining a grounding in material things. The museum is an agent, not a repository; and like public art, it interacts constructively with passing and transitory publics. As an actor with social clout, the museum has moral impact and responsibilities beyond those of the individuals that comprise its collective identity. The book should be read by museum workers and students, by arts and foundation administrators, critics, educators, aestheticians, institutional historians and theorists, and by anyone interested in the transmission of cultural concepts and values.

What underlying philosophy and mission should museums pursue in the first half of the twenty-first century? In Museum Philosophy, twenty-four authors use the lenses of a variety of disciplines to answer this essential question. Museum professionals offer their answers alongside philosophers, historians, political scientists, educators, sociologists, and others in a wide-ranging exploration of institutions from art museums to zoos. Hugh Genoway's book offers philosophical and ethical guidelines, describes the ways specific institutions illustrate different philosophies, examines major divisions in the museum community, and explores outreach and engagement between the museum and its larger community. Both established museum professionals and students of museum studies will benefit from this insightful look into the foundations and future of their field.

Public Art acknowledges the trend among contemporary museums to promote participatory and processual exhibition strategies meant to elicit subjective experience. At the same time it valorizes the object-oriented tradition that has long differentiated museums from other institutions similarly committed to public service and the perpetuation of cultural values. To blend and expand these aims, Hein draws upon a movement toward ephemerality and impermanence in public art. She proposes a new dynamic for the museum that is temporal and pluralistic, while retaining a grounding in material things. The museum is an agent, not a repository; and like public art, it interacts constructively with passing and transitory publics. As an actor with social clout, the museum has moral impact and responsibilities beyond those of the individuals that comprise its collective identity. The book should be read by museum workers and students, by arts and foundation administrators, critics, educators, aestheticians, institutional historians and theorists, and by anyone interested in the transmission of cultural concepts and values.

What underlying philosophy and mission should museums pursue in the first half of the twenty-first century? In Museum Philosophy, twenty-four authors use the lenses of a variety of disciplines to answer this essential question. Museum professionals offer their answers alongside philosophers, historians, political scientists, educators, sociologists, and others in a wide-ranging exploration of institutions from art museums to zoos. Hugh Genoway's book offers philosophical and ethical guidelines, describes the ways specific institutions illustrate different philosophies, examines major divisions in the museum community, and explores outreach and engagement between the museum and its larger community. Both established museum professionals and students of museum studies will benefit from this insightful look into the foundations and future of their field.

"A first-rate introduction to the field, accessible to scholars working from a variety of disciplinary and theoretical perspectives. Highly recommended... " Choice

..". offers both broad theoretical considerations and applications to specific art forms, diverse methodological perspectives, and healthy debate among the contributors.... an] outstanding volume." Philosophy and Literature

..". this volume represents an eloquent and enlightened attempt to reconceptualize the field of aesthetic theory by encouraging its tendencies toward openness, self-reflexivity and plurality." Discourse & Society

"All of the authors challenge the traditional notion of a pure and disinterested observer that does not allow for questions of race/ethnicity, class, sexual preference, or gender." Signs

These essays examine the intellectual traditions of the philosophy of art and aesthetics. Containing essays by scholars and by the writer Marilyn French, the collection ranges from the history of aesthetic theory to a philosophical reflection on fashion. The contributions are unified by a sustained scrutiny of the nature of "feminist," "feminine," or "female" art, creativity, and interpretation."