The last two decades have seen concerns for equality, diversity, social justice and human rights move from the margins of museum thinking and practice, to the core. The arguments -- both moral and pragmatic -- for engaging diverse audiences, creating the conditions for more equitable access to museum resources, and opening up opportunities for participation, now enjoy considerable consensus in many parts of the world. A growing number of institutions are concerned to construct new narratives that represent a plurality of lived experiences, histories and identities which aim to nurture support for more progressive, ethically-informed ways of seeing and to actively inform contemporary public debates on often contested rights-related issues. At the same time it would be misleading to suggest an even and uncontested transition from the museum as an organisation that has been widely understood to marginalise, exclude and oppress to one which is wholly inclusive. Moreover, there are signs that momentum towards making museums more inclusive and equitable is slowing down or, in some contexts, reversing.Museums, Equality and Social Justice aims to reflect on and, crucially, to inform debates in museum research, policy and practice at this critical time. It brings together new research from academics and practitioners and insights from artists, activists, and commentators to explore the ways in which museums, galleries and heritage organisations are engaging with the fast-changing equalities terrain and the shifting politics of identity at global, national and local levels and to investigate their potential to contribute to more equitable, fair and just societies.

Author Biography:
Richard Sandell is Lecturer in Museum Studies at the University of Leicester and Research Associate of RCMG (Research Centre for Museums and Galleries)

Re-Presenting Disability addresses issues surrounding disability representation in museums and galleries, a topic which is receiving much academic attention and is becoming an increasingly pressing issue for practitioners working in wide-ranging museums and related cultural organisations.

This volume of provocative and timely contributions, brings together twenty researchers, practitioners and academics from different disciplinary, institutional and cultural contexts to explore issues surrounding the cultural representation of disabled people and, more particularly, the inclusion (as well as the marked absence) of disability-related narratives in museum and gallery displays. The diverse perspectives featured in the book offer fresh ways of interrogating and understanding contemporary representational practices as well as illuminating existing, related debates concerning identity politics, social agency and organisational purposes and responsibilities, which have considerable currency within museums and museum studies.

Re-Presenting Disability explores such issues as:

• In what ways have disabled people and disability-related topics historically been represented in the collections and displays of museums and galleries? How can newly emerging representational forms and practices be viewed in relation to these historical approaches?

• How do emerging trends in museum practice designed to counter prejudiced, stereotypical representations of disabled people relate to broader developments in disability rights, debates in disability studies, as well as shifting interpretive practices in public history and mass media?

• What approaches can be deployed to mine and interrogate existing collections in order to investigate histories of disability and disabled people and to identify material evidence that might be marshalled to play a part in countering prejudice? What are the implications of these developments for contemporary collecting?

• How might such purposive displays be created and what dilemmas and challenges are curators, educators, designers and other actors in the exhibition-making process, likely to encounter along the way?

• How do audiences disabled and non-disabled respond to and engage with interpretive interventions designed to confront, undercut or reshape dominant regimes of representation that underpin and inform contemporary attitudes to disability?

Drawing together a selection of high quality, intellectually robust and stimulating articles on both theoretical and practice-based developments in the field, this Reader investigates the closely linked areas of management and marketing in the museum.

The articles, from established and world-renowned contributors, practitioners and writers at the leading edge of their fields, deal with the museum context of management and how marketing and management practices must take account of the specifics of the museum and the not-for-profit ethos.

Key writings from broader literature are included, and the collection of key writings on the investigation and study of management and marketing in the museum are of great benefit not only to those studying the subject, but also to professionals working and developing within the field.

"Museums and the Combating of Prejudice" addresses an increasingly significant issue for museums internationally but one which has, to date, received very little theoretical or empirical investigation. In recent years there has been a growing interest, within the academy, and amongst cultural policy makers and practitioners, in the social role, impact and responsibility of museums. It is possible to detect a growing confidence amongst practitioners, internationally, in articulating goals which position museums as agents of positive social change. The volume is not focused on a singular, specific type of prejudice but is concerned rather more broadly with the ways in which the "other" is constituted and perceived resulting in wide-ranging forms of prejudice on the basis of, for example, sexual orientation, race, gender, disability, religious faith and so on.
Though there is considerable rhetoric surrounding the museum's role in this area there is both a paucity of empirical evidence anda lack of theoretical interrogation with which to inform and substantiate these assertions. "Museums and the" "Combating of Prejudice," uniquely, blends leading-edge theory with in-depth empirical research to investigate the processes through which museums inform audiences' values and attitudes and, alongside other media, contribute towards broader social change.
Interest in the social role of museums and their potential to combat prejudice extends to many parts of the world. Alongside a small but growing number of specialist museums whose primary purpose and rationale is built around the combating of prejudice, museums of all kinds are increasingly concerned to represent variously constitutedforms of cultural difference through their collections and displays. The book reflects this by drawing upon a wide range of international examples including those in the US (e.g. initiatives at the Smithsonian Museums, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Lower East Side Tenement Museum, Museum of Tolerance), Canada (e.g. the proposed Canadian Museum for Human Rights), South Africa (e.g. Constitution Hill and the Apartheid Museum), Australia (Migration Museum, National Museum of Australia). In addition, the book draws on empirical data generated from interviews with museum audiences and staff at the Anne Frank House (Amsterdam, Holland) and St Mungo's Museum of Religious Life and Art (Glasgow, Scotland).
"Museums and the Combating of Prejudice" brings together contemporary theoretical developments in sociological, media and audience studies, combined with in-depth field research (from a number of different research projects), to explore the ways in which museums might achieve their goals of combating prejudice. It focuses, in particular, on the ways in which audiences "read," engage with, and construct meaning from museum exhibitions and displays that purposefully seek to combat prejudice but also considers the curatorial implications arising from the museum's engagement with these issues.
"Museums and the Combating of Prejudice" addresses issues of critical importance for those working in and thinking about museums and make a unique contribution to live debates within sociology, media and audience studies.

"Museums and the Combating of Prejudice" addresses an increasingly significant issue for museums internationally but one which has, to date, received very little theoretical or empirical investigation. In recent years there has been a growing interest, within the academy, and amongst cultural policy makers and practitioners, in the social role, impact and responsibility of museums. It is possible to detect a growing confidence amongst practitioners, internationally, in articulating goals which position museums as agents of positive social change. The volume is not focused on a singular, specific type of prejudice but is concerned rather more broadly with the ways in which the "other" is constituted and perceived resulting in wide-ranging forms of prejudice on the basis of, for example, sexual orientation, race, gender, disability, religious faith and so on.
Though there is considerable rhetoric surrounding the museum's role in this area there is both a paucity of empirical evidence anda lack of theoretical interrogation with which to inform and substantiate these assertions. "Museums and the" "Combating of Prejudice," uniquely, blends leading-edge theory with in-depth empirical research to investigate the processes through which museums inform audiences' values and attitudes and, alongside other media, contribute towards broader social change.
Interest in the social role of museums and their potential to combat prejudice extends to many parts of the world. Alongside a small but growing number of specialist museums whose primary purpose and rationale is built around the combating of prejudice, museums of all kinds are increasingly concerned to represent variously constitutedforms of cultural difference through their collections and displays. The book reflects this by drawing upon a wide range of international examples including those in the US (e.g. initiatives at the Smithsonian Museums, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Lower East Side Tenement Museum, Museum of Tolerance), Canada (e.g. the proposed Canadian Museum for Human Rights), South Africa (e.g. Constitution Hill and the Apartheid Museum), Australia (Migration Museum, National Museum of Australia). In addition, the book draws on empirical data generated from interviews with museum audiences and staff at the Anne Frank House (Amsterdam, Holland) and St Mungo's Museum of Religious Life and Art (Glasgow, Scotland).
"Museums and the Combating of Prejudice" brings together contemporary theoretical developments in sociological, media and audience studies, combined with in-depth field research (from a number of different research projects), to explore the ways in which museums might achieve their goals of combating prejudice. It focuses, in particular, on the ways in which audiences "read," engage with, and construct meaning from museum exhibitions and displays that purposefully seek to combat prejudice but also considers the curatorial implications arising from the museum's engagement with these issues.
"Museums and the Combating of Prejudice" addresses issues of critical importance for those working in and thinking about museums and make a unique contribution to live debates within sociology, media and audience studies.

Museums, Society, Inequality explores the wide-ranging social roles and responsibilities of the museum. It brings together international perspectives to stimulate critical debate, inform the work of practitioners and policy makers, and to advance recognition of the purpose, responsibilities and value to society of museums.
This crucial new work is essential for all museum academics, practitioners and students. It:
*offers different understandings of the social agency of the museum
*presents ways in which museums have sought to engage with social concerns, and instigate social change

*imagines how museums might become more useful to society in future.

This book explores how museums, galleries and heritage sites of all kinds, through the narratives they construct and publicly present, can shape the moral and political climate within which human rights are experienced. Through a series of richly-drawn cases, which focus on gender diversity and same-sex love and desire, Richard Sandell examines the ways in which museums are implicated in the ongoing struggle for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex human rights. Museums, Moralities and Human Rights brings together for the first time the perspectives not only of those who work in, govern, fund and visit museums but also those of rights activists and campaigners who, at key moments in their struggle, have turned their attention to museums to advance their cause. Offering new insights into how human rights are continually fought for, realised and refused, this volume makes the case for museums of all kinds to take up an active, mindful and purposive engagement with contemporary human rights concerns.

Drawing together a selection of high quality, intellectually robust and stimulating articles on both theoretical and practice-based developments in the field, this Reader investigates the closely linked areas of management and marketing in the museum.

The articles, from established and world-renowned contributors, practitioners and writers at the leading edge of their fields, deal with the museum context of management and how marketing and management practices must take account of the specifics of the museum and the not-for-profit ethos.

Key writings from broader literature are included, and the collection of key writings on the investigation and study of management and marketing in the museum are of great benefit not only to those studying the subject, but also to professionals working and developing within the field.

Only a decade ago, the notion that museums, galleries and heritage organisations might engage in activist practice, with explicit intent to act upon inequalities, injustices and environmental crises, was met with scepticism and often derision. Seeking to purposefully bring about social change was viewed by many within and beyond the museum community as inappropriately political and antithetical to fundamental professional values. Today, although the idea remains controversial, the way we think about the roles and responsibilities of museums as knowledge based, social institutions is changing. Museum Activism examines the increasing significance of this activist trend in thinking and practice. At this crucial time in the evolution of museum thinking and practice, this ground-breaking volume brings together more than fifty contributors working across six continents to explore, analyse and critically reflect upon the museum's relationship to activism. Including contributions from practitioners, artists, activists and researchers, this wide-ranging examination of new and divergent expressions of the inherent power of museums as forces for good, and as activists in civil society, aims to encourage further experimentation and enrich the debate in this nascent and uncertain field of museum practice. Museum Activism elucidates the largely untapped potential for museums as key intellectual and civic resources to address inequalities, injustice and environmental challenges. This makes the book essential reading for scholars and students of museum and heritage studies, gallery studies, arts and heritage management, and politics. It will be a source of inspiration to museum practitioners and museum leaders around the globe.

Only a decade ago, the notion that museums, galleries and heritage organisations might engage in activist practice, with explicit intent to act upon inequalities, injustices and environmental crises, was met with scepticism and often derision. Seeking to purposefully bring about social change was viewed by many within and beyond the museum community as inappropriately political and antithetical to fundamental professional values. Today, although the idea remains controversial, the way we think about the roles and responsibilities of museums as knowledge based, social institutions is changing. Museum Activism examines the increasing significance of this activist trend in thinking and practice. At this crucial time in the evolution of museum thinking and practice, this ground-breaking volume brings together more than fifty contributors working across six continents to explore, analyse and critically reflect upon the museum's relationship to activism. Including contributions from practitioners, artists, activists and researchers, this wide-ranging examination of new and divergent expressions of the inherent power of museums as forces for good, and as activists in civil society, aims to encourage further experimentation and enrich the debate in this nascent and uncertain field of museum practice. Museum Activism elucidates the largely untapped potential for museums as key intellectual and civic resources to address inequalities, injustice and environmental challenges. This makes the book essential reading for scholars and students of museum and heritage studies, gallery studies, arts and heritage management, and politics. It will be a source of inspiration to museum practitioners and museum leaders around the globe.

Re-Presenting Disability addresses issues surrounding disability representation in museums and galleries, a topic which is receiving much academic attention and is becoming an increasingly pressing issue for practitioners working in wide-ranging museums and related cultural organisations.

This volume of provocative and timely contributions, brings together twenty researchers, practitioners and academics from different disciplinary, institutional and cultural contexts to explore issues surrounding the cultural representation of disabled people and, more particularly, the inclusion (as well as the marked absence) of disability-related narratives in museum and gallery displays. The diverse perspectives featured in the book offer fresh ways of interrogating and understanding contemporary representational practices as well as illuminating existing, related debates concerning identity politics, social agency and organisational purposes and responsibilities, which have considerable currency within museums and museum studies.

Re-Presenting Disability explores such issues as:

• In what ways have disabled people and disability-related topics historically been represented in the collections and displays of museums and galleries? How can newly emerging representational forms and practices be viewed in relation to these historical approaches?

• How do emerging trends in museum practice designed to counter prejudiced, stereotypical representations of disabled people relate to broader developments in disability rights, debates in disability studies, as well as shifting interpretive practices in public history and mass media?

• What approaches can be deployed to mine and interrogate existing collections in order to investigate histories of disability and disabled people and to identify material evidence that might be marshalled to play a part in countering prejudice? What are the implications of these developments for contemporary collecting?

• How might such purposive displays be created and what dilemmas and challenges are curators, educators, designers and other actors in the exhibition-making process, likely to encounter along the way?

• How do audiences disabled and non-disabled respond to and engage with interpretive interventions designed to confront, undercut or reshape dominant regimes of representation that underpin and inform contemporary attitudes to disability?

The last two decades have seen concerns for equality, diversity, social justice and human rights move from the margins of museum thinking and practice, to the core. The arguments - both moral and pragmatic - for engaging diverse audiences, creating the conditions for more equitable access to museum resources, and opening up opportunities for participation, now enjoy considerable consensus in many parts of the world. A growing number of institutions are concerned to construct new narratives that represent a plurality of lived experiences, histories and identities which aim to nurture support for more progressive, ethically-informed ways of seeing and to actively inform contemporary public debates on often contested rights-related issues. At the same time it would be misleading to suggest an even and uncontested transition from the museum as an organisation that has been widely understood to marginalise, exclude and oppress to one which is wholly inclusive. Moreover, there are signs that momentum towards making museums more inclusive and equitable is slowing down or, in some contexts, reversing. Museums, Equality and Social Justice aims to reflect on and, crucially, to inform debates in museum research, policy and practice at this critical time. It brings together new research from academics and practitioners and insights from artists, activists, and commentators to explore the ways in which museums, galleries and heritage organisations are engaging with the fast-changing equalities terrain and the shifting politics of identity at global, national and local levels and to investigate their potential to contribute to more equitable, fair and just societies.

This book explores how museums, galleries and heritage sites of all kinds, through the narratives they construct and publicly present, can shape the moral and political climate within which human rights are experienced. Through a series of richly-drawn cases, which focus on gender diversity and same-sex love and desire, Richard Sandell examines the ways in which museums are implicated in the ongoing struggle for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex human rights. Museums, Moralities and Human Rights brings together for the first time the perspectives not only of those who work in, govern, fund and visit museums but also those of rights activists and campaigners who, at key moments in their struggle, have turned their attention to museums to advance their cause. Offering new insights into how human rights are continually fought for, realised and refused, this volume makes the case for museums of all kinds to take up an active, mindful and purposive engagement with contemporary human rights concerns.