Anna Woodham

Museums, Schools and Geographies of Cultural Value

This article explores a paradox and a possibility that have emerged from two pieces of policy-related research concerning educational use of museums within England. The paradox relates to the use of museums which, whilst widely perceived as rather elitist institutions, appear from a postcode analysis of school visits to museums to be visited by large numbers of schools located in areas of social deprivation. The present analysis further explores this paradox, drawing on revised postcode analysis and governmental indices of multiple deprivation and income deprivation affecting children. The analysis supports the contention that museums attracted visits from schools located in areas with some of the highest levels of deprivation, although it suggests that this result needs to be considered in relation to regional differences in areas of social deprivation, the location of museums and the differences between individual and area-based measures of deprivation. Attention is then drawn to the potential of considering museums through a geographical perspective, and specifically through Foucaults notions of primary, secondary and tertiary spatializations. It is argued that primary spatializations encompasses how museums are conceptualized and classified; secondary spatializations concern how various elements of museums are articulated together; and tertiary spatializations relate to the placement of museums in wider societal contexts and processes. It is suggested that the postcode analysis of school visits points both to the significance of considering tertiary spatializations relating to the social circumstances of museum visitors but also raised questions concerning primary spatializations of museums. Attention is drawn to changes in the classification and grouping of museums, and how these often encompass geographically based criteria related to the social reach of museums. The article ends by considering the degree to which museums might seek to further change their primary spatialization to reflect tertiary spatializations relating to cultural value.

Foucault and museum geographies: a case study of the English ‘Renaissance in the Regions’

This paper explores the subject of museum geographies, focusing particularly on the development of museum policies in a changing political context. The empirical focus is the emergence and transformation of the museum programme Renaissance in the Region, which is linked to the concepts of primary, secondary and tertiary spatialisations presented by Michel Foucault. The paper discusses the development of the programme and how it transformed aspects of the primary, secondary and tertiary spatialisations of museums in England, before focusing attention on the geography of school visits to museums. The results of two extensive studies of school visits to museums in the programme suggest that large numbers of visits come from schools located in areas with high indices of multiple deprivation and income deprivation affecting children. It is argued that this social geography reflects the tertiary spatialisation of museums linked to their emergence in areas of past industrial development, although practices linked to reconfigurations of the primary and secondary spatialisation as part of the Renaissance in the Regions programme may also have played some role. The paper concludes by discussing recent changes in government policy and the degree to which the ‘New Renaissance’ policy may signify reductions in the social reach of museums into areas of social deprivation and exclusion.

Collecting London 2012: Exploring the Unofficial Legacy of the Olympic Games

This chapter presents the author’s ethnographic fieldwork and qualitative investigations on the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London during which a veritable obsession with purchasing London 2012 memorabilia was observed. “London 2012” is used as a case study of collecting and commemoration. Pin badges are considered in particular as a window into the larger topic of materializing memory. Trading of pin badges at the Olympic Games has an established history, and being small, attractive, and relatively inexpensive, the practice of collecting and trading these items is a popular phenomenon which can reveal much about the stories and memories individuals connect with the games. There are a number of different levels on which we can view the practice of collecting Olympics pin badges. For some, it is about the economic value. For others, it is about experience, the hunt for the pin badge. For yet another group it is the hobby of collecting and the social practices that go with this that are valued. However, for a large proportion of collectors the significance lies in the capacity for pin badges to memorialize experience and emotion. The author argues that there is something in particular about the size, shape, variety, and materiality of pin badges that aids this function. Their miniature size and potential to be kept near or on the body, the self, actually gives these items a deeper personal significance to act as symbolic extensions of that person.

The Ties That Bind: Materiality, Identity, and the Life Course in the “Things” Families Keep

Using an interdisciplinary research methodology across three archaeological and historical case studies, this article explores “family archives.” Four themes illustrate how objects held in family archives, curation practices, and intergenerational narratives reinforce a family’s sense of itself: people–object interactions, gender, socialization and identity formation, and the “life course.” These themes provide a framework for professional archivists to assist communities and individuals working with their own family archives. We argue that the family archive, broadly defined, encourages a more egalitarian approach to history. We suggest a multiperiod analysis draws attention to historical forms of knowledge and meaning-making practices over time.

Olympic ceremonialism and the performance of national character, from London 2012 to Rio 2016

greater contribution to the field, there is not enough connectivity between the various contributions and it is not coherent enough to be a successful volume as each chapter speaks on its own. The flow of chapters does not properly follow each other and as they stand the chapters appear to be the part of a journal special issue on tourism competitiveness. For instance, the editors should have prepared the reader for the chapters in each part with an introductory chapter emphasizing the significance of editing such a volume, and with an introductory text summarizing each part or theme. To sum up, the book advances knowledge of competitiveness and its successes and failures in reference to many specific destinations as case studies. Therefore, even as a reproduction of previously published journal papers, it is a must collection for all researchers who seek to enrich their understanding of tourism competitiveness not only in a specific case but also in a general sense. The content in each chapter is compelling and provides new perspectives for tourism researchers who attempt to specifically focus on tourism competitiveness. In addition, as noted by the editors, the book can also be considered as an essential source of reference for policy-makers.