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The return of curiosity : what museums are good for in the Twenty-first Century
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The return of curiosity : what museums are good for in the Twenty-first Century

by Nicholas Thomas

An exploration of the vital role of museums in the modern age, examining how these institutions serve as dynamic cultural forces. It highlights how museums stimulate curiosity, foster social understanding, and help preserve our shared history and heritage.

Accession 11967 ISBN 9781780236568 Publisher Reaktion
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TAGS
Curated Derived
Art Biography Collecting Collections Culture Curatorship Curiosity Education History Institutions Law Museums
CONNECTIONS
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State
on_shelf
True
position_updated_at
2026-05-28 15:29
orientation
vertical
Details

Physical

binding_type
Hard Back
dimensions
none captured
spine_text
none captured

Metadata

Book form
LOCATION HISTORY
M:N2:4 3 Current vertical
1 week, 3 days ago
Book Location
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Identity

name→ title
The return of curiosity : what museums are good for in the Twenty-first Century
vernon_id
16050
accession_no→ accession_number
11967
vernon_slug
the-return-of-curiosity-what-museums-are-good-for-in-the-twenty-first-century-nicholas-thomas

Drives Pulse state

curr_loc_status→ on_shelf
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location_name
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location_reason
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isbn_issn→ isbn (when valid)
9781780236568

Descriptive

production_date
2016
object_type
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object_status
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brief_description
Over the last twenty years museums have proliferated, attracting new audiences and assuming new prominence in public life. The Return of Curiosity offers a fresh perspective on museums and what they may now be good for. Nicholas Thomas argues that what is special about museums are their collections, which are not just rich resources for reflection, but creative technologies that enable people to make new things in the present. Reflecting on art galleries, science and history institutions, and museums around the world, Thomas shows that in times marked by insecurity and increasing conflict, museums can help to sustain and enrich society. They stimulate a curiosity that is vital to understanding and negotiating the cosmopolitan but dangerous world we all now inhabit. The Return of Curiosity is a book that anyone who visits and enjoys museums will find engaging and stimulating. Curators, arts and heritage professionals, policymakers and all museum studies teachers and students need to own and read this influential book.

Subjects & people

authors→ author (initial fill only)
Nicholas Thomas
tags→ tags
Art, Arts, Art -- Exhibitions, Contemporary Art, Art, Modern -- 21st century, Art, Modern -- 20th century, Persons, Civilisation, Museum curators, Museums -- Employees, Public institutions, Associations, institutions, etc., Law, Museums, Collectors and collecting, Art museums, Education, Learning, International law, Anthropological museums and collections, Ethnological museums and collections, Museum visitors, Museums -- Collection management, Repatriation
subject_people
British Museum, Grayson Perry, Guggenheim Museum, J. M. W. Turner (English, b.1775, d.1851), J. Paul Getty Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art
subject_objects
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Topics and Themes