It is an ivory-tower concept of museums to declare for themselves an existence outside of society, and to insist on their autonomy and self-determination. At all times, they are dependent on societal factors, be it the political climate or socio-demographic shifts. Agreeing to this obvious fact, museums must then become more actively oriented to their social surroundings. It is the task of museums to assimilate to these surroundings and to make themselves able and ready to shape their environments actively and self-confidently. Basing myself on sociologist Robert Merton’s classification of institutions as either ‘conventional,’ ‘ritualistic,’ ‘innovative’ or ‘rebellious,’ and having extensively reviewed the literature on museums as potential social agents, I classify museums into eight types: 1) the responsive museum, 2) the engaging museum, 3) the participatory museum, 4) the legitimate museum, 5) the community museum, 6) the inclusive museum, 7) the new museum, and 8) the contesting museum. I will provide references and examples for all eight classes of agent-oriented museums. At the end of these remarks I will return to Merton’s classification and range the eight classes of museums accordingly. I will then ask – based on the literature and the examples – what museums can be classified as ‘conventional,’ ‘ritualistic,’ ‘innovative’ or ‘rebellious,’ and have there been changes within the international museum landscape in recent years and among national museum associations? My lecture will end with a request to museums to become more socially reflective and active with respect to the urgent needs of our contemporary lives.

Dreitägiger Workshop