The first essay I read was “Globalization: Incorporating the Museum” by Mark W. Rectanus. This piece discusses the effects of globalization on museums, examining museums’ local and global roles. Rectanus focuses on how museums are simultaneously attempting to incorporate the functions of other cultural institutions while also seeking to distinguish themselves. It is the challenge of maintaining the public’s attention while standing out through “thematic specialization” (385). Rectanus also discusses how contemporary museum architecture has reflected increasing globalization. Museums are becoming cultural landmarks, visited for reasons other than the contents within. In an entertainment orientated society, museums have to compete for divided and dwindling attention. They must entertain, sell, and create dialogue. This challenge coexists with the ambition to foster meaningful content. Rectanus also remarks on the challenges of a consumption driven society, mentioning Andy Warhol’s famous quote that department stores will become museums and museum will become department stores.

The second essay I read was written by Tristram Besterman. It is entitled “Museum Ethics” and considers the philosophical origins of ethics and their manifestation within museums. Besterman traces the development of museum ethics from its initial codification in early twentieth-century to its complex current status. One of the key questions that museum ethics deliberate concerns the ownership of a historical item. Does the country of origin hold unrestricted claims of ownership? Or do those who have acquired the artifact maintain their ownership? Along with inanimate relics, human remains further complicate the question of ownership. One line of thought argues that the dominancy of heritage necessitates the restoration of artifacts to their culture of origin. Another line of thought heralds the value of globalism. It argues that the world shares a common history, and the location of display does not have to be the place of origin. Furthermore, the display ought to be in a place which receives many visitors and scholars. One side attempts to preserve culture through locational restoration. The other side seeks to preserve culture through a more global ownership. Near the end of the essay, Besterman discusses several legal implications that accompany ethical questions. This portion gives particular attention to the legality of museums withholding human remains.

The final essay I read was “Postmodern Restructurings” by Nick Prior. In this piece, Prior offers three museological restructurings that encapsulate the recent changes in museums. His first restructuring tenant revolves around the term “soft city.” Prior quotes Jonathan Rabin who describes the concept of soft city as “a yielding, amorphous labyrinth, that wraps around the urban dweller” (510). Prior draws on the connection between post-modernism and the roots of the soft city, describing life there as “bombarded by pluralized commodities circulating at unprecedented speeds” (511). The second restructuring that Prior presents is the spectacle of exhibition and display. He comments on the prevalence of blockbuster exhibitions and the effect they have on museum culture. Prior states that the “spectacle is a realm of fantastical contrivance, a kind of democratization of the image in the age of consumerism” (514). The final restructuring is the changing conventions of aesthetic perceptions. Prior writes that aesthetic progress has become “absorbed into the visual commodity market to compete with other leisure forms such as shopping, television, and sports events” (520). Prior concludes by commenting on the contradictory terrain that contemporary museums occupy.