MHST 516
Making Meanings: Museums, Heritage and Leisure Experience

This course examines museums, galleries and heritage as sites of meaning-making using theoretical perspectives from sociology, leisure studies, cultural studies and visitor studies.

With a particular focus on the role of narrative and the construction of meaning and identity, the course will explore the following themes:
the philosophical and historical foundations of leisure; leisure, change and the ‘new’ museum; play, ‘edutainment’ and visitor experience; social inclusion and civil leisure; public history, belonging and continuity in ‘liquid’ modernity; the heritage industry, authenticity and the ‘post-tourist’; natural and cultural tourism; positioning museums, galleries and heritage sites within the leisure sector. Why do people visit museums, galleries and heritage sites? What kinds of experiences do they have there? How can institutions best meet the needs of their visitors?

As cultural institutions are increasingly positioned within the leisure sector, it is becoming vital that they understand their visitors and the dynamics of contemporary leisure experience. The course is relevant to the areas of visitor experience, audience development, exhibition design, museum education, interpretation and public programming. The content of the course also informs students about the wider impact of the leisure sector on the role of cultural institutions, their management, marketing, funding and strategic positioning.