Museums in the New Mediascape ─ Transmedia, Participation, Ethics

The museum today faces complex questions of definition, representation, ethics, aspiration and economic survival. Alongside this we see burgeoning use of an array of new media including increasingly dynamic web portals and content, digital archives, social networks, blogs and online games. At the heart of this are changes to the idea of ’visitor’ and ’audience’ and their participation and representation in the new cultural sphere. This insightful book unpacks a number of contradictions that help to frame and articulate digital media work in the museum and questions what constitutes authentic participation. Based on original empirical research and a range of case studies the author explores questions about the museum as media from a number of different disciplines and shows that across museums and the study of them, the cultural logic is changing.

Jenny Kidd is Lecturer in Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies at Cardiff University, UK. She is co-editor of 'Performing Heritage' (with Anthony Jackson, 2010) and 'Challenging History in the Museum' (with Sam Cairns, Alex Drago, Amy Ryall and Miranda Stearn, 2014). Jenny has published widely on museums, new media and participatory practices.