Museology – a Useful Perspective or a “Real Science”? Some Thoughts on How to Make the Most of a Great Idea

Svrha je ovog rada istaknuti nekoliko zanimljivih pitanja koja izranjaju iz djela Stránskoga i Šole, posebice iz njihovog tretmana znanstvenih temelja muzeologije kao akademske discipline. Propitana su dva područja: prvo, odnos muzeologije i postmoderne i drugo, odnos muzeologije prema kontinuitetu i promjeni. Naposljetku, istaknut je i prijedlog za primjenu muzeologije kao korisne perspektive u cijelom nizu akademskih područja. Pravo je pitanje želimo li da muzeologija bude pragmatična i normativna disciplina zasnovana na etičkim vrijednostima ili žudimo za opisom i analizom složenosti našeg društva i uloge koju povijest/prošlost igra u konstrukciji sadašnjosti. Ovo je pitanje potrebno raspraviti.The purpose of this article is to bring forth a few interesting points that rise from the writings of Stránský and Šola, especially from their treatment of the scientific foundations of museology as an academic discipline. The two question areas addressed in this article are: firstly, museology and the post-modern, and secondly, museology and its stance towards continuity and change. Finally, a suggestion for the use of museology as a useful perspective in a number of academic fields is brought forth. It is a real question whether we want museology to be a pragmatic, normative and ethically value-based discipline or whether we yield to a description and an analysis of the complexities of our society and the role of history/past in the construction of the present. This is a question that must be addresse