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Emotions are sometimes thought of as human universals, biological facts shared by everyone due to the place of emotions as a function of evolution. A competing theory of emotion has been developed in the field of the history of emotions, where emotions instead are thought of as less unstable historically variable categories. The field of history of emotions has contributed to a heightened interest in emotions in general, including in the places of emotions within museums and museum discourse. Emotions are not only thought of as instrumental in the service of a museum’s pedagogical or political goal but are also subjects of exhibitions in their own right. A first principle for the following work has been that museum exhibitions are discursive acts with narrative form. In this masters thesis, I have wanted to examine the ways in which museums exhibit emotions and their histories and to what extent exhibited emotion require certain curatorial considerations to function as meaningful narratives within the context of the history of emotions. Throughout, theoretical approaches are borrowed from the study of literature and from cultural studies to work toward this goal. Two case studies are carried out in which I consider the poetics of exhibition and the role this poetic plays for the interpretation of the two narratives as wholes. An exhibition about the role of the ultras type of football supporters in the uprisings of the Arab Spring was found to centrally place emotions as catalysts for ultras’ political action. The style of narrative was found to be contributing to the sharp division between implicit audience and the culture depicted that ultimately, it was argued, gave this exhibition a place within the discourse of Orientalism. The second case study was of an exhibition about the history of love, and analysis revealed a confusion of two theoretically competing meta-narratives of love within the narrative. A universal and ahistorical metanarrative of emotion was found to work against the foundation of the exhibition as historical narrative. From these two case studies, I draw the conclusion that curators wishing to exhibit emotions must carefully consider the structure of their narratives, both because of the role of emotion in self-understanding and because of the demands on a historical narrative of emotion. This is a two-year master’s thesis in Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies.

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This study examines the processes behind two of Moderna museets complementary projects: The Museum of Wishes and The Second Museum of Wishes. The purpose of this study is to, by using these projects, examine the connection between collections and collectors, and to examine the relationship between museums, complements of the collection and representation. The aim is to compare the projects and find out if there were different reasons, methods or other significant factors that might have affected the processes. I intend to explain how these projects can be understood as a practice of complementary collecting by relating them both to collection theory and representation. My theoretical framework primarily consist of Susan Pearce’s research. I have chosen to incorporate her concepts of the poetics of collecting, the politics of collecting and the importance of earlier collected experience in my comparative study of the projects. In addition, I have also incorporated research about categories with the intention of relating it to Pearce. By studying literature that discusses the historical aspect of the projects, as well as articles, catalogues and documents that were contemporary with the projects, I have been able to compare the backgrounds as well as ideologies that might have influenced the projects. The result of this study shows that although there were many differences between the methods and processes, the art works that were collected during the projects can both be interpreted as a physical changing of the collection, a changing of the structure of the collection and a changing of the identity of the museum. What the museum gathered during the projects didn’t just represent what the organizer thought the museum needed, but can also be understood as a way of changing the standard of the collection in order to be able to compete with other museums or gathering more knowledge. This study is a two years master’s thesis in Museums and Cultural and Heritage Studies.

The aim of this master thesis is to analyze how and why Scandinavian-American history has been used in exhibitions in both Scandinavia and the United States after the end of the Great Migration. More specifically, the thesis deals with the Swedish and American exhibitions of the controversial Kensington Rune Stone, discovered in Minnesota in 1898. Despite the fact that its authenticity has been disputed by academic expertise, it has been displayed by many prominent actors. The Rune Stone is one of many purportedly pre-Columbian artifacts found in the United States. Moreover, it is an identity marker, harboring many kinds of identity constructions. The thesis therefore focuses on the meanings that the Rune Stone has been charged with since its discovery, as historical culture and in specific exhibits, on how it has been displayed, and on why it has been exhibited at  national museums in both Sweden and the United States.  The principal source materials are five exhibitions of the Kensington Rune Stone. Through an analysis of previous research about the Rune Stone, four dimensions in the historical culture surrounding the Stone have been isolated, which are used as theoretical tools in the analysis. Hence, the previous research is viewed as secondary source materials. Structured into two phases, the analysis highlights both the making of the exhibits and the public display settings. The study shows why the actors considered the Rune Stone important, which dimensions of the historical culture that were activated, and how the actors narrated the history to the public.  This master thesis argues that the Scandinavian-American use of history consists of several dimensions and should be comprehended within a transnational context. The exhibitions of the Kensington Rune Stone differ significantly from each other. From a Swedish point of view, the uses of the Rune Stone in America, as part of a “Viking discourse”, may be regarded as both vulgar and incorrect. However, this study shows that all exhibitions have had common implications. The uses of history take place within national and regional contexts and discourses, but the historical culture is hybridized and entangled across national borders. Consequently, the pre-Columbian historical culture has accompanied the Rune Stone when it moved between cultural contexts.

This study focuses on the attitudes of museumgoers toward the exhibition of human remains in modern Swedish museums. More specifically, it deals with how their attitudes toward remains are shaped and informed by museums’ materiality and institutionalized authority, whether they think of remains as humans or objects, as well as how these dead bodies ultimately become culturally meaningful to us who are still alive. Through the use of ethnographic field methods including go-along interviews and participant observation, the behaviors and opinions of museumgoers are recorded. With the help of Emmanuel Levinas’ ethical phenomenology and Annemarie Mol’s theory of multiple ontology, the cultural background against which these attitudes have taken shape is examined. The study shows that museumgoers are generally positive toward the exhibition of human remains in museums—an attitude which is influenced by the history, scientific authority, and carefully designed materiality of the museum. Among the perceived benefits of exhibiting human remains, visitors cite the ability of the remains to arouse their curiosity and serve as links to the past, as well as provide material proof that validates the museum’s claims to knowledge. However, this positive attitude is dependent on whether the remains are treated and displayed with respect. This call to treat the dead respectfully can be seen as a universal reaction to the ”face-to-face encounter” as described by Emmanuel Levinas, but at the same time, museumgoers’ interpretation of respect is culturally contingent and heavily influenced by contemporary values such as individuality, scientific objectivity, and equality. Furthermore, the perceived need to treat remains respectfully is directly tied to the perceived humanity of the remains. This is in turn dependent on how close the remains are to us in terms of appearance and temporal distance. By focusing on museumgoers instead of professionals, and through using ethnographic fieldwork to note opinions and their cultural backgrounds, this study attempts to add a fresh perspective and new knowledge to what is currently one of the hottest debates in museology: whether remains even belong in museums. Further, by recognizing that no opinion is formed in a vacuum, the narrow question of displaying death can tell us something bigger about the norms and values of Sweden today.

This study sheds light on an interface between the concepts of museum and religion, based on case studies of two churches located at open-air museums: Seglora kyrka at Skansen in Stockholm and Murbergskyrkan at Murberget in Härnösand. These represent two types of museum churches, where Seglora kyrka originally was built för religious use within the Church of Sweden, while Murbergskyrkan originally was built by an open-air museum. This has been done through studies of both the biographies of the churches, to understand the changes in identities that they have undergone during their lives, and the use of the churches today, to understand possible conflicts between pedagogical and religious use of churches at museums. The research has been carried out as a methodological bricolage, where printed sources have been combined with interviews with museum employees and observations of the churches. Based on the biographies of the churches, it can be stated that Seglora kyrka has gone through several changes, to when transferred to Skansen be assigned its present identities as both a museum object and a religious object. Murbergskyrkan has always been assigned these parallel identities. Both churches are still used both pedagogically and religiously, and assigned identities as both museum objects and religious objects. The different uses of the churches do sometimes stand in conflict. Religious practice can go against a museal conservational mission. Pedagogical use of religious objects can be a subject of debate, for example when programs aimed for schools take place in religious buildings. Churches are located at several open-air museums, in Sweden and internationally, and are often included in both educational and religious use. Awareness of possible conflicts between pedagogical and religious use of churches should hence be required from museum educators and employees. This is a two years master’s thesis in Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies.

A new cultural policy developed in Sweden in the 1960’s in order to renew the activities of mseums in a more socially relevant direction. The dissertation examines whether the museums adopted the new policy and to what extent the objectives were achieved. The thesis analyses three main areas: the new cultural policy and the attempts to implement it; activities in selected museums along with different intellectual trends that shaped their activities; and the debate between different “thought collectives” (L. Fleck) regarding museums’ missions and objectives as well as expectations within the museum sector. How did the various “actors” relate to the objectives of the new cultural policy? The thesis confirms the potential of the museums as generators for renewal and innovation in terms of democracy and development of the society. There was a clear shift in attitudes from values associated with the “Cultural heritage museum” towards the in this thesis introduced idea of the “Community museum”. The study shows how museums tried to introduce activities relating to current political and social issues, which supports the principal hypothesis in the study, that the museums became more socially relevant during the investigated period. However, during the 1980s, there could be seen a clear recurrence back to the idea of “Cultural heritage museum”. The movement in opposite directions illustrates the museums’ strong ties to the earlier traditional ”styles of thought” (Fleck) and their role as cultural guardians, which severely restricted their capacity for innovation and new ways of thinking. Nevertheless, the Swedish Exhibition Agency (Riksutställningar) performed a role as a searhead for the new cultural policy, corresponding with the heterodoxy and new style of thinking represented by the “Community museum”. A number of persons dominating the debate within the museum sector had a crucial importance in the shift towards the concept of “Community museums”. A revitalisation of the exhibitions, pedagogy and content was accomplished, often as a result of the Swedish Exhibition Agency’s efforts to develop the medium. During the period 1965–1990 Swedish museum exhibitions moved towards a temporary and more socially oriented content. According to Steven Conn’s principal thesis “Do museums still need objects?” the importance of objects gradually declined during the last century. In line with this development, the new Museum of Work had no objects/collections of its own. Furthermore, the arrival of new technology in the late 1980’s gave preconditions for reshaping knowledge and contributed to new attitudes towards communication. Museums were now seen as centres for social contact and communication. The role of museology as an academic discipline in the reprogramming of the museums towards a more socially oriented approach is another important issue. Museology has been criticized by those who – int the debate – questioned the entire idea of “Community museum”.

Introduction This master ́s thesis focuses on the financial situation in a number of museums located in Stockholm, Sweden. In particular the study focuses on external financing and sponsorship and which means that are given to meet the conditions surrounding financial support. The aim of the study is to increase the knowledge of how the financial situation for museums looks like and how the interaction between cultural and economic capital shows. Theory The theoretical framework for the study is based on the theory of cultural economics and Pierre Bourdieu's theory of cultural / economic capital and his concept of space. The study used Bruno Freys terms Superstar Museumsand thetotal experience. Method The main method for the study was a comparative method, but a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods were also applied in the study. Interviews were conducted with informants from a number of the museums and data from all the selected museums was collected and compared. The material also consisted of a variety of written material, mostly annual reports, but also news articles, reports and official documents. Analysis & Results The material shows a wide range of factors defining the economic situation of museums in Stockholm. A large part of the income comes from public fundings for the public museums. The private museums are more dependent on incomes from admission fees and external financing. For many of the public museums the market based rents for the building is an issue that causes economic distress. Conclusions Many museums work with sponsorships and have a positive view on external collaborations, at the same time the majority of the museums report a low revenue from sponsorships. The legal framework makes it more difficult for public museums to work with external financing and the taxation system aggravates sponsoring in museums. The free admission reform was both criticized and applauded and divided the private and public museums.