This Master’s thesis has the politics of museum in focus, as a subordinate governmental cultural policy, as a continuation of cultural reform in a time when legislation were to take place in Sweden. The aim of the study is to map out claims from museums and their responsible authorities in response to the governmental bill Ny Museipolitik. The study deem the subject area of politics of museums as a organizational field. By using the Toulmin model of argumentation several hundred claims about the works of museums and the effects on society were founds. The result could be arranged in eight different themes. In the analysis of the claims both unifying and disrupting tendencies could be observed. The themes presented in the result are: a new legislation, a new administrative authority, handling the collection, cooperation, fundings, museums and society, quality assurance and research at the museum and a round up theme called other.      One conclusion showed that the different levels of authorities in particular produced diversified needs and challenges. Some findings point out how the field are contested concerning legitimacy. There is also conclusion indicated by the claims that showed how several isomorphic tendencies were apparent. Legislation are considered to heighten the state of affairs and the increased level of ambition are welcomed. A very apparent conclusion is that a much needed reform, according to the comment letters, is that governmental grants are increased and secured over time.

On the basis of the art and architectural displays at the 1878 Exposition Universelle Internationale à Paris, this thesis investigates the conflicting claims of nationalism; the late nineteenth-century tensions between tradition and modernity; and the disparities between the intentions of the organizers and the perceptions of the visitors. Creating connections between methodological and theoretical issues of interest to art history and museum studies, the argument explores further and refines our understanding of what has been constitutive of Exhibitions. This thesis takes the 1878 Exposition Universelle Internationale à Paris as its focus, in order to further appreciate the extent to which Exhibitions were able to influence their visitors’ minds and bodies. It scrutinizes a wide range of material generated as part of the national participation of the United Kingdom to this event in specific case studies for both breadth and depth of understanding. The examination of material published in 1878 newspapers provides evidence of a critical gaze within the Exhibition boundaries. International and universal Exhibitions have been significant events in producing and conveying various messages about diverse topics to unprecedentedly large audiences. Their rich content entailed the production and consumption of diverse experiences and meanings beyond attempt of controlling bodies and behaviours. The study of the British participation in the 1878 International Street or Rue des nations uncovers the tensions between symbols, taste and technology in architecture. Original research in the archives of the Royal Academy of Arts, London, gives a particular insight in the role of a key institution in the preparation of a national visual arts exhibition in the 1878 Paris Exposition. The examination of the reception of a particular artwork provides a useful counterpoint to these first institutionally-oriented analyses. Focusing on W. P. Frith’s The Railway Station (1862) offers a different perspective to understand the way a vast array of contemporary meanings could impact the reception of a particular work. The investigation of the critical reception of British paintings in 1878 France emphasizes the strength of cultural narratives beyond the specific vision for the Exhibition.