Museology

The course offers the student an introduction to the field of museology – the discipline which studies the concepts and functions related to the museums and museum objects and which is concerned with the preservation of the heritage, its interpretation and dissemination of its percieved meanings. The lectures cover the following topics:
- history of museums (general overview of collecting practices and development of museums in Europe)
- history of museums in Slovenija (origin and development of collections and museums in Slovenija)
- museology as a scientific discipline (the domain and functions of museology; general and theoretical museology)
- museum object (various theoretical models for studying the objects; object as a medium for information; interpretation of museum objects)
- storing and protecting the museum objects (the organisation of museum depot; conditions for museum object protection)
- museum documentation (the process of the museum documentation; digital processing of the information)
- museology and basic scientific disciplines (interdiscipinary cooperation between museology and basic scientific disciplines; informational and communicational tasks of museology)
- museum exhibition (analysis of the museum exhibitions; museum interpretation of reality; exhibition as a means of communication within museum)
- permanent museum exhibition (preparation and organisation demands for permanent museum exhibition)
- new forms of museum practices (Skansen museums; eco-museums; natural parks; children museums)
- the mission of the museums (museum and identity; museum as a medium for information and communication).