La nouvelle muséologie comme mouvement politique

Sa production et sa réception en France et au Québec

Abstract

Developed by French cultural researchers since the early 1970s, new museology has been closely studied in the context of museum practice as a turning renewal of professional practices. More than an instrument of professional renewal, new museology was the bearer of a political project often overlooked in the literature on heritage and culture. In essence, new museology’s objective was to mobilize the museum to promote the social integration of people and use that institution in the community projects. New museology claimed that the museum could transform society and participate in public policy. This article seeks to reposition the concept and history of the new museology relocating it in its political context, based on the case of France and Quebec. Based on case studies of Quebec museums enrolling in the wake of new museology, this article illustrates the strategies and the contribution of museums in the development of new forms of public ownership that emerged as a challenge to the prevailing traditional political mechanisms.