Updated 5/1/2020: I've reverted most of this to draft status as I ponder further...
In recent decades the public-facing role of university museums has greatly increased. Expectations are for this to keep growing. At the same time, as part of the university, they have certain obligations; they need to fulfil the purpose of such an institution and to respect the wishes of founders and donors. So in this follow-up post to my vision for the History of Science Museum in Oxford, I wish to reflect on what role a university museum might have with respect to members of the public and systems of belief, and how it might continue to develop and flourish whilst being true to its roots. As before, they’re just my personal views, not necessarily those of the Museum or the University.
The early stages of Oxford’s medieval formation were characterised by universitas, a Latin term used for a gathering or community of scholars in higher education, who were training in holy orders, for the religious life. The word is properly contextualised in the phrase, universitas magistrorum et scholarium, and connotes the whole, or entire. This holistic approach to learning has been a core foundation sustaining the academic institution for some 800 years.
At the heart of its operation is communitas, another Latin word, which may be defined [from etymonline's entry for 'community'] as "community, society, fellowship, friendly intercourse; courtesy, condescension, affability," a deep sense of collegiality, a community in spirit, not just in form. These general principles foster an ethos, which is more than any of the individual terms. The word commonly used today is ’community’, but it tends to be materialised with reference to a particular group, where the inevitable question is, ”Which community?” followed by “What about that community?”...
In recent decades the public-facing role of university museums has greatly increased. Expectations are for this to keep growing. At the same time, as part of the university, they have certain obligations; they need to fulfil the purpose of such an institution and to respect the wishes of founders and donors. So in this follow-up post to my vision for the History of Science Museum in Oxford, I wish to reflect on what role a university museum might have with respect to members of the public and systems of belief, and how it might continue to develop and flourish whilst being true to its roots. As before, they’re just my personal views, not necessarily those of the Museum or the University.
The early stages of Oxford’s medieval formation were characterised by universitas, a Latin term used for a gathering or community of scholars in higher education, who were training in holy orders, for the religious life. The word is properly contextualised in the phrase, universitas magistrorum et scholarium, and connotes the whole, or entire. This holistic approach to learning has been a core foundation sustaining the academic institution for some 800 years.
At the heart of its operation is communitas, another Latin word, which may be defined [from etymonline's entry for 'community'] as "community, society, fellowship, friendly intercourse; courtesy, condescension, affability," a deep sense of collegiality, a community in spirit, not just in form. These general principles foster an ethos, which is more than any of the individual terms. The word commonly used today is ’community’, but it tends to be materialised with reference to a particular group, where the inevitable question is, ”Which community?” followed by “What about that community?”...
