Creating global citizens? Museums, the nation and the world Seminar

To what extent do national artistic and cultural institutions — in part established to create national citizens — now see themselves as creating cosmopolitans too? As countries become more diverse and their geopolitical fortunes rise and fall, how do different kinds of museums change how they represent the nation in the world? What can we learn about regional variations in cultural globalisation and cosmopolitanism by looking at the museum sector? What is it about the history and culture of particular cities and regions that produces institutions that are more or less outward looking? This talk presents preliminary findings from research that explores these questions by comparing art and ethnographic museums in the United States, Europe, and Asia.