Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Medium is the Message

Unravelling Visitors’ Views of Body Worlds and the Story of the Heart

  • Chapter
Understanding Interactions at Science Centers and Museums

Abstract

The main goal of this chapter is to describe how research findings on a scaffoldingfocused,reflection-oriented community of practice transformed museum educators’identities as educators. A second goal is to describe the theory, the multiple methodologies drawing on that theory,and the layered analysis that accompanied this research. Our theoretical lens is sociocultural,placing great emphasis on community building,dialogic negotiation,and ongoing reflection and research on practice.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 49.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

REFERENCES

  • Allen, S. (1998) Sociocultural theory in museums: Insights and suggestions. Journal of Museum

    Google Scholar 

  • Education, 22(2&3), 8–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allen, S. (2002). Looking for learning in visitor talk: A methodological exploration. In G. Leinhardt, K. Crowley, & K. Knutson (Eds.), Learning conversations in museums (pp. 259–303). Mahwah, JN: Lawrence Erlbauum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barilan, Y. M. (2006). Body Worlds and the ethics of using human remains: a preliminary discussion. Bioethics 20(5), 233–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradburne, J.M. (1998). Dinosaurs and white elephants: The science centre in the 21st century. Museum Management and Curatorship, 17(2), 119–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burns, L. (2007). Gunther von Hagens’ Body Worlds: Selling Beautiful Education. The American Journal of Bioethics, 7(4), 12–23, 2007

    Google Scholar 

  • Conn, S. (2010). Do museums still need objects? Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Connor, J.T. H. (2007). Exhibit Essay Review: “Faux Reality” show? The Body Worlds phenomenon and its reinvention of anatomical Bulletin of History and Medicine. 81, 848–865.

    Google Scholar 

  • Charmaz, K. & Paterniti, D.A. (Eds.) 1998. Health, Illness, and Healing: Society, Social Context, and Self: an Anthology. Los Angeles: Roxbury Publishing Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cresswell, J.W.: 1998, Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Traditions Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davidsson, E., & Jakobsson, A. (2007). Different images of science at Nordic science centres. International Journal of Science Education, 29(10), 1229–1244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Falk, J., & Dierking, L. (2000). Learning from museums. Visitor experiences and the making of meaning. New York: Altamira Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fischer, U. 2005. When death goes on display. In G. von Hagens (Ed.) Body Worlds: The anatomical exhibition of real human bodies. Heidelberg, GER: Institute for Plastination.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heumann Gurian, E. (2004). What is the object of this exercise? A meandering exploration of the many meanings of objects in museums. In G. Anderson (Ed.) Reinventing the Museum, Historical and contemporary perspectives on the paradigm shift. (pp. 269–283). New York: Altimara Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanlon, V. (2003). Body Worlds. ECMAJ 169, 52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krippendorff, K. (1998). Content analyses: An introduction to its methodology. Beverly Hills: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leiberich, P., Loew, T., Tritt, K., Lahmann, C. & Nickel, M. (2006). Body Worlds exhibition–Visitor attitudes and emotions. Annals of Anatomy, 188. 567–573.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Livingstone, P., Pedretti, E., &, Soren, B. (2001). Visitor comments and the socio-cultural context of science: Public perceptions and the exhibition,A Question of Truth. Museum Management and Curatorship 9(4), 355–369.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Macdonald, S. (1998). The politics of display: Museums, science, culture. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macdonald, S. (2005). Accessing audiences: visiting visitor books. Museum and Society, 3(3), 119–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • McLuhan, M. (1964). Understanding media: The extensions of man. New York: McGraw Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mintz, A. (1995) Communicating controversy: Science museums and issues education. Washington, DC: Association of Science-Technology Centers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, C., Brown, C. (2006). Experiencing Body Worlds: Voyeurism, education or enlightenment? Journal of Med Humanity, 28, 231–254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pearce, S. (1996) Exploring science in museums. London: Athlone Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pedretti, E. (2002). T. Kuhn meets T. Rex: Critical conversations and new directions in science centres and museums. Studies in Science Education, 37, 1–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pedretti, E. (2004). Perspectives on learning through research on critical issues-based science centre exhibitions. Science Education, 88(1), S34–S47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pedretti, E., McLaughlin, H., Macdonald, R. & Gitari, W., (2001). Visitor perspectives on the nature and practice of science: Challenging beliefs through A Question of Truth. Canadian Journal of Science, Technology and Mathematics Education, 1(4), 399–418.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pedretti, E., & Soren, B. (2003). A question of truth: A cacophony of visitor voices. Journal of Museum Education 28(3), 17–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schauble, L., Leinhardt, G., & Martin. L. (1997). A framework for organizing a cumulative research agenda in informal learning contexts. Journal of Museum Education, 22, 3–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stake, R. E. (2005). Qualitative Case Studies. Handbook of Qualitative Research, (pp. 435–454). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vom Lehn, D. (2006). The body as interactive display: Examining bodies in a public exhibition. Sociology of Health & Illness, 28(2), 223–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • von Hagens, G. (2002). Anatomy and plastination. In von Hagens, G. and Whalley, A. (Eds.) Discover the mysteries under your skin. Gunther von Hagens’ Body Worlds. The Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodies. Catalogue of the Exhibition. Heidelberg: Institute fur Plastination.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walter, (2004). Body Worlds: Clinical detachment and anatomical awe. Sociology of Health and Illness. 26(4), 464–488.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wellington, J.J. 1998. Interactive science centres and science education. Croner’s Heads of Science Bulletin, 16, Surrey: Croner Publications Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Science Education OISE, University of Toronto, Canada

    Erminia Pedretti (Professor)

Authors
  1. Erminia Pedretti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Eva Davidsson Anders Jakobsson

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2012 Sense Publishers

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Pedretti, E. (2012). The Medium is the Message. In: Davidsson, E., Jakobsson, A. (eds) Understanding Interactions at Science Centers and Museums. SensePublishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6091-725-7_4

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Societies and partnerships

Search

Navigation