Papers by Gustavo Corral Guillé
Intervención
Este libro es el tercer volumen de la serie Estudios sobre Públicos y Museos, que coordina Letici... more Este libro es el tercer volumen de la serie Estudios sobre Públicos y Museos, que coordina Leticia Pérez Castellanos, profesora del Posgrado en Museología de la Escuela Nacional de Conservación, Restauración y Museografía del Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (ENCRyM-INAH). Se trata de una contribución importante al conjunto de trabajos que demuestran el sentido y la utilidad de los estudios de públicos. La obra, además de aportar una diversidad de estudios de caso de instituciones museales que por diferentes razones se han dado a la tarea de analizar a sus públicos, centra la mirada en los debates, los dilemas y las prácticas que hoy en día caracterizan este tipo de investigaciones. ___ This book is the third volume in the Estudios sobre Públicos y Museos (Studies in Visitors and Museums) series, coordinated by Leticia Pérez Castellanos, academic of the Postgraduate program in Museology at the Escuela Nacional de Conservación, Restauración y Museografía of the Instituto...
This paper addresses the initial development of the New Exhibition Scheme (NES) in the Natural Hi... more This paper addresses the initial development of the New Exhibition Scheme (NES) in the Natural History Museum (NHM) in London during the 1970s. In particular it explores how the need to cover new educational objectives in museums was shaped and how managers of NHM changed the image of the museum and its exhibitions to present it as an institution able to attract and educate a wider audience. As discussed here, this educational model built a narrative interpreted in advance by various educational and communication technologies to explain the current principles of science, making a simplified didactic presentation. New professionals joined the NES to carry out the interpretation work of the exhibits and moved away from the traditional production process of exhibition, mainly in charge of curators. These professionals included the transformers, responsible for translating the content to different visual strategies that would be familiar to all visitors. But there were also other experts working in the planning and development of these new educational aims and who were equally decisive: educators, who produced educational materials and psychologists studying the reception of exhibits and evaluating their educational effectiveness. Finally, the study shows the complexity of exhibitionary production and illustrates the relationship between the private interests of the creators of an exhibition and the final result in the gallery.
Dynamis, 2018
espanolEste ensayo analiza el proceso de cambio que experimento el Natural History Museum (NHM) d... more espanolEste ensayo analiza el proceso de cambio que experimento el Natural History Museum (NHM) de Londres en su programa expositivo a lo largo de la decada de 1970 durante el desarrollo del denominado New Exhibition Scheme (NES), que paso de un discurso basado en especimenes reales a uno centrado en medios audiovisuales, dispositivos interactivos y guiones altamente estructurados. El NES contemplaba diez exposiciones permanentes, comenzando con la exposicion Human Biology, an Exhibition of Ourselves, inaugurada en 1977 y que es el caso de estudio del articulo. Una serie de factores, como aqui se sugiere, alentaron y aceleraron un cambio tan significativo, ya que el Museo tuvo que justificar que se trataba de una institucion responsable socialmente. A partir de ese momento, el visitante adquirio un mayor protagonismo, por encima, incluso, de las colecciones y las exposiciones. Nuevos profesionales del museo se incorporaron al proceso de creacion expositiva, desplazando a los conserv...
Intervención Revista Internacional de Conservación Restauración y Museología, 2010
Sinéctica, Revista Electrónica de Educación, 2019
Ensenanza E Historia De Las Ciencias Y De Las Tecnicas Orientacion Metodologia Y Perspectivas Actas Del Vii Simposio De Ensenanza E Historia De Las Ciencias Y De Las Tecnicas De La Sehcyt Barcelona Institut D Estudis Catalans 15 16 Marzo 2913 2014 Isbn 978 84 616 9283 5 Pags 159 164, 2014
LiminaR Estudios Sociales y Humanísticos, 2020
En este artículo se reflexiona sobre la urgencia de adoptar una concepción más compleja de la nat... more En este artículo se reflexiona sobre la urgencia de adoptar una concepción más compleja de la naturaleza del conocimiento científico y su proceso de construcción que transite de los supuestos de objetividad, neutralidad y universalidad hacia una interpretación que la asuma como un fenómeno socialmente configurado, parcial, incierto y complejo. Complejizar y cuestionar la ciencia ampliará las posibilidades de otorgar a la ciudadanía mayor participación en la producción y comunicación de la ciencia y de establecer un diálogo de saberes que rescate la validez de otras epistemologías alternas al conocimiento científico. A partir de una ciencia dispuesta a escuchar mejor desde la humildad y el respeto se podrá aprender a convivir con la incertidumbre y a diseñar estrategias que permitan afrontar sus riesgos y modificar su curso.
Memoria, revista de crítico militante, 2019
Dynamis, 2018
This essay analyzes the process of change experienced by the Museum of Natural History (NHM) in L... more This essay analyzes the process of change experienced by the Museum of Natural History (NHM) in London in its exhibition program throughout the 1970s during the development of the so-called New Exhibition Scheme (NES), which went from a speech based on real specimens to one focused on audiovisual media, interactive devices and highly structured scripts. The NES contemplated ten permanent exhibitions, beginning with the Human Biology exhibition, an Exhibition of Ourselves, inaugurated in 1977 and which is the case study of the article. Several factors, as suggested here, encouraged and accelerated such a significant change, since the Museum had to justify that it was a socially responsible institution. From that moment, the visitor acquired a greater prominence, especially, even from the collections and exhibitions. The new professionals of the museum joined the process of creating exhibitions, displacing the conservatives, who had traditionally been in charge of these tasks, from very different values and practices. They turned to audiovisual and interactive devices to combine education and entertainment and sought a pedagogical approach that balanced two recent educational theories, such as programmed learning and discovery learning.
Intervención, 2017
This essay provides an overview of the Natural History Museum (nhm) in London, United Kingdom, be... more This essay provides an overview of the Natural History Museum (nhm) in London, United Kingdom, between the late 1960s and early 1980s, in order to explore how it changed both its institutional identity as well as its exhibition policy during this period. It intends to demonstrate that, in 6order to alter its image, the museographic discourse of the nhm stopped focusing on its collection —that is, the natural history specimens— to instead concentrate on the visitors and pay particular attention to the new approach of contemporary biology. To this end, it is posed that Human Biology, the first exhibition of the New Exhibition Program (nep), was designed in accordance with the reductionist tendencies that characterized contemporary science, structured around the information systems. Hence, through visual metaphors and interactive strategies, Human Biology became a production and legitimization space for a particular scientific point of view, which was very close to that exposed by the external advisers who collaborated in the specification of its museographic contents.
This paper addresses the initial development of the New Exhibition Scheme (NES)
in the Natural Hi... more This paper addresses the initial development of the New Exhibition Scheme (NES)
in the Natural History Museum (NHM) in London during the 1970s. In particular it explores
how the need to cover new educational objectives in museums was shaped and
how managers of NHM changed the image of the museum and its exhibitions to present
it as an institution able to attract and educate a wider audience.
As discussed here, this educational model built a narrative interpreted in advance
by various educational and communication technologies to explain the current principles
of science, making a simplified didactic presentation. New professionals joined the NES
to carry out the interpretation work of the exhibits and moved away from the traditional
production process of exhibition, mainly in charge of curators.
These professionals included the transformers, responsible for translating the content
to different visual strategies that would be familiar to all visitors. But there were
also other experts working in the planning and development of these new educational
aims and who were equally decisive: educators, who produced educational materials and
psychologists studying the reception of exhibits and evaluating their educational effectiveness.
Finally, the study shows the complexity of exhibitionary production and illustrates
the relationship between the private interests of the creators of an exhibition and the
final result in the gallery.
El presente trabajo analiza la forma en que se llevó a cabo la misión pedagógica del nuevo esquem... more El presente trabajo analiza la forma en que se llevó a cabo la misión pedagógica del nuevo esquema expositivo
que el Natural History Museum de Londres comenzó a planificar y desarrollar en 1972. Este modelo educativo
se apoyó en el trabajo de los expertos en teorías educativas en la segunda mitad del siglo XX. Como se plantea aquí, dicha
narrativa era interpretada de antemano mediante diversas tecnologías educativas y estrategias comunicativas
para explicar los principios actuales de la ciencia, haciendo una presentación didáctica excesivamente
simplificada.
This paper explains what were the strategies used and the results obtained in the first exhibitio... more This paper explains what were the strategies used and the results obtained in the first exhibition of the New Exhibition Scheme (NES) at the Natural History Museum (NHM) in London, conceived by Roger Miles, Head of the Department of Public Services of that prestigious institution.
With the aim of attracting more visitors, the creators of the New Exhibition Scheme of the museum decided to downplay the primacy of objects in exhibits and instead of them, they would incorporate interactive modules and models. The exhibition was entitled ’Human Biology’ and was inaugurated
on May 24, 1977. The theme of the exhibition was the biology of
man, but as argued in this paper, ’Human Biology’ also served as a means to validate the discourse of modernization of human biology, as a more rigorous discipline with more accurate tools and techniques than those used by traditional physical anthropology. It also sought to build an audience
to reinforce the interdisciplinary field of cognitive science and artificial intelligence in particular. Between the members of the scientific advisory team of the exhibition was personalities who played a leading role in the development of these disciplines, and needed to establish their validity and usefulness to non-specialists and the general public.
Thesis by Gustavo Corral Guillé
This paper offers a look at the Natural History Museum in London in late 1960 and early 1980 and ... more This paper offers a look at the Natural History Museum in London in late 1960 and early 1980 and the way the identity and museum exhibition policy changed at that time. The characterization of the audience the new exhibitions were addressed also changed from an audience with a solid
knowledge and a clear interest in natural history to mostly children.
The thesis follows the planning and production of the new exhibition model that began to take shape in 1968 with the appointment of new director Frank Claringbull, to which the Board of Trustees of the Museum entrusted the mission of 'renew' the galleries. At a time when the nation was going through serious economic difficulties and a financial control over public institutions was started, they should justify more government funding. With the idea of changing the image of the
museum, the new model shifted its focus from the specimens and to the visitors.
The new exhibits significantly replaced objects by models and interactive devices and labels became a minor component of a story with a simple plot about a contemporary issue and it was illustrated by some specimens. In addition, the learning environment was structured with the use of educational technologies, as suggested by pedagogical theories of the moment: programmed learning and discovery learning.
This work shows the complexity of the production of exhibitions and illustrates the relationship between the private interests of the creators and the final result in the gallery. With the emergence of new museum professionals, it was discussed who should be responsible for the communication
of science and what was the best way to perform this task. The thesis presents five exhibitions and argues that each of them represented a space in which a particular perspective of the science was produced and legitimated, even if these approaches did not have the approval of the entire scientific
community.
Blogs by Gustavo Corral Guillé
Short essay for the blog Notches: (re)marks on the history of sexuality on the aspects of the int... more Short essay for the blog Notches: (re)marks on the history of sexuality on the aspects of the interconnections between the histories of sexuality and the histories of food, for a special roundtable guest-edited by Rachel Hope Cleves, Associate Professor at the University of Victoria.
Book Reviews by Gustavo Corral Guillé
Uploads
Papers by Gustavo Corral Guillé
in the Natural History Museum (NHM) in London during the 1970s. In particular it explores
how the need to cover new educational objectives in museums was shaped and
how managers of NHM changed the image of the museum and its exhibitions to present
it as an institution able to attract and educate a wider audience.
As discussed here, this educational model built a narrative interpreted in advance
by various educational and communication technologies to explain the current principles
of science, making a simplified didactic presentation. New professionals joined the NES
to carry out the interpretation work of the exhibits and moved away from the traditional
production process of exhibition, mainly in charge of curators.
These professionals included the transformers, responsible for translating the content
to different visual strategies that would be familiar to all visitors. But there were
also other experts working in the planning and development of these new educational
aims and who were equally decisive: educators, who produced educational materials and
psychologists studying the reception of exhibits and evaluating their educational effectiveness.
Finally, the study shows the complexity of exhibitionary production and illustrates
the relationship between the private interests of the creators of an exhibition and the
final result in the gallery.
que el Natural History Museum de Londres comenzó a planificar y desarrollar en 1972. Este modelo educativo
se apoyó en el trabajo de los expertos en teorías educativas en la segunda mitad del siglo XX. Como se plantea aquí, dicha
narrativa era interpretada de antemano mediante diversas tecnologías educativas y estrategias comunicativas
para explicar los principios actuales de la ciencia, haciendo una presentación didáctica excesivamente
simplificada.
With the aim of attracting more visitors, the creators of the New Exhibition Scheme of the museum decided to downplay the primacy of objects in exhibits and instead of them, they would incorporate interactive modules and models. The exhibition was entitled ’Human Biology’ and was inaugurated
on May 24, 1977. The theme of the exhibition was the biology of
man, but as argued in this paper, ’Human Biology’ also served as a means to validate the discourse of modernization of human biology, as a more rigorous discipline with more accurate tools and techniques than those used by traditional physical anthropology. It also sought to build an audience
to reinforce the interdisciplinary field of cognitive science and artificial intelligence in particular. Between the members of the scientific advisory team of the exhibition was personalities who played a leading role in the development of these disciplines, and needed to establish their validity and usefulness to non-specialists and the general public.
Thesis by Gustavo Corral Guillé
knowledge and a clear interest in natural history to mostly children.
The thesis follows the planning and production of the new exhibition model that began to take shape in 1968 with the appointment of new director Frank Claringbull, to which the Board of Trustees of the Museum entrusted the mission of 'renew' the galleries. At a time when the nation was going through serious economic difficulties and a financial control over public institutions was started, they should justify more government funding. With the idea of changing the image of the
museum, the new model shifted its focus from the specimens and to the visitors.
The new exhibits significantly replaced objects by models and interactive devices and labels became a minor component of a story with a simple plot about a contemporary issue and it was illustrated by some specimens. In addition, the learning environment was structured with the use of educational technologies, as suggested by pedagogical theories of the moment: programmed learning and discovery learning.
This work shows the complexity of the production of exhibitions and illustrates the relationship between the private interests of the creators and the final result in the gallery. With the emergence of new museum professionals, it was discussed who should be responsible for the communication
of science and what was the best way to perform this task. The thesis presents five exhibitions and argues that each of them represented a space in which a particular perspective of the science was produced and legitimated, even if these approaches did not have the approval of the entire scientific
community.
Blogs by Gustavo Corral Guillé
Book Reviews by Gustavo Corral Guillé
in the Natural History Museum (NHM) in London during the 1970s. In particular it explores
how the need to cover new educational objectives in museums was shaped and
how managers of NHM changed the image of the museum and its exhibitions to present
it as an institution able to attract and educate a wider audience.
As discussed here, this educational model built a narrative interpreted in advance
by various educational and communication technologies to explain the current principles
of science, making a simplified didactic presentation. New professionals joined the NES
to carry out the interpretation work of the exhibits and moved away from the traditional
production process of exhibition, mainly in charge of curators.
These professionals included the transformers, responsible for translating the content
to different visual strategies that would be familiar to all visitors. But there were
also other experts working in the planning and development of these new educational
aims and who were equally decisive: educators, who produced educational materials and
psychologists studying the reception of exhibits and evaluating their educational effectiveness.
Finally, the study shows the complexity of exhibitionary production and illustrates
the relationship between the private interests of the creators of an exhibition and the
final result in the gallery.
que el Natural History Museum de Londres comenzó a planificar y desarrollar en 1972. Este modelo educativo
se apoyó en el trabajo de los expertos en teorías educativas en la segunda mitad del siglo XX. Como se plantea aquí, dicha
narrativa era interpretada de antemano mediante diversas tecnologías educativas y estrategias comunicativas
para explicar los principios actuales de la ciencia, haciendo una presentación didáctica excesivamente
simplificada.
With the aim of attracting more visitors, the creators of the New Exhibition Scheme of the museum decided to downplay the primacy of objects in exhibits and instead of them, they would incorporate interactive modules and models. The exhibition was entitled ’Human Biology’ and was inaugurated
on May 24, 1977. The theme of the exhibition was the biology of
man, but as argued in this paper, ’Human Biology’ also served as a means to validate the discourse of modernization of human biology, as a more rigorous discipline with more accurate tools and techniques than those used by traditional physical anthropology. It also sought to build an audience
to reinforce the interdisciplinary field of cognitive science and artificial intelligence in particular. Between the members of the scientific advisory team of the exhibition was personalities who played a leading role in the development of these disciplines, and needed to establish their validity and usefulness to non-specialists and the general public.
knowledge and a clear interest in natural history to mostly children.
The thesis follows the planning and production of the new exhibition model that began to take shape in 1968 with the appointment of new director Frank Claringbull, to which the Board of Trustees of the Museum entrusted the mission of 'renew' the galleries. At a time when the nation was going through serious economic difficulties and a financial control over public institutions was started, they should justify more government funding. With the idea of changing the image of the
museum, the new model shifted its focus from the specimens and to the visitors.
The new exhibits significantly replaced objects by models and interactive devices and labels became a minor component of a story with a simple plot about a contemporary issue and it was illustrated by some specimens. In addition, the learning environment was structured with the use of educational technologies, as suggested by pedagogical theories of the moment: programmed learning and discovery learning.
This work shows the complexity of the production of exhibitions and illustrates the relationship between the private interests of the creators and the final result in the gallery. With the emergence of new museum professionals, it was discussed who should be responsible for the communication
of science and what was the best way to perform this task. The thesis presents five exhibitions and argues that each of them represented a space in which a particular perspective of the science was produced and legitimated, even if these approaches did not have the approval of the entire scientific
community.