Genre and the Museum Exhibition
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/lhs.v2i2.299Keywords:
Genre, Museum, Museum Exhibition, Systemic-functional Linguistics, Text, Communication, Multimodal Text AnalysisAbstract
This paper applies a linguistic understanding of genre to the domain of museum exhibitions, interpreting these exhibitions as communicative texts. Genre will be seen to be not just a useful metaphor, but an important analytical tool in approaching the analysis of museum exhibitions as texts. Two concurrent exhibitions from a science and technology museum are compared in terms of genre, and it is argued that genre is a useful tool for identifying their distinctive social purposes. It is also noted that the unique nature of these complex, three-dimensional, multimodal texts requires some of the linguistic understandings of genre to be adapted. Connections are made both ‘below’, to aspects of register variation, and ‘above’, to the ideological stance and communicative potential of the museum as a whole as a communicative entity.
References
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Blais, A. (ed.) (1995) Text in the Exhibition Medium 193–204. La Société des Musées Québécois, Musée de la Civilisation.
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Martin, J. R. and Rose, D. (2003) Working with Discourse: meaning beyond the clause. London: Continuum.
Pang, K. M. A. (2001) Disciplining History – A Multimodal Analysis of the Museum Exhibition ‘From Colony to Nation’. Unpublished Master’s thesis, National University of Singapore.
Pang, K. M. A. (2004) Making history in ‘From Colony to Nation’: a multimodal analysis of a museum exhibition in Singapore. In K. L. O’Halloran (ed.) Multi-modal Discourse Analysis 28–54. London: Continuum.
Purser, E. (2000) Telling stories: text analysis in a museum. In E. Ventola (ed.) Discourse and Community: doing functional linguistics 169–198. Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag.
Ravelli, L. J. (2006) Museum Texts: communication frameworks. London and New York: Routledge.
Safeyaton, A. (2004) A semiotic study of Singapore’s Orchard Road and Marriott Hotel. In K. L. O’Halloran (ed.) Multimodal Discourse Analysis 55–82. London: Continuum.
Serrell, B. (1996) Exhibit Labels: an interpretive approach. Walnut Creek: AltaMira Press.
Spencer, H. A. D. (1999) Exhibition development. In G. Dexter Lord and B. Lord (eds) The Manual of Museum Planning 155–173. (2nd edition) London: The Stationery Office.
Stenglin, M. (2004) Packaging Curiosities: towards a grammar of three-dimensional space. Unpublished PhD thesis, Department of Linguistics, University of Sydney.
van Leeuwen, T. (1998) Textual space and point of view. Paper presented to the Museums Australia State Conference, Who Sees, Who Speaks – voices and points of view in exhibitions. Australian Museum, 21 September.
van Leeuwen, T. (2005) Introducing Social Semiotics. London and New York: Routledge
White, P. R. (1994) Images of the shark: Jaws, gold fish, or cuddly toy? An analysis of the Australian Museum’s 1994 Shark exhibition from a communicative perspective. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Linguistics, University of Sydney.
White, P. R. (1997) Death, disruption and the moral order: the narrative impulse in mass ‘hard news’ reporting. In F. Christie and J. R. Martin (eds) Genre and institutions: social processes in the workplace and school 101–133. London, Washington: Cassell.
Witcomb, A. (2003) Re-Imagining the Museum: beyond the mausoleum. London and New York: Routledge.
Bennett, T. (1995) The Birth of the Museum: history, theory, politics. London: Routledge.
Blais, A. (ed.) (1995) Text in the Exhibition Medium 193–204. La Société des Musées Québécois, Musée de la Civilisation.
Dean, D. (1994) Museum Exhibition: theory and practice. London and New York: Routledge.
Eggins, S. (2004) An Introduction to Systemic-Functional Linguistics. (2nd edition) London: Pinter Publishers.
Falk, J. H. and Dierking, L. D. (2000) Learning from Museums – Visitor Experiences and the Making of Meaning. Walnut Ck, CA: AltaMira Press.
Ferguson, L., MacLulich, C. and Ravelli, L. (1995) Meanings and Messages: language guidelines for museum exhibitions. Sydney: The Australian Museum.
Halliday, M. A. K. and Matthiessen, C. M. I. M. (2004) An Introduction to Functional Grammar. (3rd edition) London: Arnold.
Hasan, R. (1995) The conception of context in text. In P. H. Fries and M. Gregory (eds) Discourse in Society: systemic functional perspectives: meaning and choice in language: studies for Michael Halliday 183–283. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Hooper-Greenhill, E. (1994) Museums and their Visitors. London: Routledge.
Hooper-Greenhill, E. (ed.) (1999) The Educational Role of the Museum. (2nd edition) London and New York: Routledge.
Kavanagh, G. (ed.) (1991) Museum Languages: objects and texts. Leicester: Leicester University.
Kress, G. and van Leeuwen, T. (2006) Reading Images: the grammar of visual design. (2nd edition) London: Routledge.
Martin, J. R. (1984) Language, register and genre. In F. Christie (ed.) Children Writing: a reader 21–29. Geelong: Deakin University Press
Martin, J. R. (1992) English Text: system and structure. Philadelphia and Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Martin, J. R. (2001) Language, register and genre. In A. Burns and C. Coffin (eds) Analysing English in a Global Context: a reader 149–166. London: Routledge.
Martin, J. R. and Rose, D. (2003) Working with Discourse: meaning beyond the clause. London: Continuum.
Pang, K. M. A. (2001) Disciplining History – A Multimodal Analysis of the Museum Exhibition ‘From Colony to Nation’. Unpublished Master’s thesis, National University of Singapore.
Pang, K. M. A. (2004) Making history in ‘From Colony to Nation’: a multimodal analysis of a museum exhibition in Singapore. In K. L. O’Halloran (ed.) Multi-modal Discourse Analysis 28–54. London: Continuum.
Purser, E. (2000) Telling stories: text analysis in a museum. In E. Ventola (ed.) Discourse and Community: doing functional linguistics 169–198. Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag.
Ravelli, L. J. (2006) Museum Texts: communication frameworks. London and New York: Routledge.
Safeyaton, A. (2004) A semiotic study of Singapore’s Orchard Road and Marriott Hotel. In K. L. O’Halloran (ed.) Multimodal Discourse Analysis 55–82. London: Continuum.
Serrell, B. (1996) Exhibit Labels: an interpretive approach. Walnut Creek: AltaMira Press.
Spencer, H. A. D. (1999) Exhibition development. In G. Dexter Lord and B. Lord (eds) The Manual of Museum Planning 155–173. (2nd edition) London: The Stationery Office.
Stenglin, M. (2004) Packaging Curiosities: towards a grammar of three-dimensional space. Unpublished PhD thesis, Department of Linguistics, University of Sydney.
van Leeuwen, T. (1998) Textual space and point of view. Paper presented to the Museums Australia State Conference, Who Sees, Who Speaks – voices and points of view in exhibitions. Australian Museum, 21 September.
van Leeuwen, T. (2005) Introducing Social Semiotics. London and New York: Routledge
White, P. R. (1994) Images of the shark: Jaws, gold fish, or cuddly toy? An analysis of the Australian Museum’s 1994 Shark exhibition from a communicative perspective. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Linguistics, University of Sydney.
White, P. R. (1997) Death, disruption and the moral order: the narrative impulse in mass ‘hard news’ reporting. In F. Christie and J. R. Martin (eds) Genre and institutions: social processes in the workplace and school 101–133. London, Washington: Cassell.
Witcomb, A. (2003) Re-Imagining the Museum: beyond the mausoleum. London and New York: Routledge.
Published
2008-03-14
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Ravelli, L. J. (2008). Genre and the Museum Exhibition. Linguistics and the Human Sciences, 2(2), 299-317. https://doi.org/10.1558/lhs.v2i2.299
