Möjligheternas hus? : museer som arenor för kulturpolitiska visioner och allmänhetens fostran

Sammanfattning: This thesis deals with the different roles and social functions of Swedish museums today. It consists of an analysis of five cultural policy documents, which have been reviewed with the purpose of categorizing the various tasks and visions for the museums described in the texts. The different statements have been categorized into three main categories: the museum as an institution of free knowledge, the museum as a foster and the museum as a social actor. Within these categories different directives appears, that both contradict and reinforce each other. Here is a mixture of both older values and contemporary words with positive connotations. There is also a constant construction of negatively charged ”counter images”, or problems – of which the document’s own policys are designed as the problem solver.   The various contradictions and paradoxes concerning the role and social function of the museum are seen in the thesis as an expression of the struggle between different discourses, proceeding from the concepts of discourse and hegemony presented by Laclau & Mouffe. Within the framework of these statements a process of negotiation between different discourses takes place, where different forces aim to fill different concepts with different meaning. This is important for the mission and social function of the museum, both today and in the future. The thesis finally shows how the museum functions as a social kitt, with the purpose of bringing together collective values in the fragmented and divided context of today. This functions as a protection against both internal and external threats.