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Monday Musing: Up Periscope

By Elizabeth Merritt

The week before last I took a tour of the British Museum’s “Defining Beauty” exhibit, hosted by historian Dan Snow (who has a gorgeously plummy accent. Bonus). I did this while pacing the corridors of AAM, channeling Dan …
Futurist Friday: A Plug for Reading Science Fiction

By Elizabeth Merritt

Rather meta–today’s Futurist Friday is about why you should read (good) science fiction for a glimpse of realistic futures. This 8 minute video from PBS Digital Studios includes clips and quotes from many of the greats, notably …
Museums and Social Justice: Supporting Self-Assessment

By Elizabeth Merritt

In a guest post here on the blog earlier this week, Nina Pelaez and Alyssa Greenberg reported on the self-organized convening of Museum Workers Speak at the AAM annual meeting in Atlanta a few weeks ago, where attendees addressed issues of …
The Future of Museums

By Dr. James Bradburne

“I believe that a desirable future depends on our deliberately choosing a life of action, over a life of consumption. Rather than maintaining a lifestyle which only allows to produce and consume–a style of life which is merely a way …
Unsafe Ideas: Building Museum Worker Solidarity for Social Justice

By Elizabeth Merritt

I was very disappointed to miss the “rogue session” at the AAM meeting in Atlanta dedicated to museum labor practices. It is, as readers of this blog know, an issue of intense interest to me, and to our field. Fortunately, two of the …
Monday Musing: Fighting for Diversity and Against Unconscious Bias

By Elizabeth Merritt

Two articles for my quick Monday thought:This depressing article from the NYTimes by a researcher who has been documenting how selection criteria in corporate America suppress diversity. He finds that the practices of selecting applicants …
Futurist Friday: The Digital Panopticon

By Elizabeth Merritt

Who saw you on your way to work today? Even if you didn’t see a soul, chances are, no matter where you live and work, someone did, or could, spot you, via one or more cameras monitoring intersections, store fronts, schools (not to …
Podcasting about Digital Learning

By Elizabeth Merritt

I love museum podcasts. I love assembling Dispatches from the Future of Museums each week. So I was verypleased to be invited to combine these passions by contributing a segment to a new podcast exploring digital learning in museums. …
Futurist Friday: Wandering

By Elizabeth Merritt

Much of the time futures work is about foreseeing, and avoiding, the worst possible outcomes. Rising seas lap at the toes of our communities (and sometimes our front steps), technology spawns ever more sophisticated ways to invade our …
The Sustainability “Myth”

By Elizabeth Merritt

Here’s something I’ve been wondering about: are social service and cultural nonprofits really the same species? Sure, we’re united by our 501(c)3 tax-exempt status, but beyond that, what’s our family resemblance, and is it …