Transcript -- Dragging the Victoria and Albert Museum's British galleries into the twenty-first century was a masssive undertaking. Here's how they did it.

Museums in contemporary society - for iPad/Mac/PC

Transcript -- Redefining the V&A

Museums in contemporary society

Transcript -- An introduction to this album.

Transcript -- Museums in contemporary society

The director, staff and visitors to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London talk about the museum's role and what they see as the source of its success.

Secrets of the V&A

Transcript -- The director, staff and visitors to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London talk about the museum's role and what they see as the source of its success.

Transcript -- Secrets of the V&A

Dragging the Victoria and Albert Museum's British galleries into the twenty-first century was a masssive undertaking. Here's how they did it.

Redefining the V&A

A sample of some of the ideas and case studies covered in the course AD281 Understanding global heritage.

Global heritage: course taster

Transcript -- A sample of some of the ideas and case studies covered in the course AD281 Understanding global heritage.

Transcript -- Global heritage: course taster

Dr Rodney Harrison of The Open University explains the importance of AHD within the course AD281 Understanding global heritage.

AHD and global heritage

Transcript -- Dr Rodney Harrison of The Open University explains the importance of AHD within the course AD281 Understanding global heritage.

Transcript -- AHD and global heritage

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What are museums for? In this album we look behind the displays to reveal the conflicting roles, power struggles and ethical dilemmas that affect museums today. Once the undisputed sources of authority on the objects in their care, museums now have to justify their decisions to the government, to their audiences, sometimes even to vociferous pagans. The challenge is to reach out to new audiences and devise new ways of communicating with them. The rewards are many: to maintain status and respect, to win hearts and influence people, even to foster a warm sense of nationhood.  This album also contains academic perspectives from Tim Benton, Professor of Art History at The Open University; Laurajane Smith, Reader in Heritage Studies at the University of York; and Rodney Harrison, Lecturer in Heritage Studies at The Open University.

This material forms part of The Open University Course AD281 Understanding global heritage.

You can discover something of what it's like to study the course by using the downloadable 'activities' files to explore  different views on what counts as heritage, the way in which museums are involved in the production of a sense of collective identity and nationhood, and how the study of museums connects with the study of other forms of heritage in contemporary society.