Education and Activism: One and the Same?

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Notes

1 Robenalt, Farrell-Banks, and Markham, “Activist Pedagogies in Museum Studies and Practice,” in this issue, page #.

2 Munley, “Museums as Learning Environments,” 29.

3 All published by the Journal of Museum Education (JME), these themed issues can be found using the following volume and issue numbers: “Shared Authority: The Key to Museum Education as Social Change,” JME 38:2, 2013; “Engaging Visitors to Create Positive Futures,” JME 38:3, 2013; “Identifying and Transforming Racism in Museum Education.” JME 42:2, 2017; “Museums as Allies: Mobilizing to Address Migration,” JME 44:1, 2019; “Museums and Public Climate Action,” JME 45:1, 2020; “Queering the Museum,” JME 45:4, 2020; and “The Call for Disability Justice in Museum Education: Re-Framing Accessibility as Anti-Ableism,” JME 47.2, 2022. In addition to those mentioned here, many other themed issues and individual articles in the JME address themes related to social and civic issues and activism.

4 Dewey, Democracy in Education, 115.

5 Robinson and Robinson, Imagine If, 43.

6 hooks, “Pedagogy and Political Commitment,” 103.

7 Hein, “Social Responsibility of Museums,” 4.

8 Bloom, Taxonomy of Educational Objectives.

9 Bloom and Mintz, “Museums and the Future of Education,” 13. In their 2015 article “Museums and the Future of Education,” Joel N. Bloom and Ann Mintz highlighted the growing regard for the affective domain: “The museum visit has educational significance in both the affective and the cognitive realms. In fact, many specialists believe that the affective aspect of museum learning may be more significant than the cognitive. A museum can inspire a visitor to ask questions and pursue a newfound interest independently. This type of learning may well have a greater long-term impact than the nuggets of information gleaned from an exhibit.”

10 Autry, “We are Stronger Together”.

11 In the United States, many museum professionals are unsure about their institutions’ ability to advocate for specific issues while retaining 501c3 tax exempt status. Sean Kelley, Senior Vice President of Eastern State Penitentiary, provides some helpful clarification in “Get Out the Vote”.

12 Toner and Pharaon, “Taking Action by Fostering Activism,” 248.

13 Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed.