Dedicated to Kenneth Hudson and Georges Henri Rivière
... Mnemosophy? Just upgrading the proposal of Heritology
as the Science of Public Memory - by Tomislav Šola
WHAT DO I PROPOSE AND WHY?
Professors retire but preachers do not. All knowledge from humanist and social sciences
should be made public property. Freely accessible.
I decided to create this instance of sharing which, I hope, will prove relevant, amusing and useful. Like any honest museum would. Some of the five thousand digital slides and even
more notes that I have accumulated during the decades of active lecturing, may thus again
find a way to life.
Theorizing museums was always needed, but science can be formed around a concept, not an
institution. Therefore, as a museum addict and reformer, I have proposed heritology (1982)
instead of museology and, to radicalise my solitary endeavour, – mnemosophy (1987). I just continue contributing to this far-reaching suggestion. Benevolent readers will pardon me for the use of Global English and dishevelled personal attitudes.
The world should become a decent place. To be part of that change I created an NGO (EHA;
2001) doing experimental projects and running this site. The two decades of success of “The
Best in Heritage” conference required, however, most of the available time.
Mnemosophy makes future happen
The vantage point does not change (professional) reality itself, but our relation to it. We may have failed to form a wide, autonomous profession by converging heritage occupations. We are here to make the world better. So I preach Mnemosophy as emerging science of public memory. This approach proved generously productive. It reveals potentials and inspires writings, lectures and new projects. Whoever wishes to learn about oneself, the world or own profession, needs to be part of the desired change.
BRIEF CV
I was born in Zagreb in 1948. I withdrew from Architecture and graduated Art History and English Language (University of Zagreb); much later, I gave up on Journalism, but changed for postgraduate study of Museology in Zagreb and Paris (G. H. Rivière) and made my PhD at the University of Ljubljana (“Towards the Total Museum”, 1985).
Starting my career as a museum curator I then became director and finally attained full professor tenure at University of Zagreb. During that period, I served two mandates as ICOM National Committee Chairman (Yugoslavia) and later became member of Executive Council of ICOM. I have occupied position of Head of Department of Information Sciences, held Chair of Museology and Heritage Management at the University of Zagreb and was teaching as invited professor at seven universities abroad. I was a member of the jury of EMYA and head of a jury and Council member at Europa Nostra.
I have presented papers at a few hundred conferences, written eight books, contributed chapters in nine books internationally, published about 250 articles and delivered about 350 hours of lecturing as an invited lecturer, mostly internationally. I have been the founder of the “The Best in Heritage” conference, worked as a consultant on 14 projects, and conceived many others.
Now, deepening my retirement, I still consult, write and lecture internationally, - lately slowed down by the increasingly ailing and warring world, - and my age.
DEFINITION OF MNEMOSOPHY
Mnemosophy is a trans-disciplinary science of public memory, serving heritage profession, through which society studies and understands its past, its narratives formed through collective and social memory and moderates the continuous formation of public memory as the contents of the collective experience transfer.
(T. Šola, 2018)
Note: Needless to say, last three decades of my effort were genuine but my manner provocative (heritology, mnemosophy) as the main ambition was to finally have the science of our own no matter how we name it
The administrator will remove any pictorial material subject to copyright though we are using it in good faith and for non-lucrative purposes.
Contact:
mnemosophy <at> thebestinheritage.com