Nationhood and National Museums : How do visitors perceive the reproduction of nationhood in their national museum ? A case study centered around the Louvre Museum’s and the National Museum of Scotland’s visitors. Name

Abstract

The reproduction of nationhood in National Museums in France and in Scotland has been widely discussed in this paper. The Louvre Museum, based in Paris, and the National Museum of Scotland, based in Edinburgh, were the 2 comparison features. The main purpose of this study was to understand the perception the citizens had, in each country, on the reproduction of nationhood in their own National Museum and how it was represented. Amongst the discussions, the main elements of reproduction has been distinguished by the participants and respondents interviewed. The choice of the collections in their National Museums appeared to be a significant feature of nationhood reproduction alongside the access to National Museums, whereas the equal and free access was debated to have a better understanding of accessibility issues in both countries. Overall, participants opinions seems to be influenced by their National Museums soft power and language they are employing over their visitors.