Medicalization of the Post-Museum: Interactivity and Diagnosis at the Brain and Cognition Exhibit

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

Standard

Medicalization of the Post-Museum: Interactivity and Diagnosis at the Brain and Cognition Exhibit. / Gruber, David R.

In: Journal of Medical Humanities, Vol. 37, No. 1, 2016, p. 65-80.

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

Harvard

Gruber, DR 2016, 'Medicalization of the Post-Museum: Interactivity and Diagnosis at the Brain and Cognition Exhibit', Journal of Medical Humanities, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 65-80. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10912-015-9336-6

APA

Gruber, D. R. (2016). Medicalization of the Post-Museum: Interactivity and Diagnosis at the Brain and Cognition Exhibit. Journal of Medical Humanities, 37(1), 65-80. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10912-015-9336-6

Vancouver

Gruber DR. Medicalization of the Post-Museum: Interactivity and Diagnosis at the Brain and Cognition Exhibit. Journal of Medical Humanities. 2016;37(1):65-80. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10912-015-9336-6

Author

Gruber, David R. / Medicalization of the Post-Museum: Interactivity and Diagnosis at the Brain and Cognition Exhibit. In: Journal of Medical Humanities. 2016 ; Vol. 37, No. 1. pp. 65-80.

Bibtex

@article{8bc1e8ab67a8468f9a4e39b7e0b00984,
title = "Medicalization of the Post-Museum: Interactivity and Diagnosis at the Brain and Cognition Exhibit",
abstract = "The introduction of digital games and simulations into science museums has prompted excitement about a new {"}post-museum{"} pedagogy emphasizing egalitarianism, interactivity, and personalized approaches to learning. However, many post-museums of science, this article aims to show, enact rhetorical performances that lead visitors to narrowly targeted answers and hide the authority of the expert in a play of tactile and affective activities, thus operating in opposition to many of the basic ideals of the post-museum. The Brain and Cognition Exhibit at the Hong Kong Science Museum serves as a case study for how a post-museum exhibit, through embracing interactivity and visitor-centered tasks, becomes a site where science is tested on and performed through visitors' bodies such that institutional prescriptions are applied. Visitors are not merely encouraged at this exhibit to learn about the brain through doing but are trained to see functional and dysfunctional brains and to then diagnose themselves and their children by playing games and taking brain-measurement tests. As a result, the interactive engagement of the exhibit creates a new space of public medicalization. Reflections and suggestions are offered at the end of the article.",
author = "Gruber, {David R}",
year = "2016",
doi = "10.1007/s10912-015-9336-6",
language = "English",
volume = "37",
pages = "65--80",
journal = "The Journal of Bioethics",
issn = "0278-9523",
publisher = "Springer",
number = "1",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Medicalization of the Post-Museum: Interactivity and Diagnosis at the Brain and Cognition Exhibit

AU - Gruber, David R

PY - 2016

Y1 - 2016

N2 - The introduction of digital games and simulations into science museums has prompted excitement about a new "post-museum" pedagogy emphasizing egalitarianism, interactivity, and personalized approaches to learning. However, many post-museums of science, this article aims to show, enact rhetorical performances that lead visitors to narrowly targeted answers and hide the authority of the expert in a play of tactile and affective activities, thus operating in opposition to many of the basic ideals of the post-museum. The Brain and Cognition Exhibit at the Hong Kong Science Museum serves as a case study for how a post-museum exhibit, through embracing interactivity and visitor-centered tasks, becomes a site where science is tested on and performed through visitors' bodies such that institutional prescriptions are applied. Visitors are not merely encouraged at this exhibit to learn about the brain through doing but are trained to see functional and dysfunctional brains and to then diagnose themselves and their children by playing games and taking brain-measurement tests. As a result, the interactive engagement of the exhibit creates a new space of public medicalization. Reflections and suggestions are offered at the end of the article.

AB - The introduction of digital games and simulations into science museums has prompted excitement about a new "post-museum" pedagogy emphasizing egalitarianism, interactivity, and personalized approaches to learning. However, many post-museums of science, this article aims to show, enact rhetorical performances that lead visitors to narrowly targeted answers and hide the authority of the expert in a play of tactile and affective activities, thus operating in opposition to many of the basic ideals of the post-museum. The Brain and Cognition Exhibit at the Hong Kong Science Museum serves as a case study for how a post-museum exhibit, through embracing interactivity and visitor-centered tasks, becomes a site where science is tested on and performed through visitors' bodies such that institutional prescriptions are applied. Visitors are not merely encouraged at this exhibit to learn about the brain through doing but are trained to see functional and dysfunctional brains and to then diagnose themselves and their children by playing games and taking brain-measurement tests. As a result, the interactive engagement of the exhibit creates a new space of public medicalization. Reflections and suggestions are offered at the end of the article.

U2 - 10.1007/s10912-015-9336-6

DO - 10.1007/s10912-015-9336-6

M3 - Journal article

VL - 37

SP - 65

EP - 80

JO - The Journal of Bioethics

JF - The Journal of Bioethics

SN - 0278-9523

IS - 1

ER -

ID: 215412507