Crafting museum social media for social inclusion work

Abstract:

Understanding how museums can contribute to the diverse needs of marginalised individuals through the social web is and will continue to be paramount, especially in our COVID-stricken world. Museum literature often espouses the potential of social media for social goals due to its ability to reach wider audiences and increase opportunities for participation and engagement that could benefit museum users. However, current research and practices tend to overlook a critical attention to the relationship between museum social media practices and the institution’s social inclusion role. For instance, common trends in museum literature suggest that museums over-market and broadcast rather than truly trying to engage their users online. Thus, this thesis attempts to provide insight into the intersections and disconnections between museum social inclusion work and social media use to inform practice in the field.

It asks one overarching question: (1) How can social media support the museum’s socially inclusive role to potentially challenge social exclusion and associated inequalities? This is underpinned by two additional questions: (2) How do structures (institutional and social platforms) shape how staff carry out social inclusion work through social media? (3) Which work processes enable staff to pursue social inclusion through social media? By employing a methodology that includes practice research and additional qualitative methods such as participant-observation, the study has investigated these questions by paying close attention to the everyday practices of staff in museums working at the forefront of social inclusion.