On Conservation As a Human Science.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Miller, Peter N., 1964-

Series:

E. H. Gombrich Lecture Series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Humanities.

Museum conservation methods--Social aspects.

Museum conservation methods.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (321 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2026.

Summary:

"Conservation can be understood as a form of knowing; conservators extract meaning about the past from what remains, while noting what is missing and sometimes repairing it. In this erudite and virtuosic book, the historian Peter N. Miller imagines the outlines of a new, expansive notion of conservation that links the world around us - natural and man-made - to the world inside us - our genome, our memories. Putting the work of conservation into conversation with history, philosophy, and literature yields a shift in perspective. It raises questions central to the work of the humanities: What does time mean? How do we write about knowledge? How does care connect humans not just with the world but also with each other? And where does freedom exist in a world of things? Miller casts conservators as first responders in a world as fragile as the things they work on. He argues that a broader conception of conservation can provide the necessary intellectual resources for grappling with the scale of the enormous challenges ahead. Offering a kind of sketch of a curriculum for that future, Miller suggests that shaping the person of the conservator is as important as shaping the field. For only those trained to think about change through the painstaking labor of preserving and restoring will be able to do the work of policy and advocacy required by our uncertain future"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction. Pushing the horizon

Conservation as history : studying activity

Schelling and active matter

History as conservation : "o great and utterly divine power"

Cesare Brandi as a historical thinker

What are conservators for?

Heidegger and care

Writing conservation ; or, the conservator as author

Conclusion. Wanting to know more.

Notes:

"The lectures upon which this book is based were delivered in June of 2023"-- title page verso.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

0-691-26382-5

9780691263823

OCLC:

1570555126