Museums in Peril: An Exploration of the Effects of Neoliberalism on History Museums in North Carolina, 1980-2020

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Dains, S. (2023). Museums in Peril: An Exploration of the Effects of Neoliberalism on History Museums in North Carolina, 1980-2020. Unc Charlotte Electronic Theses And Dissertations.
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Abstract

Museums in the United States first witnessed the effects of neoliberalism during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, when he worked with Congress to impose unprecedented budget cuts on the NEH. However, these economic practices have since trickled down to the state level. Using North Carolina as a case study, I argue that neoliberal influenced policies have had disastrous effects on all museums, but furthermore that they have been particularly unremunerative for history museums. My argument centers on the idea that since neoliberalism mainly benefits private for-profit businesses, which the overwhelming number of history museums are not, that museum funding issues are overlooked in national, state, and many local government budgets. I propose that the general defunding of cultural institutions, an outcome of neoliberal influenced economic policies, causes history museums to increasingly rely on their ability to gather private and corporate funds, lower their budgets to reduce expenditures on programming and staff, incorporate commercial products and experiences, and increase public marketing efforts. This cycle then compounds when funders reduce monetary contributions due to perceived underperformance, which typically occurs as a result of initial underfunding to begin with. The future and longevity of history museums may be at risk if funding models remain on this unorthodox trajectory and if traditional sources of funding continue to disregard the many societal benefits that well-funded history museums provide.

Details
Author

Dains, Shelby

Title

Museums in Peril: An Exploration of the Effects of Neoliberalism on History Museums in North Carolina, 1980-2020

Physical Description

1 online resource (159 pages) : PDF

Date

2023

Degree Granting Institution

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Abstract

Museums in the United States first witnessed the effects of neoliberalism during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, when he worked with Congress to impose unprecedented budget cuts on the NEH. However, these economic practices have since trickled down to the state level. Using North Carolina as a case study, I argue that neoliberal influenced policies have had disastrous effects on all museums, but furthermore that they have been particularly unremunerative for history museums. My argument centers on the idea that since neoliberalism mainly benefits private for-profit businesses, which the overwhelming number of history museums are not, that museum funding issues are overlooked in national, state, and many local government budgets. I propose that the general defunding of cultural institutions, an outcome of neoliberal influenced economic policies, causes history museums to increasingly rely on their ability to gather private and corporate funds, lower their budgets to reduce expenditures on programming and staff, incorporate commercial products and experiences, and increase public marketing efforts. This cycle then compounds when funders reduce monetary contributions due to perceived underperformance, which typically occurs as a result of initial underfunding to begin with. The future and longevity of history museums may be at risk if funding models remain on this unorthodox trajectory and if traditional sources of funding continue to disregard the many societal benefits that well-funded history museums provide.

Genre

masters theses

Subjects--Topics

Museums--Study and teaching

Degree

M.A.

Keywords

History Museum
Museum
Museum Funding
Neoliberalism
Nonprofit
North Carolina

Subject Area

History

Advisor(s)

Wilson, Mark

Committee Members

Griffin, Willie
Carman, Joanne

Degree Note

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2023.

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Rights Holder Information

Copyright is held by the author unless otherwise indicated.

Identifier

Dains_uncc_0694N_13480

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/etd:3279