The sensory museum: affective experience as the new pedagogic norm

Museums are complex cultural institutions that have been forged amidst contradictory social and political forces. The representative function of museums in terms of capturing the breadth of national culture and their potential as a platform for citizens to develop a more worldly engagement has already been a subject of considerable contestation. In the current context of neo-liberal economic integration and the heightened mobility of people, the function of the museum has undergone even greater challenges. This article explores the shifts in the pedagogic function as it focuses on the impact of new modes of perception and interaction in cultural institutions and proposes that a wider conception of cosmopolitanism is necessary to grasp the contemporary opportunities of diversity and mobility.