Franziska Jacob

Franziska will combine theory and practice in Museum and Heritage Studies, using methods like exhibition analysis, visitor research and interviews.

Franziska’s research focuses on the social role of museums as places for intercultural dialogue in the current era of mass migration and multi-cultural societies. She is interested in the means by which museums perform this significant task, and specifically in the design strategies through which intercultural dialogue and respect for different cultures are fostered in exhibitions and museums in a diverse society. Franziska holds a BA in Communication Design (Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany) and a MA in Museum Studies and European Ethnology (Würzburg, Germany). She has worked as an exhibition designer for several museums and exhibitions in Germany.

In her PhD thesis, she aims to combine theory and practice in the field of Museum and Heritage Studies by using methods like exhibition analysis, visitor research and interviews with decision-makers of the exhibitions. Her focus is on design strategies and techniques; goals and design processes; cultural, social and political contexts as well as audiences. The central research question to be answered is: What are the most effective design strategies for intercultural dialogue? Her comparative case studies are intended to cover a broad spectrum of museums and exhibitions, from a national museum based on biculturalism in New Zealand, to a European ethnological museum in a multi-cultural society, and a smaller travelling exhibition crossing national borders functioning as a cultural diplomat.

With this choice of case studies, she wants to show similarities and differences in an international comparison and use her findings to add new knowledge to the specific museum work of designing exhibitions for intercultural dialogue.

Contact: franziska.jacob@vuw.ac.nz