ABSTRACT
The links and conversations that exist and might be created between the books and other forms of theorizing about museums, culture, and politics – based in museum studies or not – would become a more significant outcome of the series than any individual book itself. The culture wars returned to the United States, as they did in Australia, where they were repackaged as the wittily named 'statue wars'. Political and public anxiety and occurrences of racism grew in both countries, particularly over issues around immigration and asylum seekers. Although the author's trilogy may not ultimately deliver an outcome or resolution to political strife, it might contribute to understandings about the role of museums, culture, and critical thinking in times of political crisis. A feature of the broader Museums in Focus book series is attention to crisp, politically engaged and self-aware writing and methodological excellence and innovation that challenges normative models of writing in the field of museum studies.
