Digitala Vetenskapliga Arkivet

Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
Post-Secular Thinking as Curatorial Practice: Challenges and Opportunities of Curating Religious Themes in Modern Art Museums for Secular Societies
Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Culture and Aesthetics.
2025 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE creditsStudent thesis
Abstract [en]

This thesis examines the challenges and opportunities of curating religious themes in contemporary art exhibitions within secular contexts, focusing on Scandinavia. Grounded in Jürgen Habermas' theory of the post-secular and informed by the curatorial insights of Jean-Paul Martinon and Donald Preziosi, the study explores how exhibitions reinterpret, critique, and accommodate religious content for diverse audiences. Through a comparative analysis of three case studies -Mythologies: The Beginning and End of Civilizations (ARoS), Hilma af Klint: The Ten Largest (Moderna Museet), and The Third Hand: Maurizio Cattelan and the Moderna Museet Collection - the research employs discourse analysis and word frequency studies to interrogate the curatorial language, strategies, and priorities.The findings reveal a prevailing tendency to reframe religion through secularized narratives, which broadens accessibility but often simplifies the complexities of religious traditions. This tendency reflects broader societal discomfort with overt religious discourse in secular cultural institutions. However, the study argues that adopting a post-secular curatorial perspective, one that critically engages with religious and secular worldviews, offers a pathway for museums to foster nuanced dialogue and inquiry. Collaborative and inclusive practices that embrace the diversity of religious and spiritual traditions alongside secular frameworks can position art institutions as vital platforms for exploring existential, ethical, and cultural questions. Ultimately, this thesis advocates for the development of curatorial tools and strategies that transcend binary oppositions between the secular and the religious, enabling museums to engage more fully with religion and spirituality as integral aspects of human creativity and experience. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2025. , p. 90
Keywords [en]
Post-secular, Curating, Museum, Habermas, Secular Societies, Curator, Religion, Exhibition, Curatorial Challenges, ARoS, Moderna Museet.
National Category
Religious Studies Art History Humanities and the Arts Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities and Arts
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-240641OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-240641DiVA, id: diva2:1943839
Supervisors
Examiners
Available from: 2025-03-12 Created: 2025-03-11 Last updated: 2025-03-12Bibliographically approved

Open Access in DiVA

Post-Secular Thinking as Curatorial Practice(814 kB)100 downloads
File information
File name FULLTEXT01.pdfFile size 814 kBChecksum SHA-512
d95f4f7ae88045537462ff51b149f81bc3a6042229ff3058627d103d87a9de2ca07d9637ab3a93f0e833e45cb77bbe159b757bd8208aff5bb15d71c74e0ef9fa
Type fulltextMimetype application/pdf

Search in DiVA

By author/editor
Hundsdahl, Carina
By organisation
Department of Culture and Aesthetics
Religious StudiesArt HistoryHumanities and the ArtsInterdisciplinary Studies in Humanities and Arts

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar
Total: 101 downloads
The number of downloads is the sum of all downloads of full texts. It may include eg previous versions that are now no longer available

urn-nbn

Altmetric score

urn-nbn
Total: 317 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf