Museums and Cultural Heritage In The Time of Postmodern Relativism. It’s About Society and Community

The contribution is intended to address the developmental characteristics of museums and their social role in individual historical periods. It discusses in detail the tasks of the museum within the identity, educational and developmental economic needs of modern society. It opens up questions of the tasks of the modern museum and the media to the community and heritage environments in the light of the holistic theoretical concept of the cultural heritage. The core of the discussion, however, relates to issues of museum professional ethics and the social roles of heritage institutions within modernism, totalitarian systems and postmodernist relativism. Based on a philosophical and ethical questioning of the attitude of postmodern society towards identities, civilizational values and communities that are fundamental in identifying, valuing, protecting and preserving cultural heritage, it sheds light on the importance and role of heritage policy. The contribution also focuses on the issues of (multi) interpretation of the past and the formation of collective memory, which are crucial for ensuring the democracy of present and future society.