Italian University Museums at Time of Covid-19 Lockdown: How to Restore a “Sense of Normalcy”

Abstract

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic impact on the normal conditions within which Higher Education systems are used to operate. This regards not only teaching and research, but also public engagement activities as a university Third Mission. As for the latter, there is scant literature on University Museums as subjects that transfer cultural knowledge to the community, so providing a relevant public service. Addressing this research gap, this study focuses on the critical Italian context, exploring how University Museums have responded to the COVID-19 lockdown. To this aim, the social science notion of resilience is adopted for interpreting the evidence on their ability to cope with the emergency. Data from legislative and statistical sources are complemented by a questionnaire administered to 34 University Museums. Findings show the ability of Italian University Museums to handle the ongoing emergency by carrying out digital and non-digital activities that prevent it to become worse. A conceptual model that highlights how University Museums contribute to transfer cultural knowledge also at a time of emergency is finally proposed.