Ferdinand Buisson and the emergence of pedagogical museums : clues of an international movement, nineteenth century

Abstract

In this article, I analyse documents from the Pedagogical Museum of Paris, particularly the writings of Ferdinand Buisson (1878–1879), in which the author addresses not only the French experience but others too. This analysis allowed me to outline a network of transnational sociability composed by intellectuals, pedagogues, and people from public instruction who were concerned with the creation and consolidation of national pedagogical museums. The clues on the French Museum project allowed us to observe circulations, inspirations, appropriations, and exchanges in relation to models implemented in several countries. It also allowed for the insertion of national pedagogical museums, emerging in the second half of the nineteenth century as part of an international movement; subjects from different nations promoted the circulation, appropriation, and exchange of ideas and practices to achieve a scientific education, advocated transnational comparative studies, and created pedagogical museums as strategic tools for achieving this goal.