Global Journal of Human-Social Science, A: Arts and Humanities, Volume 21 Issue 12

an epistemological level. For museology, once freed from methodological constraint, can claim its independence based on its scientific knowledge and not because of the method employed. What is important is that both theoretical and practical knowledge serve to modify the reality of the museum, and Carrillo fully shares this view ( Ibid .: 55). Moreover, she is particularly interested in semiotic analysis, because, for her, museological science must move towards methodological independence by making use not only of such study but also of other methods that could help it, occasionally, to serve its objectives. Based on her readings of some of Stránský's publications, she defends, like him, methodological plurality, distinguishing between the museological method or system of methods and didactic methods ( Ibid .: 57). Additionally, regarding the importance given to the synchronic and diachronic study of museology, she believes that both can define the museum as a historical fact ( Ibid .: 61). Dolors Forrellad i Domènech (1984: 26) stated, following Ellis Burcaw, that museum professionals have shown little interest in the study of museology, perhaps because they have considered it a complex subject. For this reason, they have preferred to focus their efforts on the day-to-day aspects of the museum, which do not require too much complicated theoretical elaboration or exhaustive analytical study. However, she sees the need to delimit and mark out the path to be followed to define museology as a science laying the necessary foundations for its further study and evolution. One of the themes of Museological Working Paper (MuWop) No. 2 was interdisciplinarity in museology. In the discussions, which took place in 1981, the philosophical foundations of the museological theory were laid, offering museologists the opportunity to think about museums and museology from an international perspective, based on the reflections of Stránský and other Eastern European museologists. They contributed concepts that, until then, had not been used but which soon became familiar to other museologists, such as museum fact, museality, musealia, the museistic, etc. With these concepts, changes that were taking place in museums could be made clear. In this way, museums began to be considered as social phenomena that are in a continuous process of renewal. As our experiences change our way of conceiving the world, we can see the reality surrounding us and situate ourselves in a different way. Museums, therefore, will be affected by being seen from perspectives that differ essentially from those that previously served as references. Thus, museology, becomes a true social science. Domènec Miquel i Serra and Eulàlia Morral i Romeu (1981: 43-45) took part in this debate. From an eminently nationalist view of the Catalan reality, they analyze museological development and proliferation of museums to affirm the cultural personality of Catalonia. Dolors Forrellad (1984: 124) confirms and supports this same opinion. For these authors, multi-disciplinarity has contributed to creating an image of the local museum as a group of small, specialized museums located in the same building, without any relationship between them, therefore, lacking a philosophy that defines the why and wherefore of their existence. The result of this situation could not be other than the realization of the beginning of a profound crisis in Catalan museums. But this crisis has given rise to a movement of renewal within museums, which are questioning their raison d'être , leaving aside a merely collector's vision and opening to the new perspectives offered by interdisciplinarity as a complementary reality to multidisciplinarity. The publication of the Llibre Blanc dels Museus (1979), directed by M. Luis Monreal Tejada, then Secretary- General of ICOM, Els Museus de Catalunya. Aproximació a la seva problemática (1981) and Els Museus de Catalunya. Criteris per a l´organizatciò del patrimonio museistic del país (1984), commissioned by the Comisión Técnica de Museos Locales y Comarcales contributed to this. Museums should no longer be considered as mere repositories of collections but as true centers of culture. However, all museums must have a systematic and multidisciplinary methodology that favors a close relationship between museology and the other human sciences. b) Museums Facing Ecological and Environmental Issues Society is becoming increasingly aware of the need to protect the environment, so it is not surprising that museums are called upon to play an active role in promoting ecology. For this purpose, they use exhibitions as a medium in which the values of nature and society can be integrated. According to Stránský (1983: 30 ff.), it is urgent to consider exhibitions on an ecological basis, bearing in mind that any museum activity must be oriented towards reality, and concern for ecology is part of this. This means that museums must create the methodological conditions necessary to meet ecological requirements when collecting, documenting, and exhibiting their collections. From there, museums must work to use an ecological approach by the demands of scientific knowledge and the sensitivities of contemporary society. However, this will require differentiation in museum typology between the concept of the ecological museum, which documents and presents the themes of ecology as a specific branch, and the concept of an ecomuseum, which refers specifically to territorial or regional museums and those of a local character. The Spanish contribution to ecology and museums has been dealt with by several scholars. Jaume A. Terradas (1983: 8-14), after pointing out the importance of ecology in analyzing the relationship © 2021 Global Journals Volume XXI Issue XII Version I 25 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2021 A Zbyněk Zbyslav Stránský’s Museological Impact on Spain