Confronting the Rupture of Culture from Nature
Emlyn Koster, PhD
Western societies have been slow to recognize the harmonious environmental relationships of Indigenous Peoples. Instead, the cumulative disconnect between the human species and the Earth's subsystems (air, water, ice, land, and nonhuman life) threatens all life on Earth.
In the new Anthropocene world, museums should strive to promote an Earth-Human Ecosystem. But museums aiming to inspire reflections about the world's intensifying environmental and societal changes have been thrown into a state of cognitive dissonance, hovering between their traditional activities and new callings.
The overall vitality of the museum sector hinges on its priorities shifting from objects to issues. This requires visionary leadership familiar with relevant science-and-society realities and propelled by aligned expertise. A top-rated TED Talk by Simon Sinek explained that organizational success depends on why?, how? and what? statements that specify a value-driven purpose, impactful approaches and achievable outcomes. Museums of all types would do well to follow this advice.
Emlyn Koster trained as a geologist, conducted research in three World Heritage Sites, and led advances of four nature and science museums. Relevance to consequential matters is the driver of his interests and syntheses. When Liberty Science Center reopened in 2007, The New York Times opined: "to its credit, the institution does not shy away from the things we wish were less real world". When the AAM reaccredited the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in 2016, it concluded: "the institution has forthrightly evolved its interpretive philosophy and strategy to address bigger stories about humans as an inseparable element in the ecosystem of all life". His honors include an alumni distinction from Canada's University of Ottawa, Humanitarian of the Year from the American Conference on Diversity, and the Ambassadors Circle for the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience.