Defining the relationship between the evolutions of the museum institution and the nationalism discourse in the modern and postmodern era

The museum as a cultural-social institution is influenced by the values of the society and the ideology that dominates it. Among these ideologies is nationalism, which has been particularly important in the formation and evolution of museums in the world. The transformation of museums since the establishment of this institution in Europe can be related to the idea of nationalism, which can be examined in the framework of two main paradigms of modern and postmodern nationalism. Based on this, the aim of the current research is to explain the relationship between museums and nationalism. The question is how nationalism played a role in the formation of the "concept", "position" and "function" of museums and how has the paradigm shift of nationalism caused a significant change in the institution of the museum? The research method is descriptive-analytical and comparative. In this regard, the ideas related to nationalism among modern and postmodern intellectual trends have been taken into consideration. The data is also collected in a library way. The results of the data analysis show that the emergence of the idea of nationalism in the modern paradigm was accompanied by the reopening of museums for public visits, the establishment of national museums, and the expansion of museums in Europe and America. It can be said that these events had a direct and inseparable connection with the colonial currents. Also, after the dominance of the post-colonial discourse and the transformation in the concept of nationalism in connection with the new discourse, another wave of museums has emerged as a tool of independence and an identity-giving factor. On the other hand, it can be concluded that the formation of the third movement in museums has a clear connection with the stabilization of the discourse of postmodern nationalism, which has made it a necessity for museums to encounter subcultures.