Symbolic Interaction – On Early View: Goffman in the Gallery: Interactive Art and Visitor Shyness

Susie Scott and colleagues have published an excellent new paper titled “Goffman in the Gallery: Interactive Art and Visitor Shyness” that has just been published on Early View. The paper examines how visitors to museums deal with “situational shyness” when encountering interactive exhibits. As they search for social scripts visitors may learn from others the scripts required to use interactives or they may display resistance to engaging with interactives and remain spectators. Save for symbolic interactionists and other social scientists the paper also is of interest to practitioners in interactive art, exhibition design and curation.