Dr Bruno Brulon Soares
Reader
Biography
I am a museologist and anthropologist trained in Brazil, and my research interests have focused on the relationships of museums with society, practices of collecting, and the political uses of heritage. I have a Ph.D. in Anthropology (2012) and another in Contemporary History (2019) both from Universidade Federal Fluminense, and an MA in Museology and Heritage Studies (2008) from Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro.
I am currently a Reader in Museum and Heritage Studies in the School of Art History. Prior to joining St Andrews I was Professor of Museology and Heritage Studies at Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (2013-2022) and I was Chair of the International Committee for Museology of ICOM, the International Council of Museums (2019-2022).
Research areas
My research interests have focused on critical and social museology, practices of collecting, and the political uses of heritage. My previous works focused on community-based museums in Latin America and Europe, with a particular interest for decolonisation of museum theory and practices. Some of my research projects have analysed the history of museums and museology, the development of the New museology movement and the reappropriation of colonial heritage in museums. Between 2020 and 2022, acting as co-Chair of the Standing Committee for the Museum Definition (ICOM Define), I coordinated the global participatory project that led to the approval of a new museum definition adopted by the International Council of Museums in August 2022.
PhD supervision
- Tressia Allard
- Aqsa Ashraf
- Alex Lednicky
- Patricia Lopez Sanchez Cervantes
- Emerson Norteman
- Renato Trotta
Selected publications
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Open access
Acolhendo a “comunidade”: a museologia profissional diante do giro sociomuseológico
Brulon Soares, B., 21 Sept 2025, In: Cadernos de Sociomuseologia. 70, 26, p. 21-33Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Embracing “community”: the museum profession at a social museology turn
Brulon Soares, B., 21 Sept 2025, In: Cadernos de Sociomuseologia. 70, 26, p. 9-20Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Introdução – A Museologia Social e os novos desafios do ICOM
Moutinho, M. & Brulon Soares, B., 21 Sept 2025, In: Cadernos de Sociomuseologia. 70, 26, p. 5-7Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › peer-review
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Open access
Introduction – Social museology and the new challenges of ICOM
Moutinho, M. & Brulon Soares, B., 21 Sept 2025, In: Cadernos de Sociomuseologia. 70, 26, p. 1-3 3 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › peer-review
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The museum definition handbook: words inspiring action
Brulon Soares, B. & Bonilla-Merchav, L., 5 Nov 2025, 1st ed. Paris: ICOM. 108 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book
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Open access
A viagem de Exu: transferência de autoridade e descolonização da matéria no Museu do Homem do Nordeste, em Recife - PE
Brulon Soares, B., 13 Sept 2024, In: Mana: Estudos de Antropologia Social. 30, 2, p. 1-32 32 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Collecting the sacred: the transition of diasporic objects in between museum regimes
Brulon Soares, B., 22 Jul 2024, Collections management as critical museum practice. Krmpotich, C. & Stevenson, A. (eds.). London: UCL Press, p. 65-84 20 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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Open access
Decolonising as rehumanising: some community lessons
Brulon Soares, B., 10 Jul 2024, In: ICOFOM Study Series. 52, 1, p. 63-73 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Objects of "imprisonment": diasporic museum collections on ethnographic display
Brulon Soares, B., 26 Jul 2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Curator: The Museum Journal. Early View, 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Arriving at the current museum definition: a global task and a decentralising exercise
Bonilla-Merchav, L. & Brulon Soares, B., 24 Jul 2023, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Museum International. 74, 3-4, p. 134-147 14 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review