Tomislav Šola

Sladojević Šola was born in Zagreb, Croatia in 1948. He gained his diploma in Art History and English language (University of Zagreb, 1969-1974), he then pursued the post-graduate study of Journalism (Faculty of Political sciences, Zagreb, 1975–76) and two-semester-course of contemporary Museology (Sorbonne, Paris, 1978-1979) and made his PhD in Museology (University of Ljubljana, 1985).

Following a seven-year period of curatorships in Zagreb (1975-1981) and another seven years as Director of The Museum Documentation Centre (1981-1987), Šola joined the University of Zagreb and was appointed Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, having retired in full professor tenure (1987-2013).[1]

His academic research is closely linked to the profession and he draws on his practical experience as a curator, director, editor, lecturer and consultant.[2]

Professor Tomislav Šola’s main research interests are in the practice of heritage and especially in examining its theoretical underpinnings,[3] for which he coined the terms “Heritology“ (1982) and “Mnemosophy” (1987).[4] Both describe the convergence of museum and heritage related occupations into one mega-profession based upon common science. The latter term as certain „cybernetic philosophy of heritage, addresses public memory issues and institutions in a more accurate way. His broad lecturing and publishing activity covered many other themes. Most of his books and writings are freely accessible online.[5]

Professor Šola is the founder of The Best in Heritage, the world’s only annual survey of award-winning museum, heritage and conservation projects in Dubrovnik, (2002).[6]

(listed in the original language of each communication)[7]

Scientific monographs and books

• Antimuzej: bibliofilsko izdanje. Zagreb: Zbirka Biškupić, 1985.
• Role of museums in developing countries. Varanasi: Bharat Kala Bhavan Hindu University, 1989. p. 24.
• Essays On Museums And Their Theory: towards the cybernetic museum. Helsinki: Finnish Museums Association, 1997. p. 293.
• Marketing u muzejima ili o vrlini i kako je obznaniti. Zagreb: Hrvatsko muzejsko društvo, 2001. Str. 322.
• Marketing u muzejima ili o vrlini i kako je obznaniti. Beograd: Clio, 2002. Str. 380.
• Eseji o muzejima i njihovoj teoriji-prema kibernetičkom muzeju. Zagreb: Hrvatski nacionalni komitet ICOM, 2003. Str. 350.
• De la vanitat a la saviesa / From Vanity to Wisdom // Institu Catala de Recercs en Patrimoni Cultural, Girona, 2009, pp. 1–71.
• Prema totalnom muzeju. Beograd, 2011, Centar za muzeologiju i heritologiju
• Eternity does not live here any more - a glossary of museum sins, Zagreb, 2012.
• Вечность здесь больше не живет: толковый словарь музейных грехов. — Тула: Музей-усадьба Л.Н.Толстого «Ясная Поляна», 2013. – 356 с.
• Javno pamćenje, čuvanje različitosti i mogući projekti. Zavod za Informacijske znanosti. Filozofski fakultet, Zagreb, 2014.
• Šola, Tomislav S. Mnemosophy. Essay on the science of public memory. EUB, Zagreb, 2015. 320 p.
• Шола Т.С. Мнемософия. Эссе о науке публичной памяти. /Пер. с англ. Синицыной О.В./. Ростов Великий ИКОМ России; ГМЗ «Ростовский кремль» 2017г. 320 с.
• Public memory in a deluded society: Notes of a lecturer, ICOFOM/ICOM, 2022

Chapters in books

• The Museum Curator: endangered species. // Museums 2000 / ed. by Patrick Boylan. London : Association Routledge, 1990. pp. 152–164.
• Museums and Curatorship: the role of theory // The Museum Profession/ ed. by Gaynor Kavanagh. Leicester : Leicester University Press,1991. pp. 125–137.
• The European Dream and Reality of Museums: a report from South-East. // Museums and Europe 1992 / ed. by Susan Pearce. London : The Athlone Press, 1992. pp. 159–173.
• Museums, museology, and ethics: a changing paradigm// Museum Ethics/ ed. by Gary Edson. London: Routledge, 1997. pp. 168–175.
• The role of Museums in Sustaining Cultural Diversity // Cultural Traditions in Northern Ireland: cultural diversity in contemporary Europe./ ed. by maurna Crozier and Richard Froggat. Belfast: The Institute of Irish Studies, 1997. pp. 107–113
• Redefining collecting // Museums and the future of Collecting (Second Edition) / ed. by Simon J. Knell. Ashgate Publishing Limited: Aldershot. 2004. pp. 250–260.
• The importance of being wise or could "Museum archaeology" help us be better professionals // Archeologia del museo / Lenzi, Fiamma ; Zifferero, Andrea (ed.). Bologna : Editrice Compositori, 2004. pp. 11–16.
• Baština kao poziv i društveno opredjeljenje // Ivi Maroeviću baštinici u spomen / Vujić, Žarka ; Špikić, Marko (ed.), Zagreb : Zavod za informacijske studije Odsjeka za informacijske znanosti Filozofskog fakulteta Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, 2009. Str. 111-138.
• Towards the Total Museum/ Museums in a Digital Age / Parry, Ross (ed.)London : Routledge, 2009. pp. 421–426.
• The Museum Definition: Questioning the Scope and Motives // What is a museum? / Davis, A ; Mairesse, F ; Desvallees, A. (ed.). Muenchen : Verlag Dr. C.Mueller-Straten, 2010. pp. 106–112.
• European Collection Resources - museums serving European identity // Encouraging Collections Mobility - A way forward for museums in Europe / Pettersson, Susanna (ur.) Helsinki, Finska : Finnish National Gallery, 2010. pp. 248–257.
• Virtues and Qualities - a contribution to professionalizing the heritage profession // The Best in Heritage / Šola, Tomislav (ed.) Zagreb : European Heritage Association, 2011. pp. 10–21.
• Uloga baštinskih institucija u građenju nacionalnog identiteta // Hrvatski identitet / Horvat, Romana (ed.). Zagreb : Matica hrvatska, 2011. Str. 255-285.
• The heritage product as suggested by a marketing approach // Sketches and essays to mark twenty years of the International Cultural Centre / Purchla, Jacek (ed.). Kraków : International Cultural Centre, 2011. pp. 460–470.

• Mnemosophy - Tomislav Šola's Blog
• The Best in Heritage official Website
• DUGi Media - Tomislav Šola
• The Future of Museums and the Role of Museology
• A Contribution to Understanding of Museums: Why Would the Museums Count?
• Heritology