Challenging History in the Museum
International Perspectives
1st Edition
Published on 18. December 2017
Book
Paperback/Softback
262 pages
978-0-8153-9930-8 (ISBN)
Description
Challenging History in the Museum explores work with difficult, contested and sensitive heritages in a range of museum contexts. It is based on the Challenging History project, which brings together a wide range of heritage professionals, practitioners and academics to explore heritage and museum learning programmes in relation to difficult and controversial subjects. The book is divided into four sections. Part I, 'The Emotional Museum' examines the balance between empathic and emotional engagement and an objective, rational understanding of 'history'. Part II, 'Challenging Collaborations' explores the opportunities and pitfalls associated with collective, inclusive representations of our heritage. Part III, 'Ethics, Ownership, Identity' questions who is best-qualified to identify, represent and 'own' these histories. It challenges the concept of ownership and personal identification as a prerequisite to understanding, and investigates the ideas and controversies surrounding this premise. Part IV, 'Teaching Challenging History' helps us to explore the ethics and complexities of how challenging histories are taught. The book draws on work countries around the world including Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, England, Germany, Japan, Northern Ireland, Norway, Scotland, South Africa, Spain and USA and crosses a number of disciplines: Museum and Heritage Studies, Cultural Policy Studies, Performance Studies, Media Studies and Critical Theory Studies. It will also be of interest to scholars of Cultural History and Art History.
Reviews / Votes
'This timely and highly stimulating book offers much-needed critical examination and reflection on issues that are increasingly relevant to museums of all kinds. The rich mix of voices and disciplinary perspectives brought together in this volume generates significant new insights that will enrich the work of practitioners and researchers alike.' Richard Sandell, University of Leicester, UK 'This is the first comprehensive collection dedicated to exploring the agency of museums in respect to the engagement of challenging histories. The editors position this work as a perceptual, rebellious and provocative call to arms for museums to boldly embrace this challenge. Based on a series of case studies and empirical research the authors detail how institutions might navigate the issues that confront them in engaging such difficult topics. Superbly written and insightful, this publication is a very important contribution to museum thinking and practice, and a must read for those who seek to embrace this challenge.' Fiona Cameron, University of Western Sydney, AustraliaMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Inc
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
404 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8153-9930-8 (9780815399308)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
04/2016
Routledge
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Available for download
E-Book
04/2016
Routledge
€53.99
Available for download
Book
01/2014
1st Edition
Routledge
€231.80
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Persons
Jenny Kidd is Lecturer in Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies at Cardiff University, UK. She is co-editor of Performing Heritage (with Anthony Jackson, 2010), has published widely on museums, new media and participatory practices, and is one of the founding members of the Challenging History network. Sam Cairns manages the Cultural Learning Alliance. Sam has been the Director of the Challenging History network since 2009. Alex Drago has been Education Manager at the Tower of London since 2007, having originally joined Historic Royal Palaces in 2006 to work at Hampton Court Palace. Amy Ryall is External Engagement Projects Officer for the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the University of Sheffield, UK . Miranda Stearn is Arts and Heritage Development Co-ordinator at Orleans House Gallery, She is also currently completing a PhD in Art History at the Courtauld Institute of Art, UK.
Content
Introduction: Challenging History in the Museum, Jenny Kidd; Part 1 The Emotional Museum, Alex Drago; Chapter 1 The Emotional Museum: The Case of National Museums Liverpool, David Fleming; Chapter 2 Telling Hard Truths and the Process of Decolonising Indigenous Representations in Canadian Museums, Bryony Onciul; Chapter 3 Ripples in the Pebble Pool: Dark Narrative as Maxim, Metaphor and Memorial, Alix H.J. Powers-Jones; Chapter 4 Making Them Laugh, Making Them Cry: Theatre's Role in Challenging History, Judith Bryan; Chapter 5 The Stiftelsen Arkivet Experience: A Second World War Gestapo Regional Headquarters in Norway, Bjorn Tore Rosendahl, Ingvild Ruhaven; Part 2 Challenging Collaborations, Amy Ryall; Chapter 6 Challenging Ourselves: Uncomfortable Histories and Current Museum Practices, Bernadette Lynch; Chapter 7 Contemporary Challenges: Artist Interventions in Museums and Galleries Dealing with Challenging Histories, Miranda Stearn; Chapter 8 Coffee and Cigarettes: On Trust-Building Processes between the Norwegian Government and the Romani Traveller Community, Ashild Andrea Brekke; Chapter 9 Fieldnotes from a Challenging History, David Gunn, Victoria Ward; Part 3 Ethics, Ownership and Identity, Miranda Stearn; Chapter 10 Vicissitudes of Representation: Remembering and Forgetting, Juliet Steyn; Chapter 11 Realms of Memory and the Recovery of the Historical Memory of the Spanish Civil War and Franco's Dictatorship (1936-2012), Mikel Errazkin Agirrezabala, Rosa Martinez Rodriguez; Chapter 12 'Unseen Women: Stories from Armagh Gaol': Exhibiting Contrasting Memories of a Contested Space, Jolene Mairs Dyer; Chapter 13 Borders of Belonging: The UK Border Agency Museum as a Nation-Building Site, Claire Sutherland; Chapter 14 Perspectives on the Far East: Understanding War through Veterans' Eyes, Amy Ryall; Part 4 'Teaching' Challenging History, Samantha Cairns; Chapter 15 Controversies around the Teaching of Brazilian 'Black History', Verena Alberti; Chapter 16 'To Kill a King?' Interpreting the Execution of a Monarch, Amanda Shamoon; Chapter 17 Frames of Meaning: Young People, Historical Consciousness and Challenging History at Museums and Historic Sites, Ceri Jones; Chapter 18 Challenging Histories - Challenging Memorialisation: The Holocaust, Judith Vandervelde;