Museums & historical consciousness rev.pptx

Presentation for CNC 4 July 2024

1. Museums & historical narratives David Webster, Bishop’s University, Quebec Peranakan Museum, Singapore

2. Outline What is a museum? Definitions & agendas History of museums Museums as narratives/stories Museums that aim at a complete narrative Nationalist museums Preservationist museums Themed museums Human rights museums Multiplying narratives Pop-up & online museums Hong Kong Museum of History, Kowloon, entrance to “the Hong Kong Story” exhibit

3. What is a museum? “A museum is a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education, study and enjoyment.” – International Council of Museums, Key Concepts in Museology “Museums are public spaces dedicated to the interpretation of the past and are a most trusted source of information. [They] create and share knowledge about the past and operate as locations where historical consciousness is activated and constructed.” – Viviane Gosselin & Phaedra Livingstone, Museums and the Past: Constructing Historical Consciousness , p. 3 A lieu de memoire (site of memory): “any significant entity, whether material or non-material in nature, which by dint of human will or the work of time has become a symbolic element of the memorial heritage of any community ” (Pierre Nora, Lieux de Memoire ). They preserve memory but also make memory.

4. Why do we visit museums? To learn Through objects Through text or speech To connect (to the past) To belong (to a community) To feel Images: L: Bung Karno Museum, Denpasar R: Hall of Remembrance, Montreal Holocaust Museum

5. Why museums? Three agendas (Will Phillips) Work & context of the museum – mission, exhibits, programs, visitor experience, etc How the museum is organized – people & resources, staffing, communication, etc Change: rethinking the role and responsibilities of museums . Demands public advocacy , an action agenda Women’s memorial, National Assembly, Quebec

6. Monuments, museums, narratives Monuments as political speech (Ben Anderson) and nation-building markers Museums are highly trusted due to content and assumed authority – “official and sanctioned storytellers” (Pierre-Luc Collin et al, “La concept de conscience historique ”) Many museums spread an official narrative that aids in building loyalty to the nation; others reply primarily on historical thinking (combining & assessing different sources to build possible interpretations)

7. Museums over time

8. Museums that aim at a complete narrative Hong Kong Museum of History Canadian Museum of History

9. Nationalist museums National Historical Museum, Athens, Greece  Museum of the Struggle of the Balinese people, Denpasar, Indonesia

10. Preservationist museums Musée des Abenakis , Odanak [Canada] Ecomusée du fier monde An “ ecomuseum plays into the ecology of its community, meaning it works to preserve the natural environment that surrounds it. This can include things such as combating pollution, protecting local wildlife or fostering a better life for the local citizens…. Ecomuseums enhance tourism, which in turn contributes to the economic well being of the community. This system then allows citizens to pursue and address ­economic, environmental and social issues ­ultimately improving life for the members of the community .” (Canadian Museums Assn)

11. Themed museums Peranakan Museum, Singapore ( images: interactive terminal on history of fashion ) Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 (Halifax) offers a nationalist story of welcome to migrants but also temporary exhibits that question the nationalist narrative

12. Human rights museums Sites of conscience Holocaust Museums Survivors in museums Canadian Museum for Human Rights Question of prominence to the Holocaust, “recognized” genocides A rights museum that sometimes violated rights of its employees Evolves in public debate, becomes a National Museum Comfort women CAVR – and its narrative Images: Montreal Holocaust Museum

13. Multiplying narratives National Museum of Singapore: B ranching and converging paths through the museum, not a single narrative pathway – a “multilayered storytelling approach” ( Image: the Lee Kuan Yew path ) Ecomusée du fier monde: centring local social history as antidote to nationalist history Decolonizing university tours Growth of “liquid museums” with “power dispersed across multiple actors and dispersed sites” & museums becoming “always emerging institutions” (Fiona Cameron, “From Mitigation to Creativity,” Museum & Society 9.2 (2011) US Holocaust Museum: a choice of final direction, to silent contemplation (Wiesel) or to a “take action” space addressing current human rights issues  challenge the visitor

14. Pop-up & online museums History of Chinese medicine, Singapore airport “Voices of the Canoe” (Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver) combines Haida , Squamish & Fijian perspectives & authorship in an online exhibit, considers circular or spiral, not linear, narrative

15. Closing thoughts (1) Different museums present different narratives Human rights museums need an action agenda (“from memory to hope”) The role of objects, people, text and visuals in a museum – eg personal connection via “identity cards” (USHM) or presence of survivors How do visitors move through a museum (pathways), interact with it and take the experience home (participate) Sense of ownership by communities portrayed  can also threaten accuracy Human rights museums’ own human rights practices become important

16. Closing thoughts (2) Chronology, “iconic moments” or to build familiarity & thus connection ( Musée de la Civilisation , Quebec) Connection after the visit ends Emotional responses to content – aim at “transformative moments” Participation through “treasure hunt” or “quest,” either paper-based or via an app The role of trust in museums The gift of disruption “Never again” can lead to a nationalist, local response or to a “rights- ist ” universal compassion approach

17. “For the dead and the living, we must bear witness. For not only are we responsible for the memories of the dead, we are also responsible for what we are doing with those memories.” Elie Wiesel, Writer & Holocaust survivor