Museums and sites of persuasion : politics, memory and human rights / edited by Joyce Apsel and Amy Sodaro.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Apsel, Joyce, editor.

Sodaro, Amy, 1975- editor.

George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

Series:

Museum meanings

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Human rights--Museums--Social aspects.

Human rights.

Museums--Political aspects.

Museums.

Memorials--Social aspects.

Memorials.

Persuasion (Psychology).

Collective memory.

Social aspects.

Physical Description:

xii, 220 pages : illustrations (black and white) ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, 2020.

Summary:

Museums and Sites of Persuasion examines the concept of museums and memory sites as locations that attempt to promote human rights, democracy and peace. Demonstrating that such sites have the potential to act as powerful spaces of persuasion or contestation, the book also shows that there are perils in the selective memory and history that they present. Examining a range of museums, memorials and exhibits in places as varied as Burundi, Denmark, Georgia, Kosovo, Mexico, Peru, Vietnam, and the US, this volume demonstrates how they represent and try to come to terms with difficult histories. As sites of persuasion, the contributors to this book argue, their public goal is to use memory and education about the past to provide moral lessons to visitors that will encourage a more democratic and peaceful future. However, the case studies also demonstrate how political, economic, and social realities often undermine this lofty goal, raising questions about how these sites of persuasion actually function on a daily basis. Straddling several interdisciplinary fields of research and study, Museums and Sites of Persuasion will be essential reading for those working in the fields of museum studies, memory studies, and genocide studies. It will also be essential reading for museum practitioners and anyone engaged in the study of history, sociology, political science, anthropology and art history.

Contents:

Part I Museums, politics and persuasion p. 1

Introduction: memory, politics and human rights p. 3 / Joyce Apsel and Amy Sodaro

1 Selective memory: memorial museums, human rights, and the politics of victimhood p. 19 / Amy Sodaro

Part II Writing national histories p. 37

2 Between traditional and modern museology: exhibiting national history in the Museum of Georgia p. 39 / Malkhaz Toria

3 Curating enslavement and the colonial history of Denmark: the 2017 centennial p. 56 / Astrid Nonbo Andersen

4 Kosovo's NEWBORN monument: persuasion, contestation, and the narrative constructions of past and future p. 74 / Alissa Boguslaw

Part III Displaying difficult pasts p. 89

5 "Inspiration lives here": struggle, martyrdom, and redemption in Atlanta's National Center for Civil and Human Rights p. 91 / Joyce Apsel

6 The Son My Memorial and Museum: a continuous memorial service to remember and bear witness to the 1968 My Lai Massacre p. 116 / Roy Tamashiro

7 Memory as persuasion: historical discourse and moral messages at Peru's Place of Memory, Tolerance, and Social Inclusion p. 133 / Joseph P. Feldman

Part IV Resistance through memory p. 151

8 Mexico City's Memorial to the Victims of Violence and the facade of participation p. 153 / Benjamin Nienass and Alexandra Délano Alonso

9 Narratives of ethnic and political conflict in Burundian sites of persuasion p. 174 / Sixte Vigny Nimuraba and Douglas Irvin-Erickson.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

Other Format:

ebook version :

ISBN:

9781138567818

9781138565357

1138565350

1138567817

OCLC:

1122196216

Publisher Number:

99983170082