Activist Museums - History, Memory, and the Politics of Exhibition

Eric W. Ross

Advisor: Alison Landsberg, PhD, Department of History and Art History

Committee Members: Spencer Crew, Denise Albanese, Gabrielle Tayac

Online Location, https://gmu.zoom.us/j/92593137762?pwd=TFJSdDBaUUQwa1orVm94NHhUWDd0dz09 Meeting ID: 925 9313 7762 Passcode: 452486
April 08, 2024, 06:00 PM to 08:00 PM

Abstract:

A growing trend for history museums in the 21st century has seen a move away from traditional, object-based, politically neutral exhibitions to more idea-based and explicitly political exhibitions. I call these museums, “activist museums” because of the work they do to connect the past and present with a specific future. This project examines activist history museums from the United States and Canada that have been influential in their local, national, and international contexts and aims to capture the ways these museums have utilized the museum form to shape and challenge dominant historical discourse(s) and political subject formation(s) by centering memories and histories that are left out or marginalized within the national imaginary, employing alternative temporalities to challenge those narratives, and encouraging visitors to become activists themselves. I argue that they use their visibility and their potential audiences to subvert and challenge the museum form for their different political projects.