Thinking through the Museum
While the advent of “new museology” has seen a shift from imagining museum visitors as uninformed, passive consumers of didactic exhibits to agents involved in content and meaning making, a gap remains between participatory ideals and their practice in contemporary museums — especially when it comes to difficult knowledge. The overall goal of our project is to position ourselves within this gap, creating concrete networks and resources to collectively respond to the challenges inherent in confronting traumatic histories and legacies of violence.
The project addresses the following key questions:
How can museums deepen public debate on difficult historical and cultural issues?
How can museums increase public access to knowledge?
How can museums help democratize society?
How can museums contribute to positive social change?
Dr. Angela Failler was Project Director for the SSHRC Partnership Development Grant stage of this project. The next stage, funded through a 7-year SSHRC Partnership Grant, is led Dr. Erica Lehrer (Concordia University). For more information on this project, please see: