Identity Museums

[Amanda's note: This is the first of what we hope to be many posts by other members of the Tufts Museum Studies community. If you are a member of our community, and are interested in contributing your thoughts, please let us know! If you need some ideas to spark your muse, check out our list of ideas for posts.]

Identity Museums Challenge History’s Received Truths from The New York Times, December 29, 2010

I thought this article offered some good food for thought about how museums shape (and/or re-shape) our collective cultural understanding of the world.  As egalitarian as we may strive to be, the story we tell with our collections and exhibitions is always one person’s (or group’s) story, and most likely someone will feel left out or misrepresented. But what happens if our desire for inclusion of all begins to tamper with the “truth” that is our past?

Jenn DePrizio teaches Museum Education in the Tufts Museum Studies program, and is Director of Visitor Learning at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.