Interpreting Difficult History at Museums and Historic Sites

by Julia Rose, Jonathan Holloway (Foreword)

Interpreting Difficult History at Museums and Historic Sites is framed by educational psychoanalytic theory and positions museum workers, public historians, and museum visitors as learners. Through this lens, museum workers and public historians can develop compelling and ethical representations of historical individuals, communities, and populations who have suffered. It includes various examples of difficult knowledge, detailed examples of specific interpretation methods, and will give readers an in-depth explanation of the psychoanalytic educational theories behind the methodologies. Audiences can more responsibly and productively engage in learning histories of oppression and trauma when they are in measured and sensitive museum learning environments and public history venues.

Genres: History, Museums, Nonfiction, Museology

232 pages, Paperback

Published May 16, 2016

Reviews

[Helen Turnock]

The way this was written wasn’t great, won’t lie. You can sometimes tell when for someone writing a book it isn’t their main thing, and I think this is the case for this one because why were so many phrases repeated incessantly? Like I know the book is about difficult histories, that’s its title, I don’t need the phrase shoehorned into every sentence possible.

[Cami Clark]

"Interpreting Difficult History at Museums and Historic Sites" is a tough yet essential read for anyone involved in public history or aspiring to work in this field. As part of the "Interpreting History" series, this book delves into the complexities of presenting sensitive and challenging historical topics to the public.

Unlike other volumes in the series, this book offers fewer practical strategies for integrating difficult subjects into tours and programs. Instead, it focuses more on sharing accounts of visitor reactions to challenging historical narratives at museums and historic sites. While many chapters cover similar ground and can feel repetitive, the book still provides valuable insights into how different audiences engage with and respond to difficult history.

Despite its occasional redundancy, "Interpreting Difficult History at Museums and Historic Sites" remains a good resource for understanding the nuances of presenting controversial and sensitive topics in historical contexts. It encourages readers to consider diverse perspectives and reactions, making it a worthwhile read for enhancing one's approach to interpreting complex histories.

[Dave]

This book is part theory, part practice, in dealing with the subject of difficult history - and a lot of history can be described as difficult. In the U.S., the obvious topic is slavery which can lead to difficulties around Civil War memorials. But there are plenty of other difficult topics - Rose says that anything dealing with trauma or violence will have challenges in its interpretation. Native American historical sites, internment camps for Japanese-Americans during WWII, the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan, medical trials on unknowing patients, the treatment of the mentally ill. All of these and many more represent difficult histories that museums and historic sites need to interpret - or ignore, as has often been the case.

Much of Rose's book focuses on working with museum staff to do more thorough research in order to tell a more complete story. She also provides suggestions based on case histories and psychological theory on overcoming resistance, both from museum workers and the public.

[Francesca Calarco]

Julia Rose here lays out methodology and case studies for engaging both museum staff and visitors about "difficult history" through Commemorative Museum Pedagogy (CMP).

While many of her case studies focus on American slavery, she does offer insights for CMP at other types of memorials for terrorist attacks, mass killings, and other human atrocities.

One of the greatest strengths of Rose's proposed CMP is that it focuses on the active learning process of difficult history interpretation, as opposed to preaching a simple, idealistic end-goal. Rose also explores the pitfalls of this process, including the mixed aftermath of her own fieldwork at Magnolia Mound Plantation.

While I personally found some components of the CMP to be too gentle when addressing uncomfortable individuals, I think this approach has a lot of merit in that it seeks to stimulate and facilitate complex conversations and dialogue.

[Jason]

Any museum worker who will be working with difficult history (that is, pretty much any museum worker) should read this book. Rose provides a sound methodology for interpreting difficult history, backed up by her experience creating education programs around the history of slavery, including at a plantation house museum in Louisiana. I look forward to having the opportunity to put these techniques into practice in my own museum career.

[Adina]

A practical guide if a bit breathless. Feels like a product of a decade ago but still provides a useful set of considerations for practitioners working with a “traditional” museum audience in mind. I particularly appreciated the framing of the building blocks of commemorative museum pedagogy, namely “the face,” “the real,” and “the narrative.”

[Susan Schinleber]

Makes an important contribution to national conversations about the past

Thought-provoking, thoughtfully written, and intelligent. You will learn a lot and historians will acquire a valuable methodology for working with difficult histories in a compassionate but honest and ethical manner.

[Ryan Madden]

A great read on how to bravely and sensitively talk about difficult history periods and topics. Written for museum interpretation but applicable to any organization that deals with difficult parts of the past.

[Alyssa]

I read this for class and it was really interesting and it really raised lots of important questions about interpreting history.

[Ellen]

I think the timing was not right for me reading this book.