Museums as contested sites of remembrance

Object Details

Category
Smithsonian Institution History Bibliography
Notes
The book is copyrighted by The Editorial Board of The Sociological Review. Twenty-one "Notes" appear at the end of the chapter.
Summary
Discusses various elements involved in the controversy surrounding the exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum of the Enola Gay, the airplane that dropped the first atomic bomb. The author views the situation to have arisen when competing interests vied to influence how facts involved with the dropping of the bomb should be presented in the exhibition, and devotes a section of the chapter to consider versions of the facts argued by each of the four main factions involved: museum curators, American veteran organizations, the Japanese government, and the U. S. government. Arguments put forth by each of these groups are discussed in terms of how they influenced the exhibition and caused it to be changed from the original concept.
The author writes that museums are places which represent history, and are therefore sites of remembrance that influence thinking about the past; however, the author contends that museums have not been fulfilling their traditional roles, as they have sadly become increasingly politicized and money-conscious.
Contained within
Theorizing Museums: Representing identity and diversity in a changing world (Book)
Contact information
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu
Data Source
Smithsonian Archives - History Div
Date
1996
Author
Zolberg, Vera L
Co-editor
Fyfe, Gordon
Macdonald, Sharon
Subject
Heyman, Ira Michael 5/30/1930-11/19/2011
United States Congress
National Air and Space Museum
Enola Gay (Bomber)
Physical description
pgs. 69-82
Place
United States
Publisher
Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishers
Topic
Controversies
Atomic bomb
Airplanes
Exhibitions
Museums--Educational aspects
Secretaries
World War, 1939-1945
Record ID
siris_sic_3714
Usage
Usage conditions apply