Loading...
From the Battlefield to the Exhibit Hall: The Ethical Display and Interpretation of Enemy Combatant Objects in U.S. History Museums
Wilkinson, Luke
Wilkinson, Luke
Citations
Altmetric:
Abstract
This paper investigates ethical methods of displaying and interpreting enemy combatant objects in American historical museums. Enemy objects present museum practitioners with unique questions and ethical challenges which are not addressed by standard museum operating guidelines. The objective of this study is to raise key questions and suggest procedures for museums to determine how to display and interpret these “difficult” objects.
This project uses the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri, as a case study. The museum’s exhibits were evaluated, and structured interviews were conducted with four experienced staff members representing the fields of curation, exhibitions, and education. The findings from this study reveal a shift in the museum industry, in line with contemporary historiography, which moves away from traditional interpretations of the war and instead emphasizes the global nature of the conflict as well as the experiences of individuals, both combatants and civilians. This analysis is synthesized with published research to show how enemy objects should be presented in the context of everyday life and contextualized to emphasize the humanity of individual soldiers among the defeated belligerents. Representing the experiences of soldiers and civilians of the Central Powers reveals that they suffered many similar physical and emotional hardships as their Allied counterparts.
Description
This paper was submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Museum Studies
Date
2025-05-10
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Museum Studies Program, University of Kansas
Collections
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Keywords
Enemy combatant objects, Difficult objects, Ethical display and interpretation, Public memory of war, Military and war museums