ABSTRACT

This chapter explains that the rhetoric and pedagogies of difficult history education are particularly interesting in the context of periods of heightened commemorative activity, such as the 2007 bicentenary of the abolition of the British slave trade. It focuses on the museum as a key cultural and educational medium to understand the intergenerational transmission memories of slavery through education. The chapter explores the potential value of drama, performance and role play in the experiences of school pupils learning to remember and imagine slavery through field trips. It presents ethnographic research that tackles how the history of slavery has been taught to school pupils in museums in England since 2007. The chapter reviews the importance of the interactivity of the experience in relation to its memorability and long-term resonance. It describes three vignettes such as The Guildhall, Destination Freedom and Footsteps to Freedom.