ABSTRACT
Over the last few years, the field of American history has witnessed an explosion of interest in how contemporary individuals understand and use the past. In the field of communications, many scholars now believe that communication does not occur in a linear fashion, with one active party conveying information to a passive other, but that communication is a process in which meaning is jointly and actively constructed through interaction. Stuck in expert/novice linear communication model, some historians do not think to encourage such dialogue or see its great potential for educating about diversity. In creating museum exhibits and programs that interpret objects, it is similarly time for museum educators to take further steps beyond the expert/novice dichotomy to create more effective ways to share authority for the making of meaning in museums. As in history, such steps can be facilitated by affording opportunities to explore and promote differences among perspectives while also working toward creation of expanded but common ground.
