ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book draws on work in varied geographical contexts including Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, England, Germany, Japan, Northern Ireland, Norway, Scotland, South Africa, Spain and the United States of America. It is divided into four parts: The Emotional Museum'; Challenging Collaborations'; Ethics, Ownership and Identity'; and 'Teaching' Challenging History'. This book arises from such challenges. It explores the justifiable and tangible anguish from both museums and their users the author use the word users' with intent here to encourage you to think about how people understand the various constituencies of the museum on-site, online, visitor, audience, user, participant, collaborator. The discourse and the ground people work on are shifting beneath their feet. About how best to navigate this difficult and contested terrain: one that is, for both parties, political, territorial and intensely personal.
