ABSTRACT
This chapter builds on memories of that encounter by considering the cultures of militarism displayed at the Australia War Memorial in Canberra, Australia, as enmeshings of the social and somatic. Derived from embodied interactions between people and wider discourses and technologies, both serendipitous and planned, it is understood that the museum experience as provoked by far more complex and performative processes of engagement than traditional museology literature might have it. The chapter examines the changing nature of cultures of militarism and considers the way that they shape museum-goer's experiences. It considers the various affective technologies found in the Memorial itself, from simple dioramas to vast multimedia experiences. The chapter examines these affective technologies that invite museum-goers in, positioning them in ways that afford affective encounters with long-dead men and women. It concludes by sketching out an agenda for the renewed consideration of heritage in relation to the 'affective turn'.
