ABSTRACT
The first chapter provides the theoretical and historical framework for the discussion of the case studies of human rights museums throughout the book. The chapter discusses three waves of human rights in museums, beginning with the emergence of the memorial museum in the mid-twentieth century, and in light of two concurrent, largely post-millennial trends. It discusses the changing museographic strategies of key examples of each trend, demonstrating how a politics of memory and human rights activism have contributed to shaping museological discourse in these museums. The chapter also discusses different forms of justice – retributive, distributive, reparative, restorative – that have evolved from a legal paradigm and that are of interest in contemporary conceptions of a museology of human rights. In addition to redress for violations of human rights, the chapter addresses – following legal and political science scholars Sikkink and Young – the need to enhance a collective sense of responsibility for protecting and maintaining these rights. The chapter concludes with ideas about how, building collective memory and enacting justice, museums might engage in productive tension within a culture of human rights.
