ABSTRACT
This chapter concerns the narratives in Hong Kong's Museum of History and their use in the production of national identity. Donna Haraway cited an example, in her analysis of the American Museum of Natural History, refers to the methods she observed being used to articulate particular forms of knowledge or power as 'the techniques of effecting meanings'. The chapter aims to apply these ideas to a discussion of some of the 'techniques' at work in the Hong Kong Museum of History, analysing how certain design elements impact on the construction of a particular national narrative for postcolonial Hong Kong. Material for this study was gathered through detailed analysis of the museum's displays and texts, the observation of museum visitors, and discussions with the curators who were in charge of the construction of the histories presented. Within museums, display remains the predominant visual form of communication.
