Resilience, resistance, and redemption: opening ethical museum space for displaced voices in our modern era

Abstract

Museums traditionally silenced marginalized voices through their western colonial authority. Because of the passive nature of museum spaces, minority voices, especially the voices of displaced persons or refugees, are actively oppressed and marginalized. Resilience, Resistance, and Redemption uses case studies from the United States and Europe in order to analyze how museums throughout the western world have or have not engaged with displaced voices and their stories. Using theoretical and practical public historical practices this thesis seeks to give the reader insight into how decolonization practices have been and should be implemented in museum spaces. This thesis focuses on ethical and empathetic use of activism and solidarity by museum workers and more specifically curators to decolonize museum spaces and incorporate a more diverse range of voices into these spaces.