Interpreting Germany

Since returning to my country of birth last year after nearly 20 years away, I have become acutely aware not only of how I have changed, but also how the country has changed. So now, in addition to catching up with the sites and topics that I am responsible for managing and interpreting, I am … Continue reading Interpreting Germany →

Interpretation and Integration: Where ‘education’ may become an obstacle.

The main research question for my PhD was whether or not interpretation delivered the public benefits of heritage as asserted in relevant legislation and policy. A key benefit is mutual understanding/social integration and cohesion, and sometimes also more directly, peace [1]. I’ve been thinking a lot about this particular benefit over recent months. In … Continue reading Interpretation and Integration: Where ‘education’ may become an obstacle. →

Integration goes both ways: Current practice in Germany

I am really intrigued by how German cultural institutions, including museums, appear to be contributing to the efforts of integrating refugees into German civic society. This announcement of an upcoming exhibition about 14 projects in Berlin notes what seems to be a conscious shift away from narrowly focusing on refugees’ stories toward integrative projects that … Continue reading Integration goes both ways: Current practice in Germany →

Evaluation and Impact Studies: A note from a conference in Germany

I spent the last weekend at the annual conference of the German Bundesverband fuer Museumspaedagogik. It focussed on measuring the impact of interpretation, a subject that is even newer in Germany than it is in the UK. There were a few things that I found interesting, and which I’d like to share here: Cultural … Continue reading Evaluation and Impact Studies: A note from a conference in Germany →

Interpreting History, Heritage – or Politics?

When I recently visited Germany on my first research study visit, my interviewees used two terms to describe interpretive foci, which I found quite intriguing: ‘Ereignisgeschichte’ (event history) and ‘Rezeptionsgeschichte’ (reception history). We don’t generally use these terms in English and in our writings. However, I wonder if they can go some way in helping … Continue reading Interpreting History, Heritage – or Politics? →