Museum Rhetoric

Building Civic Identity in National Spaces

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Language Arts, Public Speaking, Rhetoric, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Government, Civics, Linguistics
Cover of the book Museum Rhetoric by M. Elizabeth Weiser, Penn State University Press
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Author: M. Elizabeth Weiser ISBN: 9780271080222
Publisher: Penn State University Press Publication: October 16, 2017
Imprint: Penn State University Press Language: English
Author: M. Elizabeth Weiser
ISBN: 9780271080222
Publisher: Penn State University Press
Publication: October 16, 2017
Imprint: Penn State University Press
Language: English

In today’s diverse societies, museums are the primary institutions within the public sphere in which individuals can both engage critical thought and celebrate community. This volume uses the lens of rhetoric to explore the role these societal repositories play in establishing and altering cultural heritage and national identity.

Based on fieldwork conducted in over sixty museums in twenty-two countries across six continents, Museum Rhetoric explores how heritage museum exhibits persuade visitors to unite their own sense of identity with that of the broader civic society and how the latter changes in response. Elizabeth Weiser explores what compels communities, organizations, and nations to create museum spaces, and how museums operate as sites of both civic engagement and rhetorical persuasion. Moving beyond rhetorical explorations of museums as “memory sites,” she shows how they intentionally straddle the divides between style and content, intellect and affect, unity and diversity, and why their portrayal of the past matters to civic life—and particularly studies of nationalism—in the present and future.

Deeply researched and artfully argued, Museum Rhetoric sheds light on the public impact of cultural and aesthetic heritage and opens avenues of inquiry for scholars of museum studies and public history.

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In today’s diverse societies, museums are the primary institutions within the public sphere in which individuals can both engage critical thought and celebrate community. This volume uses the lens of rhetoric to explore the role these societal repositories play in establishing and altering cultural heritage and national identity.

Based on fieldwork conducted in over sixty museums in twenty-two countries across six continents, Museum Rhetoric explores how heritage museum exhibits persuade visitors to unite their own sense of identity with that of the broader civic society and how the latter changes in response. Elizabeth Weiser explores what compels communities, organizations, and nations to create museum spaces, and how museums operate as sites of both civic engagement and rhetorical persuasion. Moving beyond rhetorical explorations of museums as “memory sites,” she shows how they intentionally straddle the divides between style and content, intellect and affect, unity and diversity, and why their portrayal of the past matters to civic life—and particularly studies of nationalism—in the present and future.

Deeply researched and artfully argued, Museum Rhetoric sheds light on the public impact of cultural and aesthetic heritage and opens avenues of inquiry for scholars of museum studies and public history.

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