The Representation of the Past: Museums and Heritage in the Post-Modern World

by Kevin Walsh

Overview

The 1980s and early 1990s have seen a marked increase in public interest in our historic environment. The museum and heritage industry has expanded as the past is exploited for commercial profit. In The Representation of the Past, Kevin Walsh examines this international trend and questions the packaging of history which serves only to distance people from their own heritage. A superficial, unquestioning portrayal of the past, he feels, separates us from an understanding of our cultural and political present. Here, Walsh suggests a number of ways in which the museum can fulfill its potential - by facilitating our comprehension of cultural identity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415079440
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/25/1992
Series:	Heritage: Care-Preservation-Management
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	212
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. The Idea of Modernity 2. Postmodern Societies I 3. Postmodern Societies II 4. Conserving a Past 5. Simulating the Past 6. Heritage Reconsidered 7. A Sense of Place 8. The Museum as a Facilitator 9. Conclusion:- The Remoteness of the Past

Editorial Reviews

‘This book's greatest merit is the fact that it reports on the activities which are currently going on in museums to challenge the passive window-shopping approach to museum visits;...' - Times Higher Education Supplement

From the Publisher

Walsh (archaeology, U. of Leicester, England) writes from his anger and despair as the world gleefully cheered young soldiers off to bomb civilians in the summer of 1991. Museums, and the heritage industry in general, he says, must shoulder a good deal of the shame for distancing people from the underpinnings and consequences of their easy lives. He reviews the main characteristics of modernism and postmodernism; shows how museums preserve not so much the past, as the idea of progress necessary for an industrial, urban society; and considers how they could help reconnect people to reality instead. Paper edition (not seen), $27.50. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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