Abstract
This article breaks with a traditional truth-lie dichotomy in the attempt of removing the phenomena of the myth from the lie. The authors relate parts of the postmodern discussion of the role of history and Ankersmit’s narrative substances to empirical material in the form of two recent exhibitions challenging myths, respectively about a Danish medieval queen and a German nazi soldier fortified in a bunker in Denmark. This unfolds perspectives on how museums both add to myth as well as putting myths into perspective, which again points to the role of the museum as places where narratives are constructed every day through selective processes. From an identity perspective this moves interest from a positivist influenced approach on whether stories told by museums can be said to be true or false to a question of producing exhibitions to which visitors can relate and usefully discuss.
Translated title of the contribution | A medieval queen and a German bunker soldier: Myth, truth and narrative substances in museum exhibitions |
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Original language | Danish |
Journal | Nordisk Museologi |
Issue number | 2 |
Pages (from-to) | 79-97 |
Number of pages | 19 |
ISSN | 1103-8152 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2013 |
Externally published | Yes |