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Shared historical authority


Shared historical authority is a current trend in museums and historical institutions which aims to open the interpretation of history to the public.

The concept of shared historical authority is defined by the premise that traditional institutions of historical authority, such as museums and historical societies, are increasingly inviting non-professionals (the general public) to share their historical viewpoints and experiences with the public. It is argued that this trend toward sharing authority is changing the nature of public historical experience in significant ways. Shared authority removes the hierarchy commonly practiced within cultural institutions. Moving away from a top down approach, shared authority is geared towards collaboration that includes dialogue, and participatory engagement.

Typical examples of shared historical authority include:

In each case the institution serves as a catalyst for non-traditional participants to contribute to a body of information presented to the public. The institution uses its resources - e.g. staff expertise, collections, public space - to help non-traditional participants share their contributions in publicly accessible and engaging ways. At its most basic, shared authority turns people who would otherwise be historical consumers (visitors and audiences) into participants and co-generators of historical content for public display. Museums who coordinate programs that share historical authority often wish to imbue a sense of democratization to the historical narrative, in contrast to the top-down historical narratives that sometimes emerge in museums. In addition, shared authority projects frequently try to involve communities who have traditionally been disenfranchised or underrepresented in historical narratives and institutions, providing a platform for alternative voices to engage in a public historical dialogue. The role of shared historical authority continues to be debated in the field of public history.

The need for museums and other historical institutions to "share authority" with their audiences and surrounding communities is rooted in the ideologies of New Social History and social constructivism. Both paradigms reject the concept of a "master narrative" for describing historical events, finding it an inadequate method for representing the multiple experiences and perspectives of individuals involved. Arising from the work of folklorists such as John Lomax and Alan Lomax, New Deal-era Works Progress Administration (WPA) programs such as the Federal Writers' Project and the work of Studs Terkel, the social history movement of the 1960s placed new academic emphasis on the experiences of people not represented in traditional or "official" historical narratives, and gave further impetus to projects focused on collecting and sharing those experiences.


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