Letting Go:Historical Authority in a User-Generated World

Why Let Go?

AU

TH

OR

ITY

TR

US

T

Traditional Museum Authority

Positives • Respected, trusted

institution

• Provides well-documented, factual information

• Widely shared among experts

Negatives • Patronizing and/or

paternalistic

• Presumes a singularly correct interpretation

• Assumes a public in need of edification

New Museum Authority

• Democratic, inviting

• Community contributes

– what histories are told

– how artworks and artifacts are interpreted

• Inclusive

– People contribute opinions shaped by diverse life experiences

Museum Learning Models

Didactic• Visitors: Empty Vessel• Museum: Authoritative lecturer

Constructivist• Visitors: participants in construction of new knowledge• Museums: Pose questions, encourage “make meaning”

Transformative• Similar to constructivism in method, differs in purpose• Museums and visitors, together, through dialog:

– understand knowledge as unevenly distributed cultural capital– Redress social consequences of imbalances

transformation through dialog

Conventional Authority

COLLECTIONS,STORYTELLING,

GAMES, MULTIMEDIA

Social Authority

SPECTATE

JOIN

COLLECT

CRITIQUE

CREATE

The Questions

• What works?

• What doesn’t?

• How can organizations share authority and still maintain control of their public image?

• How does sharing authority change the way we perform public history & cultural heritage interpretation?

• How can organizations share authority cost effectively and sustainably?

• Who owns the content? Does it matter?