Difficult knowledge as an exhibition theme in small museums: case examples from the Czech Republic

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26485/AI/2024/26/5

Keywords:

difficult knowledge, museum exhibition, museum presentation, small museums

Abstract

The article addresses the presentation of so-called difficult knowledge in small museums, using examples from two Moravian institutions: the Municipal Museum and Gallery in Hustopeče and the private Museum of the Iron Curtain in Valtice. In the exhibition activities of both institutions, visitors encounter challenging themes, such as war and periods of oppression, focusing on the regional and broader historical context of the 20th century in Central Europe. The first part of the article explains the term “difficult knowledge”, gives its interpretation and defines the environment of small museums. It is followed by a presentation of the museums above in the second part.

Author Biographies

Pavol Tišliar, Department of Archaeology and Museology Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University

PhD in auxiliary historical science, is a professor at the Centre of Museology, and UNESCO Chair for Museology and World Heritage at the Department of Archaeology and Museology at the Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University in Brno (Czech Republic). He lectures and publishes mainly in the fields of museum presentation theory, history of museums, theory of museology and monumentology of Central Europe, as well as social and economic history and historical demography of Slovakia in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Lucie Jagošová, Department of Archaeology and Museology Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University

PhD in museology, is an assistant professor at the Centre of Museology, and UNESCO Chair for Museology and World Heritage at the Department of Archaeology and Museology at the Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University in Brno (Czech Republic). She lectures and publishes mostly on the topics of museum pedagogy and psychology. She chairs the Committee for PR and Museum Pedagogy by the Czech Association of Museums and Galleries, and lectures in further training courses for museum educators (Czech Republic, Slovakia).

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Published

2024-12-29