Abstract
This chapter analyzes the permanent exhibition at Madrid’s Museo de América. Discovering and analyzing what type of narratives are used at this museum—created in a city that once was a colonial metropolis—are vitally important to knowing what kind of identifications are provided for citizens. As it is argued, narratives that construct subjects’ political identifications are critically important in the process of adopting an identity. For subjects to be able to say who they are and state their interests enables them to participate and be represented in a democracy. Participation and representation are fundamental for democracy: subjects must participate in political decision making for democracy to work, in a representative democracy done by delegating power to elected officials. Thus, González de Oleaga contributes to articulating between museum and democracy.
This paper is part of the Project HAR2012-31212, financed by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Innovation.
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de Oleaga, M.G. (2017). Democracy and History Museums. Museo de América. In: Carretero, M., Berger, S., Grever, M. (eds) Palgrave Handbook of Research in Historical Culture and Education. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52908-4_7
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