Interpreting Immigration at Museums and Historic Sites

Edited by Dina A. Bailey

Publication date:

02 May 2018

Length of book:

150 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781442263239

Interpreting Immigration at Museums and Historic Sites draws from the collective learning of the forty museums and historic sites that make up the Immigration and Civil Rights Network of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience. Members of the Network have developed interpretive approaches that tap the power of place and history to open new dialogue on difficult subjects in a wide variety of contexts.

The title considers the questions: How can museums use their collections and key stories as starting points for audience engagement around immigration past and present? How can museums move beyond the "we are a nation of immigrants" narrative - a narrative that does not resonate for all audiences? How can museums make opportunities for safe, open dialogue on immigration accessible to all stakeholders including both new immigrants and receiving communities?

Interpreting Immigration includes strategies for the design, implementation, marketing and sustaining of programs that help visitors use the lens of history to address contemporary immigration issues and provides:

Case studies from eight regionally diverse institutions including ethnic identity museums, immigration museums and local history sites
Piloted and evaluated immigration program designs including models for exhibit development, art-based interpretation, school programs, adult programs and neighborhood walking tours
Audience building strategies
A tested evaluation toolkit for measuring institutional success
Lessons learned through the National Dialogues on Immigration Project, a cross-regional series of public programs designed to spark a national conversation on critical immigration topics like citizenship, American identity, border control, freedom of movement, and civil liberties.

Introduction Using Dialogue to Interpret Immigration: The National Dialogues on Immigration Project, Sarah Pharaon
Chapter 1 The Arab American National Museum, Anan Ameri, Ph.D.
Chapter 2 Speaking of Change in a New Immigrant Gateway, Janeen Bryant
Chapter 3 Talking About Immigration with Children through a Social Justice Lens, Linda Blanshay, Ph.D.
Chapter 4 Between Two Worlds: Incubating a New Approach to Community Engagement and Civic Responsibility in an Art Museum, Suzanne Seriff, Ph.D.
Chapter 5 Dialogue with Audiences about Migration in the Red Star Line Museum, Bram Beelaert
Chapter 6 Who is an American?: Moving Conversations at Lowell National Historical Park, Emily Levine and Resi Polixa
Chapter 7 Museo Urbano’s Border Immigration Dialogues, Yolanda Chavez Leyva, Ph.D.
Conclusion, Dina Bailey

Interpreting Immigration is a thoughtful look at some of the many ways the public history field is grappling with this challenging topic. Filled with solid program examples that can be replicated at sites large or small, this book will be a valuable resource for any site that interprets immigration.