(Re)visualizing national history : museums and national identities in Europe in the new millennium / edited by Robin Ostow.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

(Re)Visualizing National History is a unique and interdisciplinary volume that offers insights on the dilemmas of present-day European culture, manifestations of nationalism in Europe, and the debates surrounding museums as sites for the representation of politics and history.

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CHOICE Review

This publication is the outgrowth of a 2004 conference sponsored by the University of Toronto. Its thesis is based on the belief that the role of a contemporary museum is increasingly contentious as post-Cold War Europe struggles with issues of its visual histories versus its various national identities. As museums grow at an unprecedented rate, they face unique challenges in coping with nationalism, globalization, and multiculturalism. (Re)visualizing National History takes a multidisciplinary approach, representing a wide range of European perspectives in a case study-like format. Divided into four parts, the book looks at issues of exhibition philosophy, the reconfiguration of national histories, international participation in museum development, and the display of national involvement with war and genocide. Edited by Ostow (Univ. of Toronto), the book features essays by eight distinguished museum professionals from a variety of countries and backgrounds. The essays are uniformly well written, readable, informative, and authoritative, and provide pertinent bibliographies and useful notes. Technically the book is of good quality--small in format, straightforward in design, and offering 29 adequate but informative figures. This work makes an important contribution to literature dealing with the missions and challenges facing contemporary museums in a postmodern world. Summing Up: Recommended All libraries supporting museum studies; graduate students and up. J. A. Day University of South Dakota