This paper presents qualitative research on how local museums can reflect, shape and reinforce the cultural identity of the local community. The paper is based on research conducted in the spring of 2011 in an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse Southern New England community through participant observation with aid of photography and staff interviews at two museums. The focus of this research is on the construction of identity through the relationship between staff members interpretations of the local communitys culture and how they represent that culture in museum exhibits in terms of...
This paper presents qualitative research on how local museums can reflect, shape and reinforce the cultural identity of the local community. The paper...