Exhibiting Europe in Museums: Transnational Networks, Collections, Narratives and Representations: 6 (Museums and Collections, 6) - Softcover

"I recommend this book as a meticulous and illuminating history of the development of the European ideal, the political background to the European Parliament's House of European History to be opened in 2015, and as an insightful examination of the thoughts and arguments of pro-Europeans and how history is understood, by some politicians, as an Orwellian instrument to control the masses." Museum Anthropology

Museums of history and contemporary culture face many challenges in the modern age. One is how to react to processes of Europeanization and globalization, which require more cross-border cooperation and different ways of telling stories for visitors. This book investigates how museums exhibit Europe. Based on research in nearly 100 museums across the Continent and interviews with cultural policy makers and museum curators, it studies the growing transnational activities of state institutions, societal organizations, and people in the museum field such as attempts to Europeanize collection policy and collections as well as different strategies for making narratives more transnational like telling stories of European integration as shared history and discussing both inward and outward migration as a common experience and challenge. The book thus provides fascinating insights into a fast-changing museum landscape in Europe with wider implications for cultural policy and museums in other world regions.