Every year history museums interpret America’s past for millions of visitors. While scholarly monographs, popular books, and living history presentations make important contributions to historical knowledge, museum exhibitions are uniquely able to reach large numbers of people with a single, powerful message. Exhibitions combine a wealth of research and interpretation with the physical form of objects to convey complex ideas in a way that resonates with viewers. Although exhibition reviews will examine some ancillary products, such as catalogues and videotapes, it is important to review an exhibit on its own terms—not only does the intellectual foundation of a show matter, but so does what actually happens when it is installed.
Unlike a monograph, the life of an exhibition is relatively short. It is thus vital that its reviews create a record that will outlive the show and help to expand the discourse of museum scholarship. This column aims to provide that record by examining exhibitions and their scholarly underpinnings in ways that will be of use to both scholars and museum professionals.
We will focus on exhibitions that challenge the established boundaries of interpretation, presentation, and collecting. Whether they explore abstract ideas, such as home, freedom, faith, democracy, or social justice; or concrete issues, such as slavery, immigration, and civic life, these exhibitions reach beyond the museum to bring the past into the lives of the public. The success of these exhibitions depends on the collaboration of many individuals, including scholars in the academy and those working in museums. The goal of this column is to strengthen this vital partnership by informing Perspectives readers about key exhibitions that contribute to the conversation of history in our museums.