Cultural heritage and the mediation of identity, memory and historical narratives

The aim of this work is to document the way museum exhibitions and heritage sites are used to construct and negotiate social and cultural values and meanings. It is accepted that museum and heritage site audiences are not simply passive receptors of the curator s or interpreter s messages, but how audiences actually engage with exhibitions and heritage sites and what they do with the messages they take away is neither documented or understood. By charting and comparing the way heritage is used by heritage professionals, community groups and audiences in Australia, USA and England, the project will reveal the cultural and social work that heritage does in society.