Das National Museum of Australia und die Debatte um die Darstellung der kolonialgeschichtlichen Vergangenheit Australiens

The book Das National Museum of Australia und die Debatte um die Darstellung der kolonialgeschichtlichen Vergangenheit Australiens [The National Museum of Australia and the Debate about Australian Colonial History] examines the public debate about the reappraisal of Australian national history in the wake of the Australian “History Wars”. It uses the controversy over the opening of the National Museum of Australia in 2001 as an example to identify significant points of conflict in the discussion on how to deal with the colonial past in the post-colonial present by conducting a discourse analysis inspired by Michel Foucault. Through Australian newspapers, official documents such as annual museum reports and reviews, speeches held by government and museum officials, and secondary source material, it analyses the debate on the political and academic level. Its aim is to reveal power relations within the discussion, trace overlaps and structures of arguments and show how expressed views refer to certain perceptions about national history and memory politics. The book contextualises its findings against the backdrop of social upheavals, controversies related to historical science and changes in museum theory during the second half of the 20th century.