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Museums and Transitional Justice: Assessing the Impact of a Memorial Museum on Young People in Post-Communist Romania

Author

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  • Duncan Light

    (Bournemouth University Business School, Bournemouth University, Poole BH12 5BB, UK)

  • Remus Creţan

    (Department of Geography, West University of Timisoara, 321322 Timisoara, Romania)

  • Andreea-Mihaela Dunca

    (Department of Geography, West University of Timisoara, 321322 Timisoara, Romania)

Abstract

Memorial museums are frequently established within transitional justice projects intended to reckon with recent political violence. They play an important role in enabling young people to understand and remember a period of human rights abuses of which they have no direct experience. This paper examines the impact of a memorial museum in Romania which interprets the human rights abuses of the communist period (1947–1989). It uses focus groups with 61 young adults and compares the responses of visitors and non-visitors to assess the impact of the museum on views about the communist past, as well as the role of the museum within post-communist transitional justice. The museum had a limited impact on changing overall perceptions of the communist era but visiting did stimulate reflection on the differences between past and present, and the importance of long-term remembrance; however, these young people were largely skeptical about the museum’s role within broader processes of transitional justice. The paper concludes that it is important to recognize the limits of what memorial museums can achieve, since young people form a range of intergenerational memories about the recent past which a museum is not always able to change.

Suggested Citation

  • Duncan Light & Remus Creţan & Andreea-Mihaela Dunca, 2021. "Museums and Transitional Justice: Assessing the Impact of a Memorial Museum on Young People in Post-Communist Romania," Societies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-21, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:11:y:2021:i:2:p:43-:d:552711
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Duggan, Colleen, 2012. "“Show me your impact”: Evaluating transitional justice in contested spaces," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 199-205.
    2. Elsa Voytas & Laia Balcells & Valeria Palanza, 2018. "Do Museums Promote Reconciliation? A Field Experiment on Transitional Justice," Empirical Studies of Conflict Project (ESOC) Working Papers 10, Empirical Studies of Conflict Project.
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    Cited by:

    1. María Rosa Naranjo Llupart, 2022. "Theoretical Model for the Analysis of Community-Based Tourism: Contribution to Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-41, August.
    2. Radu Săgeată & Nicoleta Damian & Bianca Mitrică, 2021. "Communism and Anti-Communist Dissent in Romania as Reflected in Contemporary Textbooks," Societies, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-18, November.
    3. Tomas Kačerauskas, 2023. "Disinterestedness in the Creative Economy: The Case of the MO Museum in Vilnius," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-12, June.
    4. Mirela Mazilu & Amalia Niță & Ionuț-Adrian Drăguleasa & Oana Mititelu-Ionuș, 2023. "Fostering Urban Destination Prosperity through Post COVID-19 Sustainable Tourism in Craiova, Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-27, August.
    5. Tamara Lukić & Ivana Blešić & Tatjana Pivac & Milka Bubalo Živković & Bojan Đerčan & Sanja Kovačić & Marija Cimbaljević & Dajana Bjelajac, 2022. "Urban Image at the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Case Study Novi Sad (Serbia)," Societies, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-18, March.
    6. Mihai Stelian Rusu & Alin Croitoru, 2021. "Memorial Ambivalences in Postcommunist Romania: Generational Attitudes towards the Symbolic Legacy of Communism," Societies, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-15, August.
    7. Khloud Alshaikh & Shaikhah Maasher & Afnan Bayazed & Farrukh Saleem & Sahar Badri & Bahjat Fakieh, 2021. "Impact of COVID-19 on the Educational Process in Saudi Arabia: A Technology–Organization–Environment Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-19, June.

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