Nicole Deufel - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
PhD in Archaeology, Heritage Studies, University College London
Supervisors: Dr. Beverley Butler, Dr. Rodney Harrison, and Dr. Marilena Alivizatou
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University of Education, Freiburg/Germany
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Talks by Nicole Deufel
University of York: York Heritage Research Seminars. 17th January 2017. This talk poses that wh... more University of York: York Heritage Research Seminars. 17th January 2017.
This talk poses that what has been termed an ‘age of migrations’ (MeLa* Project 2015) further sharpens the challenges to current approaches to heritage interpretation. It examines the implications of views of interpretation as communication and meaning-making; of such building blocks of interpretation as themes, and of the overarching goal of interpretation, conservation. Drawing on original research in addition to migration studies and critical heritage studies, the talk discusses the limitations of these current concepts in heritage interpretation and their practical and potentially negative impact on people’s engagement with heritage. The talk argues that current approaches to heritage interpretation based on these concepts are not suited to new understandings of heritage as fluid and creating futures, nor to the conditions of societies characterised by mass migrations. The talk proposes a new approach which fundamentally views interpretation as representation, both as its nature and as its responsibility.
Presented at the 'Re-imagining Challenging History' conference in Cardiff, Wales, 29th June 2016.... more Presented at the 'Re-imagining Challenging History' conference in Cardiff, Wales, 29th June 2016. The paper argues that museums' silence on contemporary debates such as immigration in fact sends a strong socio-political message, and that approaches focusing on history and objects fail to make a relevant contribution.
When live interpretation of women was first introduced at Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre, it... more When live interpretation of women was first introduced at Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre, it received little visitor interest and mixed reactions despite the key roles that women played during the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Consequent experiences with changes to the interpretation suggest that visitors' prior identification of wars with men makes them regard women's interpretation as irrelevant to the war story that they came to learn more about. It appears that interpretation which mixes the stories of men and women, however, can ensure visitors' engagement with interpretation of women at war while at the same time enhancing visitors' ability to personally connect with the interpretive content overall.
Formal significance assessments are increasingly used to determine whether or not sites will be p... more Formal significance assessments are increasingly used to determine whether or not sites will be protected and taken into care. Equally, legislation and organisational policies more and more call for interpretation to communicate significance to visitors. Recent case studies in the UK and Ireland suggest that where significance assessments are inclusive they capture visitors' views about a site. The findings also suggest that interpretive messages that differ from such inclusive expressions of site significance do not succeed in shaping visitors' experience of what is important about a site.
University of York: York Heritage Research Seminars. 17th January 2017. This talk poses that wh... more University of York: York Heritage Research Seminars. 17th January 2017.
This talk poses that what has been termed an ‘age of migrations’ (MeLa* Project 2015) further sharpens the challenges to current approaches to heritage interpretation. It examines the implications of views of interpretation as communication and meaning-making; of such building blocks of interpretation as themes, and of the overarching goal of interpretation, conservation. Drawing on original research in addition to migration studies and critical heritage studies, the talk discusses the limitations of these current concepts in heritage interpretation and their practical and potentially negative impact on people’s engagement with heritage. The talk argues that current approaches to heritage interpretation based on these concepts are not suited to new understandings of heritage as fluid and creating futures, nor to the conditions of societies characterised by mass migrations. The talk proposes a new approach which fundamentally views interpretation as representation, both as its nature and as its responsibility.
Presented at the 'Re-imagining Challenging History' conference in Cardiff, Wales, 29th June 2016.... more Presented at the 'Re-imagining Challenging History' conference in Cardiff, Wales, 29th June 2016. The paper argues that museums' silence on contemporary debates such as immigration in fact sends a strong socio-political message, and that approaches focusing on history and objects fail to make a relevant contribution.
When live interpretation of women was first introduced at Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre, it... more When live interpretation of women was first introduced at Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre, it received little visitor interest and mixed reactions despite the key roles that women played during the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Consequent experiences with changes to the interpretation suggest that visitors' prior identification of wars with men makes them regard women's interpretation as irrelevant to the war story that they came to learn more about. It appears that interpretation which mixes the stories of men and women, however, can ensure visitors' engagement with interpretation of women at war while at the same time enhancing visitors' ability to personally connect with the interpretive content overall.
Formal significance assessments are increasingly used to determine whether or not sites will be p... more Formal significance assessments are increasingly used to determine whether or not sites will be protected and taken into care. Equally, legislation and organisational policies more and more call for interpretation to communicate significance to visitors. Recent case studies in the UK and Ireland suggest that where significance assessments are inclusive they capture visitors' views about a site. The findings also suggest that interpretive messages that differ from such inclusive expressions of site significance do not succeed in shaping visitors' experience of what is important about a site.