Critical Museology Miscellanea is a new long form, fully documented blog aimed at critical analysis of 'old assumptions and ways of working' in museums. This venture—still in part under construction—will be an occasional foray into “critical museology.” In this, the author, Paul C. Thistle, will be attempting to practise critical museology following the approaches of scholars recommending approaches such as:

• “a critical stance toward old assumptions and ways of working” (Ross 2004: 84)
• “critical, self-reflexive & radical re-examination of museums” (Macdonald 1996: 7, 13)
• navigate the “dysfunctional divide” between theorists and practitioners (Teather & Carter 2009: 26)
• “rigorous deconstruction of museum practice” (Shelton 2013: 14).

The first post (coinciding with the 72nd anniversary of the first atomic bomb detonated on Hiroshima) analyses what is acknowledged as the most vehemently disputed exhibition ever witnessed in the history of museums.

The world’s most-visited museum, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C. had proposed an exhibition of the Enola Gay, famed B-29 Superfortress aircraft that carried out the mission to drop the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, on the 50th anniversary of the event occurring in 1995. For museum practitioners, this is a fearsome cautionary tale that should be heeded by every heritage institution attempting to survive in these increasingly politicised times.

The above post “Review Essay — War In, and On, Museums: The Enola Gay at the National Air & Space Museum” is available at  https://miscellaneousmuseology.wordpress.com/2017/08/06/review-essay-war-in-and-on-museums-the-enola-gay-at-the-national-air-space-museum/#_ednref1 . This is an unexpurgated version of an article that originally appeared in the Canadian Museums Association journal Muse. 

Review Essay — War In, and On, Museums: The Enola Gay at the National Air & Space Museum miscellaneousmuseology.wordpress.com Coinciding with the 72nd anniversary of the 6 August 1945 first use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima Japan and the attendant annual attention in the media[1], I am here presenting the unexpurgated v…

The author, Paul C. Thistle, expresses his sincere appreciation to the Canadian Museums Association for permission to post the entire published article along with my texts that were not included in the original printed version.

The next blog post on Critical Museology Miscellanea--to serve as a postscript of the first--will review some of the analysis published since 1995 on the aborted exhibition of the Enola Gay at the National Air & Space Museum.

In invite you to stay tuned to this vehicle for “critical museology”.

Paul C. Thistle

References Cited: 

Macdonald, Sharon. 1996. “Theorizing Museums: An Introduction.” In Theorizing Museums: Representing Identity and Diversity in a Changing World. Eds. S. Macdonald & G. Fyfe. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers.

Ross, Max. 2004. “Interpreting the New Museology,” Museum and Society 2, (2): 82-103 https://www108.lamp.le.ac.uk/ojs1/index.php/mas/article/view/43 (accessed 5 August 2017).

Shelton, Anthony. 2013. “Critical Museology: A Manifesto.” Museum Worlds Advances in Research 1(1): 7-23 https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiay72O1bnVAhUIw4MKHZtnBIEQFggwMAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Farenet.org%2Fimg%2FCritical%2520Museology%2520A%2520Manifesto.pdf&usg=AFQjCNEuZDTqDC2A2nHgYb60_yv-Hh72Hg (accessed 2 August 2017).

Teather, Lynne & Carter, Jennifer. 2009. “Critical Museology Now: Theory/Practice/Theory. Muse XXVII (6) 22-33.