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A different kind of story: Pedagogy of hope at The Ration Shed Museum, Cherbourg

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2018

Carly Smith
Carly Smith*
Affiliation:
[email protected]
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Abstract

In recounting the history of Cherbourg as an Aboriginal settlement, the Ration Shed Museum presents some traumatic narratives. It paints a picture of violent geographic and cultural dislocation, crude living conditions, forced labour and administrative oppression by infusing historical artefacts with the personal recollections of Cherbourg residents. The intent behind the Ration Shed Museum itself, however, is something quite different: its curators want to tell a story that speaks of hope for this community’s future, and to work towards some form of reconciliation. They do this by actively engaging with the ‘terrible gift’ of the past in the present, and by providing spaces for encounters that can lead to open discussions of difficult social issues and celebrations of contemporary Cherbourg life. This article draws on ethnographic interviews and observational data alongside the theoretical work of Roger I. Simon and Andrea Witcomb to describe how the Ration Shed Museum engages its community and visitors in a dual process of both understanding Cherbourg’s history and reframing traumatic narratives to enact a pedagogy of hope.

Type
Museums and engagement in Queensland: Critical contributions to the field
Information
Queensland Review , Volume 25 , Issue 2 , December 2018 , pp. 191 - 207
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2018 

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References

Interview

Morgan, Sandra and Simpson, Ada 2016. Interview with Carly Smith, 17 May.Google Scholar

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