Tuesday, December 11, 2012

“History is Objective” …. “It Does Matter”…

“History is Objective” …. “It Does Matter”
Interview with the Canadian War Museum
Featuring Dr. Peter MacLeod, Historian, Pre-Confederation









“History is Objective”…“The effect of the war on each of the four participant’s futures”
During our interview with Dr. Peter MacLeod, Historian, Pre-Confederation at the Canadian War Museum, he continued with the War of 1812 Exhibition’s core message … “As the national museum for military history, the Canadian War Museum deals with the past, not the present. We cover the impact of the war on each group, but do not attempt to project these impacts into the future.” The exhibition tries to tie in individuals’ personal experiences.
The CWM mentions that1812 also includes two interactive stations. In the Canadian section, the visitor is invited to try out three games that ask them to: match key figures to historical 1812 battles, or to “dress” a soldier and to put the steps for a soldier’s morning routine in the proper order. At the end of the exhibition, visitors are invited to answer a 6-question poll about their perspective on the War of 1812. The answers from this poll are tabulated and reflected real-time on a screen at the beginning of the exhibition.”
Gary and I took the time to complete the computer generated survey at the end of the Exhibition. It was fast, easy and fun! When we spoke to Dr. MacLeod, we said “We failed the survey”. He asked what we meant by that. We said our “conclusions” did not meet those of the other polled people. We wondered if it had anything to do with our current awareness and education into historical issues; particularly the War of 1812 and all the variety of conclusion. He told us “There is no right or wrong”. There is a montage of images; nothing is “clear cut”. Dr. Peter MacLeod said1812 is designed to allow visitors to experience the four perspectives and draw their own conclusions. We fully expect that visitors will find some perspectives more evocative than others, and ask a question to this effect in a polling station in the programming area.”
(To Be Continued)

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