Identifier

etd-11102004-043712

Degree

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Communication Studies

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

Museums in general are shrines of collected memory and cultural values. The National D-Day Museum, in particular, presents the memory of World War II as a good and just action taken by the Allied forces against the evil of the Axis powers. In contrast with later wars, which might be seen as morally ambiguous or futile, World War II was and is thought of as "the good war." In this study, I explore and express how The National D-Day Museum encourages exploration and expression on the part of the visitor, using Gregory Ulmer’s concept and practice of mystory to analyze the museum as a mystory and also as encouraging mystory praxis on the part of the visitor. While the purpose for encouraging such a process may be to conserve the stated values of the museum and while that indeed may occur, it is my theory that the process functions in a more significant way than simply realizing the pre-determined intent. In brief, a heuristic experience becomes more important than a hermeneutic one. In this way, the museum prompts performative agency on the part of the visitors.

Date

2004

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Ruth Laurion Bowman

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.2039

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