Paper short abstract:

In responding to the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Smithsonian had to grapple with the inherent tension between memorialisation and history. This paper will examine the challenges it faced, its responses, and the implications for cultural institutions in times of crisis and conflict.

Paper long abstract:

Designated by the US Congress as the nation's official respository for September 11 collections, the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History was uncertain about where that responsibility would lead. What role should a museum play in a time of national crisis? Over the months that followed the terrorist attacks, the museum had to tackle questions of whether to collect, when to collect, what to collect, and how to collect--all fundamentally recast by the emotions of the moment. How would we move forward without appearing ghoulish or self serving? What are the ethics of collecting memorials and the ephemera of loss? How would we navigate between memorialization and history, between relics and historical objects? How would we establish historical perspective when we were in the middle of unfolding events? How would we avoid the jingoism and uncritical patriotism of post 9/11 America without appearing unpatriotic or uncaring? How would we deal with the emotions that constituted the new context for our work? In other words, could we do history in this new climate? The events of September 11 and their aftermath challenged the museum to rethink its agenda, to reexamine fundamental roles and responsibilities. This paper will examine the challenges the museum faced, its responses, and the implications for cultural institutions in times of national and international crisis and conflict.