From history museums to contemporary histories museums (Argentina, second half of the 20th century)

From history museums to contemporary histories museums (Argentina, second half of the 20th century) Abstract This article analyses the incorporation of contemporary topics into museums of the second half of the 20th century, focusing on cultural practices linked to circulation, collection and availability of objects for museum collections. Our aim is to articulate analytical perspectives and approaches of different historiography fields and subfields so as to deepen the study of museums with historical narratives-a line of research which, unlike other disciplines and other countries of the region, has only recently begun to be explored with a certain degree of systematization in Argentina. The hypothesis guiding the research is that political and sociocultural transformations in the international scene between the post-war period and the dawn of the 21st century had an impact on social sciences, stressing shifts of sense from history to memory and experiential testimony, and modifying collecting practices and traditional museum institutions. This, in turn, altered the fin-de-siècle notion of “history museum,” which presented transcendent events on the origins of the nation and the provinces, and triggered the emergence of new institutions aimed at addressing other topics, including contemporary events. The interests put at stake by certain actors in different political arenas also promoted the development of museum collections on specific topical issues over others. This configuration of the museum landscape continues to influence the ways in which 20th century phenomena are managed, interpreted and represented in the 21st century.

KEYWORDS:
Museums; History; Contemporaneity; Testimony; 20th Century; Argentina.