Museums are places where national identities are articulated. This dissertation research project by an anthropology student from the University of Chicago will study several museums in the state of Israel, to assess the impact of the contemporary critique of Israeli founding myths. Using a mix of ethnographic, archival and survey methods, the student will study how Israeli and Palestinian museum displays are constructed, and assess the impact of museums on visitors through participant observation and a survey, and on a random sample of Israelis through a mail survey. The study will document the construction, transmission and reception of exhibits and their meanings as a process created in a dialog between museum personnel, volunteer guides and various groups of museum visitors, a process embedded in a larger urban, social, religious and political structure. This research will advance our understanding of how national identity is created in this case study which involves tension and conflict between Israeli and Palestinian cultural institutions. The in-depth case study will serve to advance our general understanding of similar situations of cultural conflict about national identities in other parts of the world.
