Museums of the Jewish Culture and History in Europe and the USA in the 20th–21st Centuries: Discourse Analysis of Role Change

Abstract

Museums of the Jewish culture and history are undergoing numerous transformations in the 21st cen­tury. Among them, one can observe the emergence of the dualism of their mission. On the one hand, they purport to preserve and represent the history and identity of Jewish communities; on the other hand, the Jewish culture in museums is becoming a universal means for learning from this nation’s experience. The purpose of the article is, by drawing on discourse analysis, to find out trends in exploring the roles of museums of the Jewish culture and history in Europe and the USA in the 20th and 21st centuries. The results of the study showed a wide range of missions and educational activities of museums of the Jewish culture and history: from warning of the dangers of the stigmatization, discrimination and persecution to a hopeful message about tolerance, democracy, equality and peace which is to come.