Elif Gokcigdem’s book Fostering Empathy Through Museums has heavily influenced the way I think about presenting my own historical arguments recently. Gokcigdem fosters the idea that empathy is developing a status as a social trend, and that there is a deep connection between experiences, art and empathy. Employing all three of these into a museum exhibit results in a transformative experience that leads the visitor to developing empathy with those portrayed in many exhibits. Elizabeth Merritt of Trendswatch put it best: “Museums and empathy – together they can plant the seeds that nourish generations of souls.” Effective exhibits possess cognitive and emotional aspects. There is a cognitive aspect that will cause the visitor to think critically about the museums’ content, and there is an emotional aspect to lend significance to the experience and lead the visitor to incorporate the experience into their own identity. Case studies have shown that developing this empathy not only influences the visitors, but the staff as well. As the staff becomes more empathic about the subject of their exhibit, it enriches the experience overall. This in mind, many museums are delivering an intentional focus on establishing empathy from their visitors as part of their mission. All of you should definitely pick this up – it’s a great read and will likely make you reevaluate what you believe the mission of a museum should be!
A blog for St. Mary’s University Public History Graduate Students
