New training module: Interpreting Difficult History

One of our newest modules is also fast proving our most popular. In the past few months, several different museums and historic sites have contracted us to deliver a short session introducing some of the challenges of interpreting complex or difficult history, as well as providing tips and strategies for interpreters doing so.

This is an advanced module, and we don’t recommend it for new interpreters – but for a group that includes veterans and returners it can help crystallize some of their existing experience and use practical examples to guide the museum’s next steps.

We start by providing cautions and complications around difficult history using the Interpretive Equation.

KR + KA X AT = IO

(Knowledge of the Resource + Knowledge of the Audience x Appropriate Techniques = Interpretive Opportunities)

That is, what should we remember about our audience, what must we know about our resource, and what must we know about ourselves as interpreters as we engage our guests.

Then we move into three strategies that our long experience has led us to believe can lead to success in broaching these topics with visitors. We ensure that the material is as practical as possible by asking ahead of time for two or three examples that the interpreters can ponder and discuss as they work through the material. Recent clients have suggested:

• The Chinese Head tax in Canada
• Japanese Internment during the Second World War
• Racism and Paternalism towards Indigenous peoples in the fur trade
• Sexism and patriarchy in history

If you want to better prepare your interpreters to approach their most challenging topics, this is the module for you. It can be delivered remotely and comes with several resources, including custom worksheets. Contact us to discuss this module, or any of our others.

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No one can tell you how to change a visitor’s mind, or how to engage on a difficult topic with ease and and come out on the other side without repurcussions. If they did, politicians and family gatherings would be knocking down the door. But there are some guidelines to follow and some tips and tactics that will equip your interpreters for success in the field of difficult topics. Eugenics, colonialism, racism – if history isn’t upsetting, then you’re probably not reading enough of it. Museums can and should challenge visitors to face these facts, and interpreters are the frontline of this discussion.