The anthropology of museums, or museum ethnography, is a useful tool for critically analyzing the representational strategies of museums and their collections. This thesis focuses on the anthropological discussion of military museums and analysis of the material culture of conflict, and specifically on military museums in the United States and in Europe. Using a comparative approach, I look at how \"new museology\" and \"new museum theory\" is or is not being implanted in respective military history museum exhibitions, and discuss how personal and collective memory play a role in the construction of the military museum. I also consider how visiting, commemorating, interpreting, and reenacting aspects of military and conflict history in the museum, create narratives inside the museum.
","abstract_html":"<p>The anthropology of museums, or museum ethnography, is a useful tool for critically analyzing the representational strategies of museums and their collections. This thesis focuses on the anthropological discussion of military museums and analysis of the material culture of conflict, and specifically on military museums in the United States and in Europe. Using a comparative approach, I look at how "new museology" and "new museum theory" is or is not being implanted in respective military history museum exhibitions, and discuss how personal and collective memory play a role in the construction of the military museum. I also consider how visiting, commemorating, interpreting, and reenacting aspects of military and conflict history in the museum, create narratives inside the museum.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["McCoy, Megan"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A.","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Christina Kreps, Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:03:26Z","subjects":["Museum ethnography","Military history","Museum exhibitions","Museum narratives","Museum Studies"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1130","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Christina Kreps, Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["McCoy, Megan"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-02-14T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Museum ethnography","Military history","Museum exhibitions","Museum narratives","Museum Studies"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1130"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The anthropology of museums, or museum ethnography, is a useful tool for critically analyzing the representational strategies of museums and their collections. This thesis focuses on the anthropological discussion of military museums and analysis of the material culture of conflict, and specifically on military museums in the United States and in Europe. Using a comparative approach, I look at how \"new museology\" and \"new museum theory\" is or is not being implanted in respective military history museum exhibitions, and discuss how personal and collective memory play a role in the construction of the military museum. I also consider how visiting, commemorating, interpreting, and reenacting aspects of military and conflict history in the museum, create narratives inside the museum.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Relics of Battle: War, Memory, and New Museum Theory in Military Museums"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Christina Kreps, Ph.D."],"dc:creator":["McCoy, Megan"],"dc:date.available":["2017-02-14T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The anthropology of museums, or museum ethnography, is a useful tool for critically analyzing the representational strategies of museums and their collections. This thesis focuses on the anthropological discussion of military museums and analysis of the material culture of conflict, and specifically on military museums in the United States and in Europe. Using a comparative approach, I look at how \"new museology\" and \"new museum theory\" is or is not being implanted in respective military history museum exhibitions, and discuss how personal and collective memory play a role in the construction of the military museum. I also consider how visiting, commemorating, interpreting, and reenacting aspects of military and conflict history in the museum, create narratives inside the museum.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1130"],"dc:language":["en"],"dc:rights":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"],"dc:subject":["Museum ethnography","Military history","Museum exhibitions","Museum narratives","Museum Studies"],"dc:title":["Relics of Battle: War, Memory, and New Museum Theory in Military Museums"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:03:26Z"}