In my dissertation, I examine contemporary exhibits about African American history and culture at six museums to explore issues of racial representation, collective identity, and cultural authority. I conduct a systematic two-part investigation of exhibition practices across Black-owned/operated and mainstream museums, one of each in three different cities (Chicago, IL; Milwaukee, WI; and Washington, DC). First, I explore the socio-historic discourses on race as played out in the museum medium and its implications for shaping collective identity. Second, I examine the use of exhibits and other visual mediums located within museums, in the process of representation wherein these visual media symbolize social and cultural identities. This study provides a cross-cultural analysis of how the varying foci of museums shape cultural representations throughout their respective exhibition practices, which in turn fosters narratives and counter-narratives of cultural identity and cultural authority that are [re]negotiated within museums.
","abstract_html":"<p>In my dissertation, I examine contemporary exhibits about African American history and culture at six museums to explore issues of racial representation, collective identity, and cultural authority. I conduct a systematic two-part investigation of exhibition practices across Black-owned/operated and mainstream museums, one of each in three different cities (Chicago, IL; Milwaukee, WI; and Washington, DC). First, I explore the socio-historic discourses on race as played out in the museum medium and its implications for shaping collective identity. Second, I examine the use of exhibits and other visual mediums located within museums, in the process of representation wherein these visual media symbolize social and cultural identities. This study provides a cross-cultural analysis of how the varying foci of museums shape cultural representations throughout their respective exhibition practices, which in turn fosters narratives and counter-narratives of cultural identity and cultural authority that are [re]negotiated within museums.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Brooms, Derrick"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Sociology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2010,"date_issued":"2010-05-28T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2010-05-28T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:54:59Z","subjects":["Culture","Ethnic Museums","Identity","Representation","Race and Ethnicity"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss_2yr/1","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Brooms, Derrick"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2012-05-28T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Sociology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Culture","Ethnic Museums","Identity","Representation","Race and Ethnicity"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss_2yr/1"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In my dissertation, I examine contemporary exhibits about African American history and culture at six museums to explore issues of racial representation, collective identity, and cultural authority. I conduct a systematic two-part investigation of exhibition practices across Black-owned/operated and mainstream museums, one of each in three different cities (Chicago, IL; Milwaukee, WI; and Washington, DC). First, I explore the socio-historic discourses on race as played out in the museum medium and its implications for shaping collective identity. Second, I examine the use of exhibits and other visual mediums located within museums, in the process of representation wherein these visual media symbolize social and cultural identities. This study provides a cross-cultural analysis of how the varying foci of museums shape cultural representations throughout their respective exhibition practices, which in turn fosters narratives and counter-narratives of cultural identity and cultural authority that are [re]negotiated within museums.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["From Trial to Triumph: Representations of African Americans in Museum Exhibits"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Brooms, Derrick"],"dc:date.available":["2012-05-28T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["In my dissertation, I examine contemporary exhibits about African American history and culture at six museums to explore issues of racial representation, collective identity, and cultural authority. I conduct a systematic two-part investigation of exhibition practices across Black-owned/operated and mainstream museums, one of each in three different cities (Chicago, IL; Milwaukee, WI; and Washington, DC). First, I explore the socio-historic discourses on race as played out in the museum medium and its implications for shaping collective identity. Second, I examine the use of exhibits and other visual mediums located within museums, in the process of representation wherein these visual media symbolize social and cultural identities. This study provides a cross-cultural analysis of how the varying foci of museums shape cultural representations throughout their respective exhibition practices, which in turn fosters narratives and counter-narratives of cultural identity and cultural authority that are [re]negotiated within museums.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss_2yr/1"],"dc:subject":["Culture","Ethnic Museums","Identity","Representation","Race and Ethnicity"],"dc:title":["From Trial to Triumph: Representations of African Americans in Museum Exhibits"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Sociology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:54:59Z"}