Fluid and Changing Histories

Today we visited the military history museum in Hanoi.  I am not by any means a war history enthusiast, but I found this museum extremely interesting.  The story of the battles with the French and the Americans were told through a large display of models and artefacts and even included a number of tanks and aircraft in an outdoor display.  I felt that the illuminated model and accompanying film of important battles was a great way to show the battle tactics used - especially for someone like me with no understanding of these things.  Our visit was enhanced by our very knowledgable guide whose pride in the achievements of her country was obvious.  In fact pride in the achievements and cleverness of the Vietnamese people, both military and everyday people, was a strong theme throughout the exhibition.

This museum struck me as being a great example of the discussion we had on day one about history.  We talked about history as a fluid, changing thing, rather than as a collection of static facts about the past.  History changes depending on who is telling the story, and when, where and why they are telling it.  It is not just the facts, but the context, the feelings, the emotions and the experiences, which are different for everyone, and this is what makes it fluid.  
The story of the war told in this museum would obviously be different if told in a French or American museum, or by women, or by another country not involved in the war.  The story that the elderly Vietnamese man, whom Jo spoke of in an earlier post, would tell to his grandson would be different from the one told in the museum - even though the facts remain the same.
I think there are some implications of this idea for us as museum professionals.
I think we need to be aware that the story we tell is never the whole story or the definitive description of events.
The negative side of this is that we are never going to be able to tell the story from every point of view - it is just not practical for us to be able to share everyone's history.  There are always going to be decisions made which result in some histories being included and some being excluded.  The implication of this is that what we choose to exhibit will be questioned or contested, and although this is often a worthwhile thing, there is no denying that it can be an uncomfortable position for museum staff to be in.
On the positive side, this means that there are always more stories out there for us to discover, different histories to explore, and new communities to reach out to.  Acknowledgement of the fluid nature of history, and loosening our hold on our role as the definitive keeper of facts, will create opportunities for museums.  By doing this, the museum also becomes a fluid, changing thing, and this can lead to a new  and exciting vibrancy within our organisations, and hopefully throughout the whole community.