The Museum Space as a Medium in Interaction of Public with Memory: The Analysis of Visitors’ Behavior of the Exhibition “Soviet Era” in the Museum of Political History of Russia

Abstract: 
The article is devoted to the study of the perception of museum expositions about the Soviet era by visitors of different age groups. Based on the case study of the exhibition “The Soviet Era” at the Museum of Political History of Russia in St. Petersburg, a frame analysis was conducted that considers the museum space as a social context in which visitors exhibit various behaviors. For this purpose, methods of visual analysis of the museum space, content analysis of the narratives of the exposition and structured observation of the behavior of visitors were used. The study revealed that younger age groups (under 40 years old) perceive exposure without emotional involvement, unlike older ones, who interpret events through the prism of personal experience. Discrepancies were also found between the narratives embedded in the exposition and their perception by visitors, which is due to the attentiveness and route of viewing the exposition.
doi: 

10.25990/socinstras.pss-26.awkm-zc54

edn: 
KMSGCZ
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Received: 
18.11.2024
Revised after review: 
07.12.2024
Accepted for publication: 
24.12.2024