Colonial museums in the US (un)translated

Abstract

This paper examines the role of museums in the creation of anglophone stories in the USA, and how the (non-)translation of signs contributes to create a narrative of exclusion vis-à-vis other groups, notably native Americans, the Spanish, and the French. Particular attention is paid to open-air museums that preserve old buildings and areas reminiscent of the colonial past. The analysis will rely on the concept of ‘knower,’ a term referring to those in charge of selecting and arranging the information that accompanies the exhibits, and ‘propaganda,’ as used by Stanard in his study of the official discourse used to justify the Belgian empire. The article also draws on Kress and van Leeuwen's model for the analysis of multimodal texts.