Modeling “Heimat(en)” in Museums

Based on the concept of home as belonging and provenance or as local identity, this subproject employs systematic historical analysis to explore how home is defined, presented, and modelled in German regional and city museums from the late 19th century to the present day. Two analytical perspectives are intertwined: The first analytical perspective focuses on the museum practices of modelling home, and the materiality of and in the museums themselves in the German-Belgian and German-French border regions. This is based on the assumption that Heimat is negotiated in a highly intensive manner in border areas, (also) across practical political ruptures. The second analytical perspective examines how politics, administration, science, culture, and education frame the concept of home, focusing not only on general expectations and guidelines, but also on the framework of the German museum landscape in the 20th century. Analysing the diversity of definitions, presentations, and models of Heimat, as well as standardisations and practices of home, promotes an understanding of the term’s diverse connotations of the term and its role in current debates about Heimat.