Managing controversial heritage through education. Experience at a site of perpetrators
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Copyright (c) 2025 Giulia Avanza
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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.13138/2039-2362/3891Parole chiave:
Sites of perpetrators, heritage education, heritage management, controversial heritageAbstract
This essay frames sites of perpetrators as a controversial heritage and explores the approaches taken to manage this class of heritage through education, proposing considerations from the analysis of the educational programme conceived and implemented at the Museum of Secret Surveillance “House of Leaves” in Tirana, which is housed in one of the former offices of the Albanian communist regime’s State Security. Beginning with a review of the scholarly literature on controversial heritage, sites of perpetration and education in memorial museums, the research proceeds with a methodology that combines the analysis of educational materials and interviews with museum staff and collaborators in educational activities. The research identifies the potential and shortcomings of two key approaches to managing controversial heritage through education: embracing multivocality through witness testimonies and fostering critical thinking through personal engagement. The paper concludes pointing to the distinction between education at sites of perpetrators and education on perpetrators, and to underexplored educational opportunities.
Questo saggio inquadra i “sites of perpetrators” come patrimonio controverso ed esplora gli approcci adottati per gestire questa tipologia di patrimonio attraverso l'educazione, proponendo considerazioni a partire dall'analisi del programma educativo concepito e realizzato presso il Museo della Sorveglianza Segreta “Casa delle Foglie” di Tirana, ospitato in uno degli ex uffici della Sicurezza di Stato del regime comunista albanese. Partendo da una rassegna della letteratura scientifica sul patrimonio controverso e sull'educazione nei musei commemorativi, la ricerca procede con una metodologia che combina l'analisi dei materiali didattici e quattro interviste con il personale del museo e i collaboratori delle attività educative. La ricerca identifica il potenziale e le carenze di due approcci alla gestione del patrimonio controverso attraverso l’educazione: favorire la multivocalità attraverso l'uso di testimonianze e promuovere il pensiero critico attraverso il coinvolgimento personale. L'articolo si conclude evidenziando le opportunità non ancora esplorate di sfruttare il potenziale educativo dei “sites of perpetrators”.
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