Akademi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi

Öz

While Belfast was remembered as a world-leading industrial
capital in the 19th century, it was the centre of violent ethnic
conflict in the 20th century. The struggle of Catholic and
Protestant communities to exist and prevail in the city, where
bloody attacks were experienced until the beginning of the
2000s, still continues in different areas. Researches show
that the mediation activities of politicians and organizations
from various fields are not accepted, and they lose their
credibility in society. In such an environment, museums and
exhibition strategies surprisingly become a turning point for
social reconciliation. Today, Belfast museums take a mission
to explain the distant and recent history to the public with an
objective vision. This narrative is part of a strategy that targets
the visitor and his / her worldview rather than the artefact.
The new understanding of museology clearly contributes to
the development of social consensus in Belfast and highlights
the rich elements of the urban history, which have been
overshadowed by the conflicts. In this direction, the study deals
with the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, Ulster Museum
and Titanic Belfast, which are among the museums located in
Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland. Within the scope of
the research, firstly, information was given about the important
periods of Northern Ireland and Belfast history by the author.
Subsequently, the communication of the museums, which take
direct reference to the history of the city, and the exhibition
methods that focus on the visitor rather than the artefact were
examined. The researcher evaluates the effects of the effect
created by these exhibition techniques on the visitors, whether
the museums have achieved their goals and whether they are a
novelty in terms of museology.