Dr. John Ray to present paper in Austria

Dr. John W. Ray, professor emeritus at Montana Technological University, Butte, Montana USA, has had a peer reviewed paper entitled “The Museum as an Agent of Social Change” accepted for presentation at the Seventeenth International Conference on the Inclusive Museum to be held in the fall in Vienna, Austria. The conference is sponsored by UNESCO; the International Institute for the Inclusive Museum, Sydney, Australia; the Weltmuseum, Vienna and the International Centre for Inclusive Cultural Leadership, Amant National University, India.

The paper deals with how museums can foster social learning and accountability about controversial and deplorable historical events in a nation’s history. The paper’s focus is on the why and how outreach conducted by antebellum homes in America, long the focus of historical myths, can be re-presented to emphasize a dark but critical period of American history—slavery, Reconstruction and its aftermath. Particular attention is given to the efforts of the National Trust for Historic Preservation property The Shadows on the Teche in New Iberia, Louisiana. The Shadows has recently, not without controversy, retooled its outreach to provide a focus on Slavery and its aftermath as witnessed by the historic property built in the 1830s.

Dr. Ray is a professor emeritus of political science and philosophy at Montana Technological University and has been deeply involved in issues related to historic preservation both in Butte, Montana and New Iberia, Louisiana-his hometown. Dr. Ray taught at Montana Tech for 47 years and recently retired.