Extending the reality of war - the transformation of military history exhibitions and the shift in visitors' perceptions through extended reality experiences

• Applicant: Dr. Christopher Sommer
• Subject Area: Modern and Contemporary History ; Empirical Social Research
• Term: since 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 426340978

The modern military history museum has the potential to serve as a space for reflection or as a tool for propaganda, depending on the political climate. A visit to the museum can elicit both an aesthetic appreciation and a sense of unease when confronted with the arsenal of destruction on display. The museum can encourage contemplation of the human condition or be utilized to promote politically motivated agendas. Given these contrasts and its contentious position in society, it continues to be a popular destination for visitors. The trend of using digital immersive technologies for the musealisation of war is currently on the rise. However, the effects of this trend remain uncertain. For example, augmented reality apps have the potential to display additional information in the visitor's field of vision, while virtual reality can provide an experience of WWI trench warfare. Advances in artificial intelligence and natural language processing now allow contemporary witnesses of the Second World War to provide accurate responses to visitors' spoken questions using speech recognition and a connected database of video recordings. These applications enable visitors to experience historical simulations and, in many cases, interact with these simulations to shape interpretation and narrative. The use of Extended Reality (XR) applications has the potential to suggest courses of action that may not have been available to historical actors, which could potentially distort history. Therefore, it is important to approach the study of these developments with a cultural history lens, especially as the capabilities of XR-applications continue to evolve. Museums will need to make a decision on whether to embrace this new development or consciously oppose it. Military history museums are currently leading the way in this regard, as they offer a significant number of XR-experiences during this transitional period. However, a comprehensive qualitative survey on the perceptual potentials of digital immersive technologies is a desideratum. Therefore, this study aims to fill this gap by analysing the impact of XR-experiences in nine museums across North America, Western Europe, and Eastern Europe using qualitative visitor research methods. The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceptions of visitors towards immersive technologies in military history exhibitions and their influence on visitor's comprehension of history and preconceptions. Furthermore, this study wants to elucidate the goals and objectives of museum curators, who embrace these new technologies to shape public remembrance. Current qualitative visitor research methods will be innovated through the use of VR-supported interviews and experimental non-verbal moderation methods such as Lego Serious Play.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants