The Postulate of Grounded Theory in the Perception of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk in Terms of Political Science

• Published in: Środkowoeuropejskie studia polityczne no. 4; pp. 27 - 58
• Main Author: Lorenc, Magdalena
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Adam Mickiewicz University 15.12.2020; Uniwersytet Adama Mickiewicza
• Subjects: Political history; Politics; museum’s politicality; Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk; grounded theory
• ISSN: 1731-7517
• DOI: 10.14746/ssp.2020.4.2

This article aims to demonstrate the applicability of grounded theory in the analysis of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk in terms of political science. The fundamental question is how to examine the sources which exhibit the ideological character of the space of public museums? In order to answer this question, the concepts by Kathy Charmaz and Adela Clarke are referred to, which have been noticed to offer unused potential for qualitative research conducted in the field of political science. This meant departing from the “classical” versions of grounded theory, created by Barney G. Glaser and Anselm L. Strauss, in favor of what is called “a postmodern turn,” and approaches which synthesize constructivism and social constructionism. Data obtained from primary and secondary sources concerning the main axis of the core exhibition were analyzed. The starting point was my own field research, the results of which were compared with the data from an interview with the museum’s architects and the transcription of a photograph. Inspired by procedures compliant with the non-classical versions of grounded theory, it was demonstrated that the main axis of the core exhibition was designed as a liberal manifesto of freedom. This determined the subject of analysis to be a part of the research field of political science. The spatial solutions applied testified to their designers’ intention to provide visitors with freedom of movement and assembly. They were considered as conceptual categories, related to the absence of a dedicated sightseeing route and the vastness of the space left for visitors. A comparative analysis of codes and categories, however, made it possible to identify yet another interpretative trope, related to the identification of freedom with alienation. In this way, “liberty” has become problematized.