The Experiential Embodied Feminist Antimilitarist Learning Hack: A Learning Journey Through Niagara’s War of 1812 Museological Sites

Abstract

In this Major Research Paper, I examine gendered representations of the War of 1812 at four significant cultural sites: the Niagara Falls History Museum, Lundy’s Lane Battlefield, Drummond Hill Cemetery, and Queenston Heights. I employed an experiential embodied feminist antimilitarist learning hack to view exhibits, sites, displays, and epitaphs. The overarching question that guided my research was: How does embodied feminist experiential learning intersect with the ways that gender and militarism are remembered and represented in War of 1812 museums and heritage sites in Niagara, Ontario? My research concluded that the way that the stories of the War of 1812 are told at these sites serves to perpetuate the hegemonic portrayals of war, including the celebration of violent and bloody combat, war as a male-dominated condition, and the conventional roles of men and women in wartime. My research demonstrates the need for change at these sites so visitors might understand the problematic ways in which gender and violence is presented with regards to the War of 1812.