On 16th March 2026, at the Science and Research Centre Koper (ZRS Koper), the visiting Fulbright scholar Dr. Brent D. Glass was presented to the media. Dr. Glass is a distinguished American historian and museologist, as well as the long-serving former director of the National Museum of American History of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Glass will be hosted by ZRS Koper from March 15 to 27. During his stay in Slovenia, he will deliver a series of lectures on various topics related to American history, both in Koper and Ljubljana.
These activities will take place within the framework of the Office for Mediterranean Archaeology and the Institute for Historical Studies at ZRS Koper. The programme will also be implemented in the context of the Cross-Border School of Archaeological Research on hillforts and dry-stone construction, as part of the Interreg Italy–Slovenia project KAŠTellieri.
“In my lectures, I will discuss collective memory as it is passed from generation to generation. The way we remember history sometimes differs from historical facts themselves. History is composed of written, material, and physical sources, as well as oral testimonies. Memory, on the other hand, is subjective—and it is precisely this intersection between memory and history that interests me,” said Dr. Brent D. Glass during today’s meeting with journalists.
The first lecture—titled Museums, Exhibitions, and Historic Sites as Spaces of Debate and Reflection—will take place on Wednesday, March 18 at 11:00 a.m. in the conference hall of the National Museum of Slovenia (Metelkova site) in Ljubljana. The event is organized in collaboration between ZRS Koper, the U.S. Embassy in Ljubljana, the Association of Museums of Slovenia, the Slovenian Museum Association, and ICOM Slovenia.
The lecture will address key issues in contemporary museology, including the interpretation of complex and contested pasts, the handling of historical topics that generate social debate, as well as the ethical challenges and responsibilities of museums in defining the boundaries of neutrality and reflecting on their moral obligations. It will also explore the foundations of musealization and heritage interpretation from the perspective of setting standards for future generations.
Programme of lectures by Dr. Brent D. Glass at the Humanities Centre of ZRS Koper (Kreljeva 6, Koper):
Women’s History and the Power of Space – Reflections on the Role of Women in the United States of America (Friday, March 20, 2026, at 6:00 p.m.)
The Sing Sing Prison Museum (Monday, March 23, 2026, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.)
Vietnam: War and Peace – The Creation of the Vietnam–American Museum of Reconciliation in Vietnam (Wednesday, March 25, 2026, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.)
Case Study: The Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe and the Development of the United States on the Occasion of the 250th Anniversary of Its Founding, together with the lecture Public Memory of George Washington (Thursday, March 26, 2026, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.)
As part of his Fulbright visit to ZRS Koper, the guest lecturer will also participate in several professional visits and meetings: on Tuesday, March 17 he will visit museums in Pula; on Saturday, March 21 he will be a guest in Trieste; and on Tuesday, March 24 a professional meeting with ICOM members in Ljubljana is scheduled.
About the speaker
Dr. Brent D. Glass is Director Emeritus of the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum dedicated to telling the story of the United States. He is considered one of the leading experts in the preservation, interpretation, and promotion of history and public history.
As a consultant in cultural institution management, since 2012 he has collaborated with more than 50 museums and educational institutions in the United States and abroad, including the Presidio Trust in San Francisco, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, and the DeVos Institute for Arts Management at the Kennedy Center and the University of Maryland. He is currently involved in the development of several museums, including the National Museum of Industrial History in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and the Sing Sing Prison Museum in Ossining, New York.
Dr. Glass has served on the advisory committee for the Flight 93 National Memorial, as a senior fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and as a member of the Board of Trustees of Lafayette College. He has delivered lectures on museums and public history in Russia, China, Egypt, Serbia, Portugal, Lithuania, France, Germany, Italy, and the Czech Republic, and is also known to the broader public for appearances on The Colbert Report and The Oprah Winfrey Show.
He is the author of several publications, including 50 Great American Places, in which he explores the significance of major historical sites and their role in understanding key themes of American history.
Dr. Glass holds a PhD in History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Master’s degree in American Studies from New York University, and a Bachelor’s degree from Lafayette College.
Program Coordinator: Dr. Maša Saccara, Office for Mediterranean Archaeology, ZRS Koper. |
