This thesis is based on a case study of a local museum that challenges the idea of what a museum constitutes today. The museum elaborates on the idea of considering the visitor as a participant and examines the possibility of contributing to empowerment among the local community. The aim of this thesis is to analyze the museum's external work and its participatory elements in a place characterized by migration and marginalization, and thereby achieve a deeper knowledge of the relationship between the museum and its visitors. The study is conducted through qualitative methods, such as participatory observation and interviews with museum staff and museum visitors, and a quantitative survey among local residents. The thesis' theoretical framework consists of the participatory museum perspective and theoretical concepts such as empowerment, community and place. Using these concepts, the character of the museum's external work and its participatory elements are analyzed regarding the issues of participation, empowerment and the social role of the museum. The analysis also include the site's demographic aspects in relation to the museum and what kind of challenges these imply. In addition, the museum's spatial character and its location is discussed. The result shows that the museum is a participatory museum that experiences the challenges associated with this perspective. The conclusion highlights the importance of clearly determining what kind of participation the work is based on. Furthermore, the result shows that the museum is part of a process whereby the participants are allocated resources, skills, authority and motivation. Thus, the conclusion is that the museum contributes to the empowerment among its visitors. The result also demonstrates several challenges of working in an area characterized by migration and marginalization. These challenges relate to the museum's role as a help centre, a discontinuity among the participants and cultural aspects. The conclusion is that these conditions require the museum to use other methods than the traditional museum, such as formative evaluation, outreach programs, culture specific knowledge and good insight into their communities. This is a two years master's thesis in Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies.

Im ersten theoretischen Teil der Arbeit werden die Geschichte der Heimatmuseen sowie die Forschungsgeschichte des Heimatbegriffes vorgestellt. Neben historischen und volkskundlichen Forschungen werden hier auch soziologische und ethnologische Theorien berücksichtigt, die vor dem Hintergrund der Globalisierungsdebatte entwickelt wurden. Der Heimatbegriff wird auf diese Weise mit dem Begriff locality gleichgesetzt. Im zweiten empirischen Teil werden die Bezirksmuseen der Berliner Bezirke Köpenick, Prenzlauer Berg, Kreuzberg und Neukölln beschrieben und analysiert; hierbei liegt der Schwerpunkt auf der Untersuchung der Dauer- und Wechselausstellungen und der Analyse der materiellen Kultur im Rahmen der Museumsarbeit. Das bedeutet, dass nicht nur die thematischen Ausrichtungen der Dauer- und Wechselausstellungen analysiert werden, sondern auch die Auswahl der Exponate sowie die Präsentationsweisen. Dabei finden auch Ansätze der Forschung über materielle Kultur Berücksichtigung. Schließlich wird ausgehend von den ersten beiden Teilen ein Museumsmodell entwickelt, das die herausgearbeiteten Charakteristika der Museumsarbeit aufgreift und vor dem Hintergrund des besprochenen Heimatbegriffes erweitert. Heimatmuseen werden hier als ethnographische Museen betrachtet, die aktuelle gesellschaftliche Entwicklungen und Diskussionen widerspiegeln können. / The first part of the dissertation describes the history of local museums and the history of scientific research on the concept of Heimat. Not only historical and ethnographic studies are taken into account, but also sociological and anthropological theories which were formulated against the background of the debate on globalisation. In this way Heimat and locality are treated as equivalent terms. The second empirical part describes and analyses the local museums of the districts Köpenick, Prenzlauer Berg, Kreuzberg and Neukölln in Berlin. The focus lies on the research on main and temporary exhibitions and the analysis of the role of material culture within the framework of the museums. This means the examination of both the thematic structuring of the exhibitions and the range of objects and their presentation. In the course of this material culture studies are taken into consideration. Coming from the first two parts a museum concept is formulated. This concept takes up the characteristics of the museums and adds the considerations on the terms Heimat and locality. In conclusion local museums are regarded as ethnographic museums which are able to reflect current social developments and discussions.