U.S. Museum Histories and the Politics of Interpretation

U.S. Museum Histories and the Politics of Interpretation PDF

Author: Laura Burd Schiavo

Publisher:

Published: 2024

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781003263616

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"U.S. Museum Histories and the Politics of Interpretation is the first collection to examine the history of museums in the United States through the lens of the political and ideological underpinnings at the heart of exhibitions, collecting, and programming. Including contributions from historians, art historians, and anthropologists, academics and museum professionals, the book argues that museums have always been embedded in the politics and culture of their time--whether that means a reification of hegemonic notions of race, gender, and progress, or a challenge to those normative structures. Contributions probe the political nature of collection and interpretation as concept and practice, and museum work as both reflective of and contributing to the politics and circulation of power in different historical moments. As a whole, the volume provides detailed readings of museums that demonstrate the ways in which these trusted cultural institutions have intervened in shifting concepts of nation, community, indigeneity, race, citizenship, inclusion, identity, localism, and memory. U.S. Museum Histories and the Politics of Interpretation makes arguments about the historically and politically rooted nature of cultural production in museums that apply to institutions across the globe. It is essential reading for students and scholars of museum studies, public history, cultural history, art history and memory"--

U.S. Museum Histories and the Politics of Interpretation

U.S. Museum Histories and the Politics of Interpretation PDF

Author: Laura Schiavo

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2023-12-08

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 1003817203

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U.S. Museum Histories and the Politics of Interpretation is the first collection to examine the history of museums in the United States through the lens of the political and ideological underpinnings at the heart of exhibitions, collecting, and programming. Including contributions from historians, art historians, anthropologists, academics, and museum professionals, the book argues that museums have always been embedded in the politics and culture of their time – whether that means a reification of hegemonic notions of race, gender, and progress or a challenge to those normative structures. Contributions probe the political nature of collection and interpretation as concept and practice, and museum work as both reflective of and contributing to the politics and circulation of power in different historical moments. As a whole, the volume provides detailed readings of museums that demonstrate the ways in which these trusted cultural institutions have intervened in shifting concepts of nation, community, indigeneity, race, citizenship, inclusion, identity, localism, and memory. U.S. Museum Histories and the Politics of Interpretation makes arguments about the historically and politically rooted nature of cultural production in museums that apply to institutions across the globe. It is essential reading for students and scholars of museum studies, public history, cultural history, art history, and memory.

Domesticating History

Domesticating History PDF

Author: Patricia West

Publisher: Smithsonian Institution

Published: 2013-09-03

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 1588344258

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Celebrating the lives of famous men and women, historic house museums showcase restored rooms and period furnishings, and portray in detail their former occupants' daily lives. But behind the gilded molding and curtain brocade lie the largely unknown, politically charged stories of how the homes were first established as museums. Focusing on George Washington’s Mount Vernon, Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House, Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, and the Booker T. Washington National Monument, Patricia West shows how historic houses reflect less the lives and times of their famous inhabitants than the political pressures of the eras during which they were transformed into museums.

History Museums in the United States

History Museums in the United States PDF

Author: Warren Leon

Publisher: University of Illinois Press

Published: 1989

Total Pages: 364

ISBN-13: 9780252060649

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Every year 100 million visitor's tour historic houses and re-created villages, examine museum artifacts, and walk through battlefields. But what do they learn? What version of the past are history museums offering to the public? And how well do these institutions reflect the latest historical scholarship? Fifteen scholars and museum staff members here provide the first critical assessment of American history museums, a vital arena for shaping popular historical consciousness. They consider the form and content of exhibits, ranging from Gettysburg to Disney World. They also examine the social and political contexts on which museums operate.

Museums and Sites of Persuasion

Museums and Sites of Persuasion PDF

Author: Joyce Apsel

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-10-14

Total Pages: 207

ISBN-13: 0429647190

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Museums and Sites of Persuasion examines the concept of museums and memory sites as locations that attempt to promote human rights, democracy and peace. Demonstrating that such sites have the potential to act as powerful spaces of persuasion or contestation, the book also shows that there are perils in the selective memory and history that they present. Examining a range of museums, memorials and exhibits in places as varied as Burundi, Denmark, Georgia, Kosovo, Mexico, Peru, Vietnam and the US, this volume demonstrates how they represent and try to come to terms with difficult histories. As sites of persuasion, the contributors to this book argue, their public goal is to use memory and education about the past to provide moral lessons to visitors that will encourage a more democratic and peaceful future. However, the case studies also demonstrate how political, economic and social realities often undermine this lofty goal, raising questions about how these sites of persuasion actually function on a daily basis. Straddling several interdisciplinary fields of research and study, Museums and Sites of Persuasion will be essential reading for those working in the fields of museum studies, memory studies, and genocide studies. It will also be essential reading for museum practitioners and anyone engaged in the study of history, sociology, political science, anthropology and art history. Chapter 3 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Interpreting Difficult History at Museums and Historic Sites

Interpreting Difficult History at Museums and Historic Sites PDF

Author: Julia Rose

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2016-05-02

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 0759124388

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Interpreting Difficult History at Museums and Historic Sites is framed by educational psychoanalytic theory and positions museum workers, public historians, and museum visitors as learners. Through this lens, museum workers and public historians can develop compelling and ethical representations of historical individuals, communities, and populations who have suffered. It includes various examples of difficult knowledge, detailed examples of specific interpretation methods, and will give readers an in-depth explanation of the psychoanalytic educational theories behind the methodologies. Audiences can more responsibly and productively engage in learning histories of oppression and trauma when they are in measured and sensitive museum learning environments and public history venues. To learn more, check out the website here: http://interpretingdifficulthistory.com/

Museums and Migration

Museums and Migration PDF

Author: Laurence Gouriévidis

Publisher: Museum Meanings

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780415838764

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This volume deals with the way museum spaces - local, regional, national - have engaged with the history of migration, including internal migration, emigration and immigration. The book charts the developing body of research which concentrates on the analysis of the representation of migration in relation to the changing character of museums within society, examining their civic role and their function as key public arenas within civil society. Focusing on the way museums interact with processes of political and societal changes, it examines their agency and relationship to identity construction, community involvement, policy positions and discourses, but also ethics and moralities.

Interpreting American Military History at Museums and Historic Sites

Interpreting American Military History at Museums and Historic Sites PDF

Author: Marc K. Blackburn

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2016-04-08

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 1442239751

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While the lessons of the past are equally important today as when they first occurred, the trouble lies in making them accessible to modern-audiences. Interpreting American Military History at Museums and Historic Sites provides a guide to turning those important American military moments into relevant and captivating experiences. The book acts as a primer for those unfamiliar with academic trends of the last forty years. Through current interpretive methods and case studies, readers will gain an understanding of how to take this information and create programs, interpretive media, outreach strategies, and mission goals that are relevant to the public and the institution charged with serving them.

Interpreting Religion at Museums and Historic Sites

Interpreting Religion at Museums and Historic Sites PDF

Author: Gretchen Buggeln

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2018-08-22

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 1442269472

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Interpreting Religion at Museums and Historic Sites encourages readers to consider the history of religion as integral to American culture and provides a practical guide for any museum to include interpretation of religious traditions in its programs and exhibits.

Museums and Communities

Museums and Communities PDF

Author: Ivan Karp

Publisher: Smithsonian Institution

Published: 2013-09-03

Total Pages: 625

ISBN-13: 1588343456

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Contributors to this volume examine and illustrate struggles and collaborations among museums, festivals, tourism, and historic preservation projects and the communities they represent and serve. Essays include the role of museums in civil society, the history of African-American collections, and experiments with museum-community dialogue about the design of a multicultural society.