The three readings for the week were all focused on preservation and interpretation.The Interpreting Our Heritage Freeman Tilden was published over fifty years ago. He was a National Park Service ranger and became it's director between 1980-1985. the book is separated in three parts, with 20 chapters and 29 illustrations. Tilden wrote six important principles, that the National Park Service has implemented in it's interpretation and themes. I enjoyed the book and learned about Tilden's six principles at orientation for volunteers at Independence Park Service.
In the essay, Shared Authority, Michael Frisch explains the complex challenge or process of attaining grant. The project had three components. The first was a traveling history exhibit/workshop located inside a bus called the "History mobile." The second component was an Institution in Urban Public History, for community members/teams of teachers, introducing them to new ideas. Frisch described the importance of public-historical presentation and interpretation with the public. He mentions the importance of oral history and the relationship between development and theory. I thought this book was informative, although they were rejected for the NEH grant.
The last book "Beyond Preservation: Using Public History to Revitalize Inner Cities, Andrew Hurley, which looks at historic preservation.He focuses on the preservation and interpretation, also he believes the inner cities are worth new investments.All three reading stress the importance of interpretation, is essential to presenting historical knowledge. I though all the readings were helpful especially the essay.
