Public Hstory: Historic House Museums and Slavery

In this weeks blog we are looking at Public History and its relationship with Historic House Museums,  their reinvention/reinterpretation and Slavery. This required the reading of two books, two eassys and a newspaper article on the previous topics. The main issue derived from those readings are finding eceptable solutions for the reinterpretation of historical landsmarks and historic accounts. They show the discourse that can occur when reinterpretation of facts change the event or alter's the original appearance of the landscape, architecture/structure. Nicolai Ouroussoff article, An Architect's Fear That Preservation Distorts, looks at the problems that occur when the perservation distorts the architectural appearance, the landscape. In The Next Cliveden: A New Approach To The Historic Site In Philadelphia, David W. Young looks at the important role preservationist play in their new approach to perserving the Cliveden, which they incorporate the communities participation in this new mission. From the readings they show the impotance of the public's interpretation  and subsequent reinterpretation based upon discourse that includes this dichotomy. James Oliver Horton and Lois E. Horton assemble essays by a variety of authors that touch on reinterpretation of historical events involving African Americans and American History. All these readings challenge the public memories and ask the question whether landmarks and other historical sites are worth the investment. Those institutions face  problems raising and acquiring the financial resources necessary to perserve Historic sites such as house museums.  the retelling or reinterpretating of slavery todayfrom the eyes of African Americans, has been increasingly examined by Public Historians and others scholars on African American History. In Historic House Museums:An Embarrassment of Riches, Marian A. Godfrey looks at the amount of historical house musems in Philadelphia. She uses statistics  to ask the question whether some of these buildings are worth the investment, because they are under used and the communities have become disconnected. Taken together they all show the difficulty in maintaining the past, then incorporating misinterpreted history such as slavery accounts. Those issue need further investigation by public historians and tose communities afflected.

Public History: Memory and Meanings

The set of four reading for this week all focus on memory as it applies to the public's ability to remember and the meaning of historical monuments, relics, historical events. Doss, Mires, Crane and Glassberg all look at study of memory as it relates to museums, memorials and historical buildings and monuments. This blog analyze each of the readings  independently, then collectively give my opinion on all the reading. In, Memorial Mania, Erika Doss attentively examines the reasons for the proliferation of monuments and statues throughout the American landscape. He uses six chapters , the first chapter he explains the fervor and mania that surround memorials.  In the other chapters he examines the various types of memorials and categorizes them individually. They are grief, fear, gratitude, shame and anger. She packs a lot of pertinent information along with little known facts in this dense read. Doss uses a lot of primary sources to reference her facts, it has end notes and has over 100 photographs of  memorials. This book is essential read for all public historians.
In, Independence Hall: in American Memory, Charlene Mires investigates the history of America's most important historical monument, Independence Hall. He looks at Independence Hall from its early origins as the State House, a British outpost until the Revolution, when it became known as Independence Hall. His research continues up until the year 2001 as she talks about the many changes that occur to the the building and the landscape in its surrounding area. Throughout her book she has dates, statistics which give the reader insight about Independence Hall's importance. She connects the National Park service with the care of this historic monument and the Liberty Bell. The book touches on American historical events, some engrained and others forgotten. This is another densely packed book that should be in the personal library of all Historians. It has ten chapters that focus on themes such as "Landmark, Relic, Memory, Place and Symbol." Again remembering and forgetting are at the heart of proper interpretation, although she agrees, historical accounts can be rewritten through new interpretations. What I found interesting was here chapter on the Liberty Bell and its connection to State House and as a "Symbol of Freedom." Mires gives us a glimpse back to the past, and brings the reader to the future by re-enlightening their memories. The book ends with the opening of the Independence Visitor Center in 2001.
The last two are essays that speak on the study of memory, time and museums. In, Public History and the Study of  Memory, David Glassberg questions the historian about remembrance and memory. He lists memory in terms such as "collective memory, popular memory, public memory and counter-memory, Glassberg believes the various definitions make it necessary to further define it as a field of study. He answers the question, "What distinguishes the new scholarship on memory from the old is not subject matter but approach." Throughout the essay he tries to connect this new scholarship of analyzing public history with political culture. I agree with Glassberg, "Public histories provide meaning to places." The last essay, The Conundrum of Ephemerality: Time, Memory, and Museums, Susan Crane, she examines how museums came into existence. Throughout she stresses the importance of preservation, uses Michel Foucault modern interpretation of memory and historical consciousness as they apply to origins. The study of meanings as they were originally intended are replaced due to other meaning that have replaced them. Crane asserts our knowledge of this is never finished. In conclusion all the readings that were covered on memory, memorials, are essential for the public historian to understand. I recommend all potential historians and public historians read this material, it will enlighten and give them new insight about memorials past meanings and new interpretations of those meanings.

Interpretation, Preservation and Shared Authority

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.

Museums: Reinvented, Revisited and Revisioned

The focus of this week's blog focuses on several reading related to the reinvention of the museum. The four readings were by Tony Bennett, Tammy Gordon, Andrea Witcomb, and the last by Handler and Gable. All four of the reading focused on the modern vision and organization of the museum. The first book, Civic Seeing: Museums and the Organization of Vision, Tony Bennett examines the "visual grammars" associated with art museums displays as from the early modern period. He mentions how John Cotton Dana, the founder of the Newark Museum, had envisioned a new museum that would escape the model of the European, and American museums, his museum would not be a warehouse nor storage for temples of dead gods. Dana argued that they should be Institutes of Visual Instruction. Bennett research shows that earlier museums were divisions of class and that the modern museum would be visual. He does a good job in contrasting his argument.                                                                                                                                                    In Private History in Public, Tammy Gordon investigates the various types of historical display in exhibits, commerce and the community. She explains the different types of exhibits such as; community, entrepreneurial, vernacular and academic exhibit. Tammy looks at the funding, staff and other statistics that enlighten the reader. The book is loaded with pictures and charts analyzing the history and function of these various types of historic exhibitions. She mentions how this exhibits and museums that display them have become smaller in size. She ties all of them together and explains how they impact the global economy. This was a very informative look into public history and modern issues of exhibition display.
After reading Andrea Witcomb, Re-Imagining the Museum: Beyond the Mausoleum, looks at how the museum has changed its approach from earlier museums. She looks at the cultural criticism of past museums and the radical break from the past practices. She uses Carol Duncan analysis of art museums to support her belief that most of the earlier offerings were conveyed through the medium of ideology, which evokes the change from monarchical gallery to the "public museum." Witcomb applies Foucaldian approaches and analysis to her argument. this densely packed essay takes the reader to the modern technological advancement museums had moved toward. Demonstrating how these changes impacted museums displays such as touch screens, which help displacement of objects in the museum setting.
The last article The New History in an Old Museum: Creating the Past at Colonial Williamsburg, Richard Handler and Eric Gable investigate the "historical truth" at Colonial Williamsburg. They look at the role that public historians played and how more in more recent decades criticism by a new generation of social historians have dismissed previous assertions of Colonial Williamsburg. They studied how the information influenced the viewer by what they see and hear within this old museum. This book looks in-depth at revisionism, entertainment and education. Handler and Gable do a good job in bringing out the main issues.

Suppression, War and America's History

This week the focus of our readings covered issues concerning the problems surrounding the presentation of historical controversies, research and analysis conducted. The first book, "The Presence of the Past" by Rosenzweig and Thelen attempted to show through narratives, surveys and analysis that Whites, Blacks, Native American also Mexican Americans that past events play a significant role in their everyday lifes. They discovered that blacks were more likely to narrate the past and those issues that have impacted them historically, also they relied on individual experiences. The information showed that over 91% of the respondents answered the ten activities surveyed. Native Americans when interviewed spoke of betrayal by white Americans and concern with the preservation of their culture. Overall, the majority of respondents documented historical information through oral tradition and documenting the past.This survey revealed differences between whites, blacks  and other indigenous people. Yet, what I found impressive from their narratives, analysis and conclusions were Americans are concerned about the past.
In the essay, "Anatomy of a Controversy," by Edward T. Linenthal examines the core issues surrounding the Enola Gay exhibition. Linenthal does a good job of presenting the story. The central issue seems to revolve around the National Air and Space Museum sensitivity to Japanese and American relationsips. It appears from the reading that pictures, photographs, and footage displaying the results of the atomic bomb being dropped on Japanese and the horrific aftermath. It appears that nationl solidarity was at the heart of the decsion.
The last article, "Fred Wilson, PSTD, and Me: Reflections an the History Wars" by Ken Yellis, examines the fight over history and how its presented. His examples and analysis shows that if an exhibition can engage the public, controversies are minimized. If an historical event is repackaged and presented in a new way they can enlighten the masses.

Managing History: Introduction and Book Summary

My name is Curtis Adams, I am Temple University Graduate Student in my first semester in the history program. I enjoy researching collecting and investigating art and historical documents etc. Over the last ten years I have passionately been investigating a rare plate dated 1513 by Albrecht Durer. From this research I hope to make some important contribute to history. With the help of Professor Bruggeman and working closely with my classmates (team), I hope to learn a lot from this class.
The book "Fundraising The Dead," by Sheila Connolly was published in the year 2010 by The Berkley Publishing Group. This was a very well written book, that involved a mystery at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. The central character was named Eleanor (Nell) Pratt, who became an amateur detective and solved two crimes. The first was the theft of historical artifacts worth thousands of dollars and the second the murder of her colleague Alfred Findley. Findley was the Director of Cataloging, he was murdered during the night of the Historical Society's fund raiser. She was alerted by board member Marty Terwilliger, after she noticed some rare historical documents missing (Terwilliger Collection). This began Nell's search for answers. Her first contact Findley, informed her that he noticed documents missing, but was fearful to tell what occurred believing he would be accused of the thefts.
The next day after the fund raiser she found him dead in a pool of blood. This lead her down a road for the truth, which exposed her secret lover Charles Elliot Worthington, the Society's president as the culprit. He was assisted by Doris, who was obsessed by Worthington. With clever thinking Nell was able to trick Doris into admitting guilt. after Doris snaps at her and Marty. After all the loose ends were tied up, she went to the Society's meeting and was placed as interim president. This was a well written book, that was based around the management of artifacts, the importance of cataloging etc.
The following week's reading talk about Nell Pratt's new position at "The Henry Ford, America's Greatest History Attraction, fulfilling the position of its Director of Development-Major & Planning Giving. The second reading. The first article deals with Historical Society's probe into possible thefts from a frequent visitor. Barry H. Landau and an accomplice Jason Savedoff. These arrest launched the Historical Society of Pennsylvania into a massive investigation of its collection. The last article was put out by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in an effort to fill a vacancy by the death of Alfred Findly on June 8, 2011.