Who Owns America's Past?

Who Owns America's Past? PDF Author: Robert C. Post
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421411016
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
When preserving our history, what do we choose to value, why, and who decides? Honorable Mention for the National Council on Public History Book Award of the National Council on Public History In 1994, when the National Air and Space Museum announced plans to display the Enola Gay, the B-29 sent to destroy Hiroshima with an atomic bomb, the ensuing political uproar caught the museum's parent Smithsonian Institution entirely unprepared. As the largest such complex in the world, the Smithsonian cares for millions of objects and has displayed everything from George Washington's sword to moon rocks to Dorothy’s ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz. Why did this particular object arouse such controversy? From an insider’s perspective, Robert C. Post’s Who Owns America’s Past? offers insight into the politics of display and the interpretation of history. Never before has a book about the Smithsonian detailed the recent and dramatic shift from collection-driven shows, with artifacts meant to speak for themselves, to concept-driven exhibitions, in which objects aim to tell a story, displayed like illustrations in a book. Even more recently, the trend is to show artifacts along with props, sound effects, and interactive elements in order to create an immersive environment. Rather than looking at history, visitors are invited to experience it. Who Owns America’s Past? examines the different ways that the Smithsonian’s exhibitions have been conceived and designed—whether to educate visitors, celebrate an important historical moment, or satisfy donor demands or partisan agendas. Combining information from hitherto-untapped archival sources, extensive interviews, a thorough review of the secondary literature, and considerable personal experience, Post gives the reader a behind-the-scenes view of disputes among curators, academics, and stakeholders that were sometimes private and at other times burst into headline news.

Who Owns America's Past?

Who Owns America's Past? PDF Author: Robert C. Post
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421411016
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 400

Get Book Here

Book Description
When preserving our history, what do we choose to value, why, and who decides? Honorable Mention for the National Council on Public History Book Award of the National Council on Public History In 1994, when the National Air and Space Museum announced plans to display the Enola Gay, the B-29 sent to destroy Hiroshima with an atomic bomb, the ensuing political uproar caught the museum's parent Smithsonian Institution entirely unprepared. As the largest such complex in the world, the Smithsonian cares for millions of objects and has displayed everything from George Washington's sword to moon rocks to Dorothy’s ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz. Why did this particular object arouse such controversy? From an insider’s perspective, Robert C. Post’s Who Owns America’s Past? offers insight into the politics of display and the interpretation of history. Never before has a book about the Smithsonian detailed the recent and dramatic shift from collection-driven shows, with artifacts meant to speak for themselves, to concept-driven exhibitions, in which objects aim to tell a story, displayed like illustrations in a book. Even more recently, the trend is to show artifacts along with props, sound effects, and interactive elements in order to create an immersive environment. Rather than looking at history, visitors are invited to experience it. Who Owns America’s Past? examines the different ways that the Smithsonian’s exhibitions have been conceived and designed—whether to educate visitors, celebrate an important historical moment, or satisfy donor demands or partisan agendas. Combining information from hitherto-untapped archival sources, extensive interviews, a thorough review of the secondary literature, and considerable personal experience, Post gives the reader a behind-the-scenes view of disputes among curators, academics, and stakeholders that were sometimes private and at other times burst into headline news.

Who Owns America's Past?

Who Owns America's Past? PDF Author: Robert C. Post
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421411008
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
"From an insider's perspective, Robert C. Post ... offers insight into the politics of display and the interpretation of history. Never before has a book about the Smithsonian detailed the recent and dramatic shift from collection-driven shows, with artifacts meant to speak for themselves, to concept-driven exhibitions, in which objects aim to tell a story, displayed like illustrations in a book"--Dust jacket flap.

History Alive!

History Alive! PDF Author: Bert Bower
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781583710524
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description


The Seasons of America Past

The Seasons of America Past PDF Author: Eric Sloane
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780883940761
Category : Agricultural implements
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description


The War on History

The War on History PDF Author: Jarrett Stepman
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1621579077
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
The War on Our History Confederate memorials toppled . . . Columbus statues attacked with red paint. They started with slave-owning Confederate generals, but they’re not stopping there. The vandals are only pretending to care about the character of particular American heroes. In reality, they hate what those heroes represent: the truths asserted in the Declaration of Independence and embodied in the Constitution. And they are bent on taking America down and replacing our free society with a socialist utopia. All that stands in their way is Americans’ reverence for our history of freedom. Which is why that history simply has to go. Now, Jarrett Stepman, editor at The Daily Signal and host of Right Side of History, exposes the true aims of the war on our history: The war on America: World history is full of conquests and suffering indigenous peoples. Why target Christopher Columbus? What they really want to tear down is America. The war on Thanksgiving: World history is full of colonists. Why target the Pilgrims? What they really want to tear down is American freedom and prosperity. The war on the Founding: World history is full of slavery. Why target Thomas Jefferson? What they really want to tear down are the rights endowed by our Creator. The war on the common man: World history is full of victorious generals and populist politicians. Why target Andrew Jackson? What they really want to tear down is democracy. The war on the South: World history is full of civil strife. Why target Confederate heroes like Robert E. Lee? What they really want to tear down is respect for America’s past and the reconciliation that renewed our Union. The war on patriotism: World history is full of national pride. Why target Teddy Roosevelt? What they really want to tear down is the idea of American greatness. The war on the American century: World history is full of bloody wars. What they really want to tear down is America’s defeat of totalitarianism. If America is to survive this assault, we must rally to the defense of our illustrious history. The War on History is the battle plan.

Exploring America's Past

Exploring America's Past PDF Author: Richard A. Greenwald
Publisher: University Press of America
ISBN: 9780761801962
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 284

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Book Description
This book presents some of the most significant social history to date in one single volume. Readers will find that Exploring America's Past is not only up to date, but also more inclusive and multicultural than other similar collections. The essays in this book concentrate on issues in America, ranging from freedom, to sexuality, to industry, to war, to minorities, to our youth culture, dance, and music. This comprehensive collection of essays will be ideal for U.S. history survey courses. Contents: Introduction and Acknowledgements; The Meaning of Freedom, Eric Foner; Chinese-Americans Build a Railroad, Jack Chen; Populist Dreams and Negro Rights: East Texas as a Case Study, Lawrence Goodwyn; The Sociology and Historiography of Immigration, Ewa Morawska; Studying American Political Development in the Progressive Era, Martin Sklar; Charity Girls and City Pleasure: Historical Notes on Working-Class Sexuality, 1880-1920, Kathy Peiss; Encountering Mass Culture at the Grassroots: The Experience of Chicago Workers in the 1920s, Lizabeth Cohen; Origins of a Sit-Down Era: Worker Militancy and Innovation in the Rubber Industry, 1934-1938, Daniel Nelson; The Politics of Sacrifice on the Homefront in World War II, Mark Leff; The Riddle of the Zoot, Robin D.G. Kelley; The Land of a Thousand Dances: Youth, Minorities, and the Rise of Rock and Roll, George Lipsitz; The Unraveling of America, Allen Matusow; Ronald Reagan and the Movie, Michael Rogin.

Changing Interpretations of America's Past

Changing Interpretations of America's Past PDF Author: Jim R. McClellan
Publisher: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin
ISBN: 9780072283839
Category : United States
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Offers an examination of incidents from the Civil War through the 20th Century, important to the development of the American Nation. This book features primary and secondary source materials on approximately 30 selected moments in American history. It is designed for use in introductory courses in American history.

Rethinking America's Past

Rethinking America's Past PDF Author: Robert Cohen
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
ISBN: 0820368938
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 345

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Book Description


33 True Stories Of America's Past

33 True Stories Of America's Past PDF Author: The Time Traveler
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1387099140
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 112

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Book Description
Image stepping out of your door one day and looking at the people walking by and the cars moving down the street in front of your house, but they are wearing different clothes and driving different cars than the ones you were yesterday. The Street is the same street, your house is the same house, but the people are not. They dress differently, speak faster, and move quicker, it is like everyone shifted into a different speed. Well, that maybe how people who lived and worked 60 years ago could feel when the compare yesterday with Today.

A Humorous Account of America's Past: 1945 to 2001

A Humorous Account of America's Past: 1945 to 2001 PDF Author: Richard T. Stanley
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 146201030X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 409

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Book Description
In 1945, the United States was the most powerful nation in the world. But an Iron Curtain soon surrounded Eastern Europe, and by 1950, Americans were fighting in Korea. In 1952, I Like IKE! swept the nation, and the Fabulous Fifties began. GM sold the most cars, gas was 29 cents a gallon, and a new house cost $9,000. In 1955, following President Eisenhowers mild heart attack, Americas favorite sick joke had Vice President Dick Nixon greeting Ike at the White House by saying, Welcome back. . . May I race you up the stairs? The Fabulous Fifties of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley gave way to riots, Hippies, and The Beatles during the Radical Sixties. The 1960s began with JFKs New Frontier, grew into LBJs Great Society and the Vietnam War, and ended with Nixons Silent Majority and men on the moon. Soon, Nixon resigned, Ford stumbled, Carters brother sold Billy Beer, and the star of Bedtime for Bonzo led the popular Reagan Revolution. In 1989, Reagans Evil Empire collapsed. Soon, George Bush was victorious over Iraq and Panama, and lost to Bill Clinton in 1992. Clinton was eventually impeached, and was later replaced by another Bush. Want more details? Read my book.