Of course, there are several audiences for museums to prepare exhibits. I
cited the Oakland Museum as an example of a public history program that created
exhibits out of our everyday life in order to elicit deep memories from both
the general public and the people invited to come and give oral histories. As
I recall, the curator sat those old farmers down on a decrepit Windsor chair
and handed them a pair of shears to hold during the interview. Video
equipment and tape recorders were discretely located away from the setting. The lazy
feel to the setting put the farmers at ease and threads of thought began to
flow. The broader public interpretted the exhibit in a different light.
This whole field of public history began in America in 1979, following a
dramatic decline in student enrollment in standard history courses across the
nation. Fascinating for me, as I crossed-over from anthropology and historical
archaeology to study this emerging field. The broad exposure to museums,
curation, genaeology, geography, antiques, community research, archaeology, and
public involvement in cultural resources is what makes the field so different
and invigorating. At the time, I applied these new concepts to a public
archaeology program involving a Spanish fort, American civilian whaling station
and Chinese fishing camp, government light house, and U.S. Army post. Now I
apply it in landmarking 50-100 year old houses.
There is yet another field that developed in the last quarter century. The
interest in popular culture is enormous in the United States and Canada. This
appears to come from museum curators, sociologists, genaeologists, and
collectors. The meetings are every bit as well attended as SHA conferences and many
groups of private collectors attend. I really am surprised this group has
not been addressed on HISTARCH.
Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.
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