Title A cultural arsenal for democracy : the World War II work of U.S. museums / Clarissa J. Ceglio

Published Amherst : University of Massachusetts Press, [2022]

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Description 1 online resource (xiv, 223 pages) Series Public history in historical perspective Public history in historical perspective. Contents Introduction. The American museum as social instrument -- Toward a material rhetoric of social instrumentality -- Materializing the good neighborhood -- The exhibitionary network and hemispheric citizenship -- War comes to the museum -- Witnessing war fare : the construction of home front citizenship -- Gateways to global citizenship in a postwar world -- Conclusion. Museum stories, old and new Summary ""Does it seem strange to think of a museum as a weapon in national defense?" asked John Hay Whitney, president of the Museum of Modern Art, in June 1941. As the United States entered the Second World War in the months to follow, this idea seemed far from strange to museums. Working to strike the right balance between education and patriotism, and hoping to attain greater relevance, many American museums saw engagement with wartime concerns as consistent with their vision of the museum as a social instrument. Unsurprisingly, exhibitions served as the primary vehicle through which museums, large and small, engaged their publics with wartime topics-with fare ranging from displays on the cultures of Allied nations to "living maps" that charted troop movements and exhibits on war preparedness. Clarissa J. Ceglio chronicles debates, experiments, and collaborations from the 1930s to the immediate postwar years, investigating how museums re-envisioned the exhibition as a narrative medium and attempted to reconcile their mission with new modes of storytelling"-- Provided by publisher Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed Subject World War, 1939-1945 -- Museums -- United States Museums -- Social aspects -- United States -- History -- 20th century Museums -- Educational aspects -- United States -- History -- 20th century Public history -- United States -- History -- 20th century World War, 1939-1945 -- Propaganda. Propaganda, American -- History -- 20th century World War, 1939-1945 -- Social aspects -- United States HISTORY / General Museums Museums -- Educational aspects Museums -- Social aspects Propaganda Propaganda, American Public history Social aspects United States Genre/Form History Form Electronic book LC no. 2021017194 ISBN 1613769008 9781613769003 1613769016 9781613769010

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