Title The new history in an old museum : creating the past at Colonial Williamsburg / Richard Handler and Eric Gable

Published Durham : Duke University Press, 1997

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Description 1 online resource (x, 260 pages) : illustrations Contents The new history in an old museum -- Imag[in]ing colonial Williamsburg -- Why history changes, or, Two theories of history making -- Just the facts -- Social history on the ground -- The company line : aspects of corporate culture at Colonial Williamsburg -- The front line : smile free or die -- Picket lines -- The bottom line Summary "The New History in an Old Museum is an exploration of "historical truth" as presented at Colonial Williamsburg. More than a detailed history of a museum and tourist attraction, it examines the packaging of American history, and consumerism and the manufacturing of cultural beliefs. Through extensive fieldwork - including numerous site visits, interviews with employees and visitors, and archival research - Richard Handler and Eric Gable illustrate how corporate sensibility blends with pedagogical principle in Colonial Williamsburg to blur the lines between education and entertainment, patriotism and revisionism." "During much of its existence, the "living museum" at Williamsburg has been considered a patriotic shrine, celebrating the upscale lifestyles of Virginia's colonial-era elite. But in recent decades a new generation of social historians has injected a more populist and critical slant to the site's narrative of nationhood. For example, in interactions with museum visitors, employees now relate stories about the experiences of African Americans and women, stories that several years ago did not enter into descriptions of life in Colonial Williamsburg. Handler and Gable focus on the way this public history is managed, as historians and administrators define historiographical policy and middle-level managers train and direct front-line staff to deliver this "product" to the public. They explore how visitors consume or modify what they hear and see, and reveal how interpreters and craftspeople resist or acquiesce in being managed. By deploying the voices of these various actors in a richly textured narrative, The New History in an Old Museum highlights the elements of cultural consensus that emerge from this cacophony of conflict and negotiation."--Jacket Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 237-257) and index Notes Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212 MiAaHDL digitized 2010 HathiTrust Digital Library committed to preserve pda MiAaHDL Online resource; title from pdf title page (Proquest, viewed September 28, 2020) Subject Colonial Williamsburg Foundation -- History Colonial Williamsburg Foundation -- Management SUBJECT Colonial Williamsburg Foundation fast Williamsburg (Va.) -- Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. swd Subject HISTORY -- United States -- State & Local -- South (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV) HISTORY / United States / State & Local / General Management Musea. Colonial Williamsburg. Geschiedschrijving. História social. Museografia. Geschichte SUBJECT Colonial Williamsburg (Williamsburg, Va.) http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n2002163750 Williamsburg (Va.) -- History. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85146795 Subject Virginia -- Williamsburg Virginia -- Williamsburg -- Colonial Williamsburg Virginia. Williamsburg, Va. Colonial Williamsburg (Williamsburg, Va.) Williamsburg (Va.) -- History Genre/Form History Form Electronic book Author Gable, Eric, 1955- author. LC no. 96006519 ISBN 9780822398523 0822398524

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