A post on Sense of History

...further provoked my curiosity about the place of the past in American life, and how popular ideas about history differed from those of historical professionals.

Sense of History by Glassberg, page 5

This quote explains one of the reasons I want to become a public historian. Sometimes the difference between the beliefs historical professionals hold and those held by the public exist in part because of the American public's lack of historical knowledge, the politics of official history, and professionals unwillingness to see beyond what they perceive as History.

A good example of this is Glassberg's story of his second table, Mesa Verde National Park. The park rangers relegated the puebloan people to prehistory, something archeologists are interested in but not historians; the rangers pointed Glassberg to the surrounding towns as places he could study history. The rangers considered Mesa Verde as exclusively a national park, not a national historic site. What I find odd about this is that Theodore Roosevelt created Mesa Verde National Park in 1906 to "preserve the works of man," the first national park of its kind. So why didn't the park rangers embrace the puebloan people's history and culture?

Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park

Part of Glassberg's duties at the Mesa Verde was demonstrating the pottery-making and grain-milling methods employed by the puebloan people. The fact that Glassberg was not trained well in pottery-making (as attested to by the four Native American tourists who watched in "amused silence") at least implies a lack  of respect European Americans had for the Native Americans' past. Including Native American history and culture would give park visitors a more accurate idea of what Native Americans were like when the Europeans came to this continent Popular culture has both demonized and lionized the indigenous people of the Americas; they need to be shown as people, not blood-thirsty savages nor as people living a a utopian civilization the white man destroyed.

Welcome!

Welcome! This blog was created to provide a place for you to post your thoughts and ideas about public history. Write about anything related to public history, whether it be an exhibit you saw, a living history event, a site you visited, or class readings and discussions. Post photos, links, quotes, and questions. I'm looking forward to reading what you have to say. And I hope that all of you will take the time to respond and comment on your classmates' posts. So start blogging!