Dr. Michael Wm. Doyle
Ball State University
Department of History
Burkhardt Bldg. [BB] 213
Muncie, IN 47306-0480
Office: 765-285-8732; Fax: 765-285-5612
E-mail: mwdoyle@.bsu.edu
Course Webpage: < http://mwdoyle.iweb.bsu.edu/hist_240/ >
Office Hours: Thurs., 2:00-4:00 P.M. and by appt.
[HST240SQ.W10.Rev]
HISTORY 240 / Sec. 001: INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC HISTORY
Spring Semester 2012
Week 10 Reading Assignment Study Questions
Museums IV: Local Historical Organizations; Historic House Museums
James B. Gardner and Peter S. LaPaglia, eds., Public History: An Introduction (2nd ed.; Malabar, Fla.: Krieger,
2004), Introduction: Part III, 231; George W. McDaniel, “At Historic Houses and Buildings: Connecting Past,
Present, and Future,” 233-255; Robert B. Patterson, Jr., “In Local Historical Agencies, Museums, and
Societies,” 295-306; Barbara Franco, “In Urban History Museums and Historical Societies,” 307-324.
Mike Wallace, Mickey Mouse History; and Other Essays on American Memory (Philadelphia: Temple
University Press, 1996), “Visiting the Past: History Museums in the United States,” 3-32.
Delaware County Historical Society [Alliance] informational brochures, mission statement, collections policies,
2004 budget, quick facts handout, and volunteer application form
Eldon Pitts, “One Home in Time: Local Museum Gets a New Look and More Items [Moore-Youse Home
Museum],” Star Press (13 May 1998), 1B-2B.
John Carlson, “Historian Helps People Find Family Histories,” Star Press (26 August 2002), 1A, 5A.
Associated Press, “Small Museums are Big on Charm,” Star Press (26 January, 1997), 5E.
James Hannah, “Tourism Corridors Linking Attractions to Boost Appeal,” Star Press (3 May, 2006), 6C.
Ellen Rosen, “Latest Genealogy Tools Create a Need to Know,” New York Times (18 August, 2007).
Robin Pogrebin and Glenn Collins, “Shift at Historical Society Raises Concerns,” New York Times (19 July,
2004).
Sarah Brophy, Is Your Museum Grant-Ready? Assessing Your Organization’s Potential for Funding (Walnut
Creek, Calif: Alta Mira Press, 2005).
_________________________________________
Gardner: George W. McDaniel, “At Historic Houses and Buildings: Connecting Past, Present,
and Future,” pp. 233-255:
1. McDaniel stresses the importance of strategic planning when planning the
development of a historic house museum. Describe the four steps in sequence of the
process.
2. Explain why basic research is so important to the operation of a historic home.
3. Historian David McCullough is noted for reminding fellow historians that
opportunities await if they are “resourceful.” McDaniel in turn outlines his “three
tactics for being resourceful.” Name the tactics and give examples of their value to
the process of interpreting historic structures.
Gardner: Robert B. Patterson, Jr., “In Local Historical Agencies, Museums, and Societies,”
pp. 295-306:
1. In this essay Patterson stresses community outreach as a tactic for marketing
local history museums. What, according to him, are the main benefits of an active
program of community outreach?
2. Patterson argues that local museums need to follow the example set by for-profit
businesses. In hat ways does he advocate this course of action?
3. Directors need to present themselves in a competent, professional manner to
their staff, board members, and the public. They also need to project an attitude
that stimulates positive reaction from their staffs and their home constituencies.
How does Patterson recommend a director to accomplish this?
2
Gardner: Barbara Franco, “In Urban History Museums and Historical Societies,”
pp. 307-324:
1. Urban-based historical societies face a number of difficulties, some unique to
their particular field of operations. What are some of the challenges these historical
societies face in their attempt to present an urban history perspective?
2. Give examples of specific ways urban historical societies are involved in
interpreting the history of their host cities.
3. Franco cites three component parts that comprise the major responsibility and
mission of urban historical societies. Name them and briefly describe what each
entails.
4. What recommendations does Franco have for historical museums who wish to
attract visitors in a rapidly changing contemporary urban environment?
Wallace: “Visiting the Past: History Museums in the United States,” pp. 3-32:
1. How does Wallace characterize the widespread attitude of Americans toward
“saving old buildings” prior to 1850?
3
2. Why did the state of Virginia’s attempt at saving Mount Vernon fail?
3. What did the upper middle class do for historic preservation in the 1890s?
4. What kind of projects did the ancestral and historical societies of the late 19th
century typically undertake?
5. List the three ideological purposes of the 19th-century house museum, according
to Wallace.
6. What were the main results of Americanization efforts associated with the house
museums?
7. Describe Skansen and discuss how it affected museum developments around the
world.
8. What two underlying messages does Wallace detect in the way that history is
presented at Greenfield Village?
4
9. What were the French able to accomplish with John D. Rockefeller’s donations
for the restoration of several palaces?
10. What was the major difference between Colonial Williamsburg and Greenfield
Village at their respective foundings?
11. What types of historical preservation ventures came out of the “corporate
roots” movement?
12. Describe how the Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown romanticizes American
rural life.
13. Wallace identifies five “concepts of lasting importance” which were embodied at
Colonial Williamsburg, and three concepts of American history and heritage which
he maintains were left out of its interpretation program. What are they?
14. What programs were established at Williamsburg to attract visitors?
15. What criticisms did some social commentators level at Williamsburg in the
1960s?
5
16. What was the result of the collaboration between the community of Lowell,
Mass., and the university there?
17. Describe the typical living historical farm museum and the new ideas its
proponents brought to museum development.
18. How did the staff at Colonial Williamsburg introduce the interpretation of
slavery at their museum village?
19. How, according to Wallace, do museums affect their visitors’ views of history
through the “particular presentation” of the past?
20. Wallace lists three things we do not know about museum visitors. What are
they?
21. What concluding recommendations does Wallace have for museums that are
interested in improving their presentation of the past?
6
Delaware County Historical Society [Alliance] informational brochures:
1. What services are offered by the Delaware County Historical Society (DCHS)?
2. According to the brochure, why did the Delaware County Historical Society;
Historic Muncie, Inc.; and the Delaware County Genealogical Society unite, and how
did they decide to use the Moore-Youse home?
Delaware County Historical Society [Alliance] mission statement, volunteer application form,
collections policies, and 2004 budget:
1. What is the mission of the Delaware County Historical Alliance?
2. What are the areas of interest listed on the DCHA’s volunteer application form?
3. According to the Delaware County Historical Society Bylaws, what are the purposes
of DCHS?
4. According to the Delaware County Historical Society 2004 Budget, what were the
society’s sources of income and what were its expenses?
7
Delaware County Historical Society [Alliance] quick facts handout:
1. According to this handout, how is the Delaware County Historical Society
governed?
2. According to this handout, how does the Delaware County Historical Society serve
as a community resource?
Eldon Pitts, “One Home in Time: Local Museum Gets a New Look and More Items [MooreYouse Home Museum],” Muncie Star Press (13 May 1998), 1B-2B:
1. How is the Moore-Youse home furnished and interpreted?
2. How did the Delaware County Historical Society obtain the Moore-Youse Home?
John Carlson, “Historian Helps People Find Family Histories,” Muncie Star Press
(26 August 2002), 1A, 5A:
1. How did Cartwright first become interested in history?
2. List the various ways Cartwright has contributed to documenting and supporting
local history.
8
Associated Press, “Small Museums are Big on Charm,” Muncie Star Press
(26 January, 1997), 5E:
1. From a careful reading of this article, what attracts people to small museums?
2. From a careful reading of this article, what are the drawbacks of small museums?
James Hannah, “Tourism Corridors Linking Attractions to Boost Appeal,” Muncie Star Press
(3 May, 2006), 6C:
1. According to this article, what are some current threats to small tourist sites?
2. What does this article suggest as a way to help save small tourist sites and increase
tourism and awareness? Do you think this will work? Why or why not?
Ellen Rosen, “Latest Genealogy Tools Create a Need to Know,” New York Times
(18 August, 2007):
1. According to this article, what are the “latest genealogy tools”?
2. According to this article, what are professional genealogists? What do they do? Is
there certification?
9
Robin Pogrebin and Glenn Collins, “Shift at Historical Society Raises Concerns,”
New York Times (19 July, 2004):
1. Explain the conflict regarding the involvement of Gilder and Lehrman in the NewYork Historical Society. Then, place the conflict in a more national context.
2. Museums generally interpret history in addition to storing it and displaying it. How
do the Hamilton and slavery exhibits at the New-York Historical Society shed light on
the difficulties involved in this?
Sarah Brophy, Is Your Museum Grant-Ready? Assessing Your Organization’s Potential for
Funding (Walnut Creek, Calif.: Alta Mira Press, 2005).
1. What is this checklist and what is its purpose?
2. What are the questions considered under the heading “Do You Make A
Difference?” In your opinion, can these questions be well applied to museums? Why
or why not?
10