Description
Book SynopsisInterpreting Religion at Museums and Historic Sites encourages readers to consider the history of religion as integral to American culture and provides a practical guide for any museum to include interpretation of religious traditions in its programs and exhibits. Combining both theoretical essays and practical case studies from a wide cross section of the field, the book explores how museums are finding new ways to connect with audiences about this important aspect of American history. This book explores the practical and interpretiveproblems that museums encounter when they include religion in their interpretation:How do we make sure visitors don''t think the museum is taking the side of any particular religious group, or proselytizing, or crossing church-state boundaries?How do we spin out a rich story with the available artifact base? What are the opportunities and perils of telling particular religious stories in a multicultural context? These and other questions are addressed in
Trade ReviewA splendid introduction to interpreting religion in museums and historic sites. This very welcome publication, the sixteenth in AASLH's Interpreting History series, demonstrates that the study of religion in museums has come of age: theory has moved on to practice. . . . all in all this is an excellent handbook which marks a big step forward for the interpretation of religion in visitor attractions, and offers inspiration and models to history museums and historic sites of many different types, and in many different countries. * Reading Religion *
I have been waiting for a book like this for a long time. Gretchen Buggeln and Barbara Franco have gathered an impressive collection of essays by museum professionals and public historians who have thought deeply about the place of religion in some of our most important cultural institutions. This is a landmark volume. -- John Fea, Chair and Professor of History, Messiah College, author of Why Study History: Reflecting on the Importance of the Past
Interpreting Religion at Museums and Historic Sites is a godsend. Religion has often been taboo in museums and historic sites because of its complexity and potential emotional volatility, but with rare candor and courage, the contributors to Interpreting Religion show why any truthful representation of the American experience demands attention to the ubiquity of religion, religious objects, and religious claims that make up America. With case studies of museum exhibitions and historic site interpretations, along with broader essays on methodology, best practices, and historiography, this book is at once ecumenical and educational in its reach and should become scripture for anyone in the profession contemplating finding the very soul of America. -- Randall Miller, The William Dirk Warren `50 Sesquicentennial Chair & Professor of History, Saint Joseph's University
Table of ContentsIntroduction Acknowledgments Part I Case Studies Chapter 1. Religious Sites Arch Street Meeting House, Reinterpretation of the Arch Street Meeting House, Lynne Calamia California Missions Trail California Missions, Elizabeth Kryder-Reid Ephrata Cloister Interpreting Religion at Ephrata Cloister Michael S. Showalter and Nick Siegert Hancock Shaker Village Hancock Shaker Village - Training for Staff & Docents Who Interpret Religion, Todd Burdick Joseph Smith Farm, Facilitating a Reverential Experience. Gary L. Boatright, Jr. Kirtland Temple Kirtland Temple: Creating Sacred Space for Pilgrimage Barbara B. Walden Mary Baker Eddy Library Fervent Hearts, Willing Hands: Christian Science in Nineteenth-Century Context Katherine Connell Museum at Eldridge Street Interpreting the Eldridge Street Synagogue: Two Dialogues Amy Stein Milford and Richard Rabinowitz United States Capitol Visitor Center “In God We Trust” – Interpreting Religion in the US Capitol Fred W. Beuttler Chapter 2. Historic Sites Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage Reform and Religion at Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage Marsha Mullin Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Satisfaction Through Honesty Stephen Seals Conner Prairie Religion at Conner Prairie Catherine Hughes George Washington’s Mount Vernon Interpreting Religion in the Life of a Founding Father Mary V. Thompson Hawaii Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives Revisiting the Historical Role of the ABCFM Missionaries in Hawaii Thomas A. Woods Gettysburg Seminary Ridge Museum Talk-Back Boards And Religion, Josh Howard Lower East Side Tenement Museum Interpreting Religion at the Tenement Museum Annie Polland Newport World Heritage Commission Interpreting Tolerance to a Skeptical World: The Case of Colonial Newport and Providence Ken Yellis Old Economy Village Religious Interpretation at Old Economy Village David Miller Southeastern Pennsylvania Historic Sites and Houses Interpreting the Diversity of Pennsylvania German Religion at Historic House Museums Cynthia G. Falk Chapter 3. Museum Exhibitions Abbe Museum Religious Appropriation Issues and the Abbe Museum Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko and Geo Soctomah Neptune American Revolution Museum at Yorktown Interpreting Religion at The American Revolution Museum at Yorktown K. Lara Templin Arab American National Museum Interpreting Religion at the Arab American National Museum Petra Alsoofy Delaware Historical Society Forging Faith, Building Freedom: African American Faith Experiences in Delaware, 1800-1980 Constance J. Cooper Jewish Museum of Maryland Chosen Food: Eggrolls, Oreos and Judaism in the Museum Karen Falk Minnesota History Center Interpreting Religion in Peb Yog Hmoob—We Are Hmong Minnesota Brian Horrigan National Museum of African American History and Culture Black Sacred Objects and the Matter of Religious Meanings: A Case Study from the National Museum of African American History & Culture Eric Lewis Williams National Museum of American History Religion in Early America: An Exhibition at the National Museum of American History David K. Allison National Museum of the Civil War Soldier at Pamplin Historical Park Interpreting the Religions Life of Civil War Soldiers at Pamplin Historical Park A. Wilson Greene The Rosenbach and the Rare Book Department, Free Library of Philadelphia Religion on Display: Three Exhibitions at the Free Library of Philadelphia and the Rosenbach Katherine Haas Winterthur Museum Open the Doors and See all the People: Interpreting Pennsylvania German Material Culture and Religion Lisa Minardi Part II Essays Chapter 4. Scholarly Approaches For Religion in History Museums Gretchen Buggeln Chapter 5. Issues in Historical Interpretation: Why Interpreting Religion is So Difficult Barbara Franco Chapter 6. Religion in Museum Spaces and Places Gretchen Buggeln Chapter 7. Strategies and Techniques for Interpreting Religion Barbara Franco Chapter 8. Interpreting Religion at Museums and Historic Sites: The Work Ahead Gretchen Buggeln and Barbara Franco Bibliography Contributors Index
