Description
Book SynopsisAn exploration of 'historical truth' as presented at Colonial Williamsburg. This book examines the packaging of American history, and consumerism and the manufacturing of cultural beliefs. Containing anecdotes, ethnography, and layers of cultural meaning, it is for anyone interested in how the story of American history is told.
Trade Review“A study quite unlike anything I’ve ever seen: in its depth of research, breadth of conception, theoretical sophistication, and incisiveness of judgment, it seems to me unmatched.”—Peter Novick, University of Chicago
“In this impressive ethnography of Williamsburg, Handler and Gable take us behind the scenes and show us the roles of professional historians, front-line interpreters, corporate officials, and service workers in shaping the portrait of eighteenth-century Virginia that is presented. I know of no other book that presents such a complete and complex portrait of the museum as a social, economic, and cultural institution.”—Roy Rosenzweig, George Mason University
“This manuscript is a deep and original work of cultural critique. It will go a long way in improving the image of cultural studies scholarship among historians, anthropologists, and others, who hold it in suspicion. I am sure this study will be much cited as such an exemplar in several fields.”—George E. Marcus, Rice University
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix
1. The New History in an Old Museum 3
2. Imag[in]ing Colonial Williamsburg 28
3. Why History Changes, or, Two Theories of History Making 50
4. Just the Facts 78
5. Social History on the Ground 102
6. The Company Line: Aspects of Corporate Culture at Colonial Williamsburg 125
7. The Front Line: Smile Free or Die 170
8. Picket Lines 208
9. The Bottom Line 220
Notes 237
Works Cited 249
Index 258
