Historical Representation at American House Museums

Archived since: Jan, 2023

Description:

The Historical Representation at American House Museums Web Archive aims to document the changing interpretation and presentation of the experiences of working people and immigrants, the lives of the enslaved, the contributions of women, LGBT individuals, indigenous peoples, and various ethnic groups at historic house museums in the United States. House museums have been a key component of historic preservation in America since the mid 19th century. Until recently, house museums largely interpreted the lives of great men (and, on rare occasions, women), first and second generation settlers in America, or the work of master architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright or Stanford White. More recently, many house museums have begun changing their focus to include the experiences of underrepresented peoples, including but not limited to the groups mentioned above. Websites have in many cases replaced printed guidebooks in disseminating the social history of these sites. The Historical Representation at American House Museums Web Archive is curated by librarians, library workers, and professors at Columbia University (Andrew S. Dolkart and Chris Sala) and Johns Hopkins University (Holly Tominack), under the auspices of the Ivy Plus Libraries Confederation.

Subject:   Arts & Humanities,  Society & Culture,  Government,  Historic sites,  Historic house museums ,  Historical museums