Exhibiting Patriotism: Creating and Contesting Interpretations of American Historic Sites 1st Edition

Exhibiting Patriotism takes a case study approach to examining the shift from collections-driven institutions to visitor-centered museums. Teresa Bergman, who has a background in film theory and visual communication, pays special attention to the films shown at these sites, which typically serve as framing devices to set visitor perceptions and expectations. The focus her study is on sites a) that are significant to construction and definition of US national identity, b) where there has been controversy of its interpretation, and c) where there are no financial constraints on the ability to replace those interpretations. Bergman notes that many of the controversies have their root in the original conceptions of the location, along with changing understandings of patriotism, citizenship, and nationalism. Introduction of shared authority with stakeholders has resulted in positive changes in many cases. However, Bergman cautions that this sharing should stop short of abandoning all authority; the challenge for museums is to find the right balance between the desires of multiple publics and responsible interpretation. Bergman’s primary sources are site visits, films, interviews, and archival records of site development and interpretation. Robert Archibald’s  A Place to Remember: Using History to Build Community (American Association for State and Local History) , was used as a template for evaluating requested interpretative changes at the Lincoln Memorial.  Monument Wars: Washington, D.C., the National Mall, and the Transformation of the Memorial Landscape , by Kirk Savage, figures prominently in Bergman’s depictions of the concept and construction of the Lincoln Memorial. I would like to see Berman’s model for site evaluation applied to the World Trade Center and OK City memorials to see how her results would compare to Sturken’s more cynical observations in  Tourists of History: Memory, Kitsch, and Consumerism from Oklahoma City to Ground Zero .