Museums, monuments, and national parks : toward a new genealogy of public history / Denise D. Meringolo.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Meringolo, Denise D., 1968- author.

Series:

Public history in historical perspective.

Public history in historical perspective

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States. National Park Service--History.

United States.

Public history--United States--History.

Public history.

Historic preservation--United States--History.

Historic preservation.

Historic sites--Conservation and restoration--United States--History.

Historic sites.

Historical museums--United States--History.

Historical museums.

National parks and reserves--United States--History.

National parks and reserves.

Nature conservation--United States--History.

Nature conservation.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxxii, 207 pages) : illustrations.

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Toward a new genealogy of public history

Place of Publication:

Amherst, [Massachusetts] ; Boston, Massachusetts : University of Massachusetts Press, 2012.

Summary:

"The rapid expansion of the field of public history since the 1970's has led many to believe that it is a relatively new profession. In this book, Denise D. Meringolo shows that the roots of public history actually reach back to the nineteenth century, when the federal government entered into the work of collecting and preserving the nation's natural and cultural resources. Yet it was not until the emergence of the education-oriented National Park Service history program in the 1920's and 1930's that public history found an institutional home. Even then, tensions between administrators in Washington and practitioners on the ground at National Parks, monuments, and museums continued to redefine the scope and substance of the field. The process of definition persists to this day as public historians establish a growing presence in major universities throughout the United States and abroad."--Page 4 of cover.

Contents:

Prologue : a new kind of technician : in search of the culture of public history

A matter of national dignity : education and federal authority

Managing the landscape : national parks, national monuments, and the use of public land

Losing their identity : National Park Service museums and federal collections

Ignorant and local-minded influences : historic sites and the expansion of the National Park Service

Real park service men : on the ground and in the books

Park service diggers : public historians and the problem of status

Conclusion : toward a new genealogy of public history.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-61376-211-9

OCLC:

830023618