S. Michael Sleeter – Page 2 – Publicly Historians

November 4, 2018November 5, 2018

The Best Museum That is Not a Museum.

Medieval European technology is shown off for a modern audience.

There is a place where you can walk among history, or at least a facsimile of it. A place where you can see a Gutenberg printing press in use, or see how people long ago turned wool into yarn. Blacksmiths and glass blowers work their crafts just down the path from the weapons master holding school for both young and old. Musicians playing timeless music can be heard about the grounds as barkers alert you to the start of a comedy show or a Shakespeare reciting Nubian who is about to perform. Weapons, armor, and clothing of all kinds are on display for admiring or purchase. Chandlers and soap makers display their products next to shops selling foods from all over the world. This is the world of the Texas Renaissance Festival. Part carnival, part living history, part street market, and part party the Texas Renaissance Festival, or Ren Fest to its fans, is considered by many to be the top Renaissance Festival in the country. Although it was created for entertainment purposes, there are educational opportunities when you walk through the gate. I have been to Ren Fest many times, but this time I wanted to look at it as if it were a museum. Does the museum label fit, and if so how does it compare to serious collecting institutions?

History for Entertainment Purposes

A craftsman working on his latest piece of pottery.

At its core the Ren Fest is an entertainment event, there is no denying that. However, just because its main purpose is to entertain does not mean there is no educational value there. A museum educates by telling the stories of the artifacts it has collected over the years. At Ren Fest the exhibits are not artifacts, but craftsmen and women who will gladly chat with you about the skills they apply to their work. There are people displaying all kinds of skills. With a short walk you can find potters, chandlers (candle makers), printers, leather workers, glass blowers, and weavers. You can see first hand how they apply their trade. For most of the day they are demonstrating how they work. They are also open to answering any questions that you have.

Spinning wool into thread to be woven into cloth.

For those who are really interested they will take you step by step through the process. They are not just making these items for display. Festival goers have the chance to purchase the items they are making. This is a wonderful opportunity for anyone who is interested in these craft works. If trade crafts are not your thing there are still other things to learn. For those who are looking for something more physical the Ren Fest has something for you too.

Swords, Bells, and Bagpipes

For people who need a little more action in their learning experience, Ren Fest has you covered. Visitors can learn the art of sword fighting from the

Oskar Hasslehoff giving a sword fighting lesson.

weapons master Oskar Hasslehoff. Four times a day he instructs adults and children in the class art of sword fighting. Observers can see demonstrations of a wide variety of swords. He gives lessons for everything from 2-handers to rapiers. He is a great source of historical sword fighting, often pointing out how Hollywood gets it wrong. For something less violent there are many musical acts to be enjoyed.

The drum and bagpipe experience of Tartanic.

You are not going to find any rock bands or line dancing here. Lutes, drums, and bagpipes are the instruments of choice here. The music here is played in a historic style. Regulars have their favorites, but all musicians are quality acts. This is a great chance to hear music played on instruments that you might not be able to hear in a regular setting. The most unusual being the Carillon played by a performer called Cast in Bronze. Imagine a piano made of bells instead of strings. It produces a very distinct

Cast in Bronze is the only act in the world that features the Carillon.

sound you won’t find anywhere else. You can also catch dancers who perform in old world styles, but these are more entertaining than educational.

A Museum or not a Museum, you be the Judge

You are not going to find a mission statement at the Texas Renaissance Fair. No big idea will be disseminated on exhibit labels hanging next to well preserved artifacts. What you will find is a chance to immerse yourself in history, or what people believe history to be. The biggest resemblance to a museum that you will see is in the people who visit. There are people who come to be refreshed, there are people who come to learn a thing or two, and there are people who come as a family outing. Yes, it is more entertainment than history, and it’s not a place where I would come to do historical research. However, it does have the ability to inspire people to learn more or to take up a hobby they may not have known about before their trip, and isn’t that the goal of any good museum?

September 23, 2018December 6, 2018

Renaming a Place to Destroy an Identity

Place is a powerful thing. Place is not just a dot on a map or a green street sign, place is a force that shapes people and cultures. It dictates what clothes you wear and what foods you eat. Our modern world has overcome the constrictions of place with our advance transportation networks, however this was not always the case. Societies were defined by the land they lived on. It was who they were as a people. Many cultures saw themselves as living with the land, not just on it. Where these people lived was part of their cultural identity. When the European explorers first came to this continent they drew their maps and labeled the places they saw. They paid no heed to the fact that these paces already had names, for they did not care. The people living there were seen as uncivilized and savages, hardly worth noting. Slowly, the Europeans began to change the Place. With these changes new names were laid upon the land and its features. The bitter fruits of their labors still scar the land as the place names we see on our maps. At first it was done out of ignorance or possibly indifference to the native cultures, but later Europeans would use place names as part of their campaign of genocide against the native peoples.

McKinley vs Denali

The fight over place names is literally sky high, as in 20,000 feet into the sky. The tallest peak in North America has gone by many names. The natives who lived in the area had many names for the peak, depending on what side of the mountain you lived on. The Russians who explored the area had a different name for it, but it was based on the local languages spoken by the natives. The name Mount McKinley would be hung on the mountain by a gold prospector being interviewed by the New York Sun in 1893. The name gained permanence with the assassination of McKinley.

“I don’t like the name of Denali. It is not descriptive. Everybody in the United States knows of Mt. McKinley and the various efforts made to climb it. In consequence, both Mr. Yard and I think that the name McKinley should stick.” –Thomas Riggs Alaska Engineering Commission 1916

Riggs could have helped pass a law that would have reverted the name back to Denali, but his opposition caused the mountain to be named after a man who had no connection to Alaska. The name controversy would simmer until 1975 when a bill was introduced in Congress to change the name back to Denali. This attempt was blocked by the Congressional delegation from Ohio, McKinley’s home state. They did not wish to have that tribute removed from the maps. The delegation was successful for 40 years. President Obama and Secretary of the Interior Jewell were able to put the Denali name back on the mountain. President Trump nearly rekindled the controversy when he proposed undoing the name change. He was talked out of it by the Senators from Alaska.

This tale illustrates how the history of the continent is ignored until the Europeans show up. There were people living on this land for 10-15,000 years before Columbus’ boats showed up but to the Europeans that didn’t matter. They came with the intention of exploiting the land and its people. The renaming of places was in part to show people who was in charge of this land.

The Devil is in the Details

How do you find places in the United States that were sacred to the original inhabitants of the land? Look for the devil. Besides plastering European names on places in the Americas, the Europeans actively destroyed native culture by changing names of places. Near Death Valley is a cave that is fed by an underground spring. This area was sacred to the Timbisha People. It was christened Devils Hole by the Europeans who came to the area. Why would you call an important oasis “Devils Hole”? The answer is, to destroy it’s non-Christian divinity. Through it’s association with the devil, the newly Christian converts would no longer worship at their once sacred sight. This process was repeated in many locations around the country. Probably the most iconic example is Bear’s Lodge, or as it is known on the map, Devils Tower.

A sacred land to 6 different tribes. Courtesy JT Sleeter Photography

Devils Tower is located in North Eastern Wyoming. It is an unusual geological formation. It rises over 1200 feet but it stands by itself. there are no other peaks or neat it. It was a sacred place to many of the tribes in the area and they all tell a story about the formation’s origin. The common thread of the stories is that the rock was created by the spirits/ nature/ a god to save people from a bear attack. When Christianity was

Different tribes had different names for it, but the most common was Bear’s Lodge. Courtesy JT Sleeter Photography.

brought to the area the formation was renamed Devils Tower to break the mystical connection the natives had with this area. This was not a unique event, there are many more examples of this patter all over the country; almost every state has a Devils Lake, you can visit the Devils River in Texas, and Georgia is home to the Devils Valley. All renamed in an attempt to force subjugated people to accept the religion of their European conquerors.

September 2, 2018September 2, 2018

Technology and It’s Impact on the Future of Museums.

Modern Technology

Technology can be a wonderful thing by bringing ease and comfort to our lives. Medical advances have helped people live longer, communication devices allow people the ability to talk with each other on opposite sides of the planet, and people find entertainment from images that do not really exist. Technology has influenced the education field also. Educators can take their students on virtual field trips, primary source documents are at their fingertips, and even lectures at different learning levels can be watched in the classroom or even while riding the bus to or from school. Thanks to smart phone technology and the internet people literally hold the complete sum of human knowledge in their hands. For museums, this can be a blessing and a curse.

Museums Benefit

Technology has been a big benefit to museums in the gallery and behind the scenes. The museum’s research mission receives a big boost from modern advancements in technology. High tech scanners that use x-rays and magnetic spectrum imaging have allowed researchers to study objects in new ways. As a result, researchers are able to gather more information that was previously impossible to uncover by using the old imaging methods. This helps to give historians a clearer picture of the history they are attempting to convey to the public. Knowing the chemical makeup of a piece of pottery allows archaeologist to be able to trace its origins and learn how far the piece traveled when it was in use. This information will aid researchers in recreating trade routes or migration patterns with less speculation and guess work. In addition, the museum can preserve and restore pieces better than ever before by making use of modern technology. New developments in areas like cooling and handling of materials will allow curators to preserve objects longer and keep them in better condition. Being able to analyze materials allows a more authentic restoration of deteriorating items allowing the objects to survive longer. The gallery can also make use of technology to give a better experience to visitors. The use of tablets will allow guests to interact with the exhibits in ways that were impossible 20 years ago. Enhanced reality allows peaks back in time for a clearer understanding of artifacts. Enhancements like these bring the public in the door; however, there are problems that technology presents.

Museum Hindrances

The biggest drawback to incorporating technology in an existing museum is the cost. Improving the museum and updating the infrastructure takes large amounts of money. This can affect the museum in two ways. The first being that there is not enough money to acquire new pieces for display. In this situation, the director must make a decision between the ability to grow and enhance the collection or improving the experience for the guests. The second is that the museum would be required to increase fundraising initiatives or find new sources of capital. Technology will not work without proper financial support, and this could be a bigger problem for museums that are smaller and local. These smaller museums do not have the resources for more advanced technologies like building a VR experience into their gallery. Often museums will turn to corporate partners to be able to afford the improvements. This approach does bring in the money, but walking through the Walmart Hall of Early Man does not bring an academic feel to the place.

Finally, museums also have to compete with home technology. People are able to access photographs and in some cases virtual reality right from their couches. Museums must be able to offer an experience that goes beyond what people can view at home. Museums must continue to promote their collections and make them enticing enough to get people to log off and walk in.

August 26, 2018December 2, 2018

Pushing Back at Gentrification: A Tale of Two Cities

Change, it is the one constant in the story of human history. Nothing stays the same, attempting to fight change is an exercise in futility. To survive the change of time all things must adapt and adjust to a new paradigm. Failure to change means death, whether we are discussing dinosaurs or giant corporations. Sometimes change can be beneficial, things shift in a positive direction and people’s lives improve. Other times changes are not so good, life becomes more difficult or important knowledge is lost. One of the byproducts of change is gentrification. Some argue that gentrification is good because it revitalizes blighted neighborhoods; contrarily it’s a force of destruction of personal history and economically disadvantaged people. How can a historic neighborhood hold on to its history and benefit the people who currently live there?

San Antonio: The Historic West Side

Walking along the streets of the historic west side of San Antonio the surrounding history is palatable, however so is the destruction of that history. Land speculators are leaving lots empty in hopes of a big payday sometime in the future while razing older properties and replacing them with buildings that are more modern. This leads to the destruction of the community’s history and forces the people who live there to move due to rising rents and other economic hardships. The Esperanza Center has been pushing back against these speculators in an attempt to hold on to the history and culture of the neighborhood for the people that live there. Their approach is to acquire properties and restore them for new tenants or re-purpose them so that they will avoid being torn down. This is a good approach but the speculators impede the process by leaving lots empty lots or even worse, hampering the attempts to improve the neighborhood by placing fences on their properties in inconvenient places. Their approach is direct but requires large financial backing and cooperation from local politicians. This brings up another roadblock for the Center’s mission; the politicians are not invested in saving old buildings. The people in charge are going to take their directions from their political donors, and those donors want to make money developing the neighborhood. Current political climates favors the people who drive gentrification. There are opportunities to make money that do not include saving the history of old neighborhoods; revitalization in the name of progress is the fuel of gentrification. It is a tough uphill battle; however, the people of the Roxbury section of Boston tried a more radical approach.

“Faces of Dudley” mural in Boston. (Greg Cook)

Boston: Roxbury

Gentrification happens when the local people do not have direct control over their neighborhood. The blog Black Perspectives talks about the events in the Roxbury district of Boston, MA. During the 1980’s in Boston, a couple of men tried to stand up and improve their neighborhood by taking the neighborhood away from the city. Curtis Davis and Andrew Jones formed a group called The Greater Roxbury Incorporation Project (GRIP) with the goal being leaving Boston proper and forming a new incorporated city that the local people would control. Even though Boston was the idealistic center of the American Revolution, its city planners were not so forward thinking over the years. Boston became the most segregated city in the Northern US, making it very susceptible to the forces of gentrification. In forming a new city out of the old neighborhoods, the people could stop this process and revitalize the area for its residents. By spending resources on attracting economic opportunities that would not drive out the economically disadvantaged residents, the city would stop the process of gentrification. Ultimately, GRIP did not achieve its master goal of independence, however it did succeed it getting reforms into government that would eventually aid the area and make improvements to benefit the people there.

Two Paths, One Goal

The Esperanza Center and GRIP are just two examples of people trying to control the destinies of their local neighborhoods and deter the process of gentrification. I hope that they will succeed in protecting the history that the people in city hall easily neglect. It is easy to order a building toppled when it is just numbers on a budget sheet, but to the people who live there those building mean so much more. They are touchstones to loved ones who are no longer with them. Preserving the buildings is to preserve the memories of those who came before us and made us into what we are today.

August 25, 2018August 26, 2018

Classroom Teacher and Their Place in Public History

In the ongoing discussion of what public history is and what defines the scope of the field, the focus seems to be on distinguishing the field from academic history. One thing that I feel is overlooked in the discussion is the role that teachers in grades K-12 play. This group of people falls perfectly in the transition from academic history to public history.

The Importance of Teachers

Grade school teachers are in a unique position in the field of history. They can be a literal bridge between the academic field and the realm of public history. Although our first expose to history usually comes from our parents and family, teachers can make a lasting impact on ones attitude toward history for the rest of their life. Teachers keep track of new academic developments in history, but they present the information on a very personal level that would definitely fit under the umbrella of public history. Teachers answer to a local authority and will respond accordingly. It is very easy for teachers to customize their lessons for their audience. They are able to adjust the depth, scope, and point of view to fit whatever community they are working in. This ability allows them to target the needs of the community they serve. This is the very essence of what public history is.

The Shortcomings of Teachers

I would even suggest that classroom education should be considered a 5th part of the public history domain. Museums already offer programs to help teachers improve and engage their students, but there is still much work to be done especially at the lower grade levels. The main problem at the lower levels is that those teachers are not exposed to academic courses in history specific topics. This often leads to a more mythological history being taught at those levels. The result is students who often need to be retaught basic history later in their academic careers. Programs designed to work with and increase the ability of lower grade teachers would be an immense benefit to the education system. This would improve the education at the higher grade level as the need for reteaching would be diminished; leaving more time to focus on the important topics and concepts that need to be covered during class.

Conclusion

There is a battle going on that most people are not aware of, a battle for control of history. In this digital age conspiracy theorists and intentional fake news is displacing legitimate information and facts. Classroom teachers are on the front line of this battle. They are in a position to educate students on how to tell the facts from the fakes. They can also inspire their students to continue to educate themselves and to continue their learning beyond the classroom. Teachers would handover the students to the public historians to accomplish this continued learning. By utilizing public history resources museums would not seem so foreign and these young learners would get more out of the experience. I strongly feel that public history programs need to keep classroom teachers in mind for the benefit of society.

August 18, 2018

Hello Public History!

An Introduction

Greetings, welcome to the first of many posts in this blog. My name is Scott, and I have been teaching history for the past 18 years. This year I am taking on the challenge of graduate school. I am excited to be here. The program seems wonderful, and I am working with a great group of professors and students.

My Mission

My main goal as a teacher is to try and make the world a better place, both for my individual students and society at large. I try to give my students the tools they need to improve their lives and have the maximum opportunities to create the best future for themselves. By helping the student achieve their potential they go forth into the community and make it a better place. They become examples to the friends and families and show them that improvement is possible. Their success in turn improves their neighborhoods and by extension, the community improves. Sometimes I am successful, sometimes I’m not so successful, but I do my best and keep trying to get through to the students.

Final Thoughts

I am excited at the opportunities that this graduate program will provide for me. The opportunity to use my education experience to reach more people has an appeal to me. I have loved going to museums all my life; having the chance to work in a place like that and helping to develop the exhibits and the displays would be an amazing path for my career. I am looking forward to making the most of this opportunity.