“History is useless if it is not shared” Knupfer said

What is public history? Coming into this class, I thought public history was something specific, like a certain type of history. Maybe even a focus, like a lot of our classes are, such as "US in the Cold War" or "The Vietnam War from the Vietnamese perspective". Not realizing that everything that has happened in the past and what is happening now in our world is public history. People are impacted by it, a part of it, move because of it, and oftentimes don't even realize how important their role is in impacting history.

So what kind of history is presented to the public? The thing about history is that most people don't know how to communicate their academic knowledge with the public (or a large audience), so they only end up sharing it with one another. Reading through our books, like the one by Tyrrell, this semester supported this dilemma along with our examinations of how history is presented in the media. They showed that history is often made glamorized, elaborated/fictional in parts, and diluted to the general audience. The majority of the History Channel's shows on prime time were in this fashion, such as Ganglands, Pawn Stars, or Ax Men. If any show pertaining to our country's past is presented in a special or to a prime time audience, it tends to be about war or controversy. Granted, both are very apparent throughout our past, but what does this say about the audience we are trying to reach by that? This is the sort of history that is made 'public', not the history of our political framework or the "less exciting" events of our past.

This blog topic sort of relates to a conversation a friend and I were having the other day. We were discussing the importance of exams, in that most are for simply regurgitating information to show we know what has been lectured to us. In an age of resources and technology, why are we given exams where we cannot use them on? Where in our careers will we be ALONE as we answer a question or plan? Never. Books, letters, photos, interviews, etc. will be at our fingertips, whether you are a teacher, interior decorator or even a scientist. We never are alone, we are working with and off of what other people before us have, and there is nothing wrong with that. Historians work in the same way, and this class project helped open my eyes (and stubborn self) to the idea of depending on others for help/advice/resources.

What have I learned about public history?
It is useless if our knowledge is not shared to others. Finding our audience is crucial in spreading this information, and finding the medium to connect with them on is a challenge we must face. As we go on researching or teaching as historians, it is also important to use others' help and information, because we are never alone on a project/lesson plan/lecture/research. We need to always be open to new ideas, new teaching styles, and be critiquing ourselves constantly so that we can better our practices always. My opinions on teaching and the idea of public history have dramatically changed throughout this semester in this class and working on our I496 project. I will be a better educator because of it, and for that I am eternally grateful.

The light at the end of the tunnel

Today's presentation went wonderful, and I was so happy to see everything come together visually. The planning team did an excellent job utilizing our resources, along with ones they found, to create a proposal for an exhibit. I feel that Maria was engaged and had a lot of questions pertaining to our exhibit. We all worked so hard, and it was nice to see it all come to an end. Having Dr. K say that he was proud of all our work was honestly very rewarding to hear, because in the end this was his project/idea he bestowed on us to take on and do the best we can with it. I agree with Scott though in the idea that as a research team we should have interviewed people to give a more personal feel to our proposal. If the museum ever wanted to go through with the I496 idea I'm sure that is something they would follow through on. Along with creating visual artifacts for the exhibit from the research we found. Overall, I am very very happy with our project proposal.

Pressure, pushin down on me...

I am really beginning to feel the pressure of everything this semester as things come close to an end. Our history class project still doesn't feel like its coming together which is frustrating, since its been months and months of work. Hopefully this week will be productive for us, because on top of that we need to get our individual projects done as well. My individual project is coming along well, but I am struggling to bring the public history perspective into the TE lesson plan template norms. I'd hate for things to fall apart this close to the 'light at the end of the tunnel'.

No, I did not forget about my blog :)

Several days have passed since the last time I wrote about "clarity on individual projects". May I just say that since then, we all got a great explanation on what to do/how to do it/when it's due... everything someone like me needed! I'm working away on my individual project and so far feel pretty good with where I'm at.

Dr. K was impressed with all the research we were able to dig up, and the planning team seems to be crunching together their ideas now having more of our information/help. Hopefully tomorrow will be just as productive as last class, because I would love to see nothing more than the finished product of this class project. As much as I hated the idea of a WHOLE class project at first, I really don't hate it as much now :) People were able to find things I couldn't find, or use resources I don't understand, and we were able to compile that all together; which is amazing!

I know we still have more work to do, details to figure out, and probably more research to do.. so hopefully we figure that out tomorrow!

Clarity on individual projects

Class today was nice because we were able to talk about our individual projects, which have been on the back burner for weeks now.Unfortunately, it is due in the upcoming weeks, so we cannot put it off any longer. Discussing citation requirements, ideas, and presentation possibilities are all things that I personally needed to work out and know, because I needed a path to work towards with this individual project. Hopefully my research for it will come up with what I need in order to create my example for the project I am creating my lesson plan around. We have a few weeks left, and pulling off a proposal for our group project AND make a fantastic individual project is going to cut my sleep time in half til finals are over.

Strength in numbers....

Friday was by far the most productive day I've had with the research for I-496!!! A large group of us met up at the Library of MI at about 1 and didn't leave until after 4:30. We divided up tasks, talked to the librarians, looked through surveys, books, articles, newsletters, and anything you could think of to find information on I-496. I surely hope its useful Tuesday (or whenever) the planning team takes a look at it. Friday really showed me how much more productive research is when you work together, divide tasks, and depend on one another. I feel really good about going in to class Tuesday with what we found and hope this can all start to come together soon :)

Tomorrow should be interesting...

I thought we were making some progress so far on our class project, but Dr. K seems slightly concerned. I thought Tuesday was a great use of our time in coming together, eliminating information that was no longer needed, having the design team give us a visual, assign more research tasks, and plan a date to the library (again). We are right now, as a research team, hacking away as best we can and I am very proud because working with a whole class of people is INCREDIBLY difficult. The design team has come up with some incredible ideas as well and has been working hard. Hopefully we can find the negative impacts more so as we dig deeper, because the planning team says they looked through our things and have found mostly the positive impacts on Lansing's economy/workforce. Tomorrow will be more work, continuing on coming to a place where everyone eventually feels that "this is it" and we are satisfied with our research/planning for the proposal. Until then, only time can tell :)

Crunch time

Today was a surprisingly productive day, granted it was difficult getting started/organized without Dr. K, but we did well. The planning/design team did a great job of giving us a visual to what they are proposing the exhibit to look like and that was very beneficial to the research group. We uploaded more to the wiki and assigned further research tasks for our I496 assignment, so now a bunch more of us (I believe Marc, Dan, Kelly, Brandon, Ed, and myself) are headed back to the library again on Friday for more digging!

As for my individual project, I am feeling a bit lost. Well a bit is an understatement. I know who I want my audience to be, and an idea of what to do, but the details are not falling into place for me yet. Is assigning students to research/create a public service announcement about community issues (past or present) "public history-e enough" as Ed says? I'm one of those people who usually need more structure/guidance, so not having a lot is killing me.

It's a beautiful day at the library...

Yesterday Brandon, Amanda, Erica and myself had a very productive day at the Library of MI. Granted, we could not stay for too long (with class/work conflicts) but working together the four of us really multiplied our productivity. Brandon and Erica went through newspapers, while Amanda went through some books, and I complied the information on a document to be loaded on the wiki. The information we found was mostly in newspaper clippings from the late 50's through 70's regarding I-496 and GM's role in that through expansion, and also some amazing photographs of the area. I'm really happy right now, but I am still concerned. I feel in our smaller groups we are making progress and that is wonderful. But as a whole we are as a class maybe heading in two different paths (not all that different from one another), because we are all not exactly clear on the specific one path we should all be geared towards. We need to talk across groups more and more so that we can all come together and our research/planning can come together!

My individual project & Class project

I'm struggling with the idea for an individual project. I am one of those people who have always been told what to do, how to do it, what to write on, or even when we were given "freedom" there was always set choices. I know I want my intended audience to be students, since they are going to be my future focus in my career :) I'm debating the idea of a field trip or class project in the community, and I wanted to focus on my hometown Utica. I don't know a whole lot about Utica's history or any specific problems it may have had/has, so I thought I'd start digging around there. Still working out the details, but those are my thoughts for now.

Today's class I feel was very productive. It seems individually people are working away on their specific tasks, and it was good to talk face to face and with the planning group. I will be curious to see how it will all come together as we gather more info, nail down an exact plan, etc. So far, I feel overwhelmed but it will be easier as we work together.

General Motors in photos

Before being able to get to the Library of MI tomorrow after class, I didn't want to just wait to do my GM reading/research/etc. I stumbled across a book on GM while searching google books and it turns out the Library of MI has it! I was very excited because the book seemed to be something of interest (particularly with an exhibit) because it is a large collection of photos and descriptions. Looking through it online, "General Motors: A Photographic history" by Michael Davis shows a photographic timeline of the development of GM, many of its workers, plants, car types, etc throughout the years in Detroit, Livonia and Lansing. I want to have a more in depth look at it, so obviously tomorrow when I go I will be able to rather than just previews of it online. Any photos or things I find more relevant I will post/upload at a later time! Just excited to finally find something :)

Group work in research

Hey guys! I posted this on the wiki but not sure if it worked and/or if I put it in the right place:

I have Tuesday afternoon off of work so I wanted to try and head to the Library of MI (since they have such wonderful hours). Anyone need and/or want to go with me? I'd be happy to drive!

Brandon- Ever hear from the GM archives in Sterling Heights? Just wondering :)

Getting started...

Today in class I feel we accomplished a lot in our research and writing groups. Establishing tasks for certain groups of people, collaborating ideas, and really getting a feel for where we are headed makes me feel SO much better about this proposal project. I'm really excited to dig in with Brandon, Dan, and Erica on the GM stuff and see what we can bring to the rest of the research group :)

The visit to the Michigan Historical Center last Thursday definitely was incredibly insightful, and I was surprised because I had just went on Tuesday so I wasn't expecting it to be much more on top of that. A behind the scenes look at how they creatively construct the visuals in the exhibits and getting to ask more questions was very much appreciated. We all have now gotten a chance to see the type of exhibits the museum presents, and the majority of them are loaded with interactive aspects of video, hands on, or shocking aspects. This is due to the major audience, being elementary school students, so it makes sense. My concern is though how we can make a sensitive subject of the construction of I496, where people lost their homes and communities and there was severe racial consequences, into something interactive or 'fun'. I know those two don't always come together, but it seems that a lot of them are at least intended to be that way. Just a concern of mine, but I know that collaborating together we can work it out.

Staying on track...

I feel very out of the loop for HST 480. Thursday after class I had to head back to the east side of the state for a funeral, with the viewing, mass and burial all spread out over these past three days. With that being said, I've been a bit distracted mentally. I don't want to be too far off track for our proposal ideas and plans, so I've been anything major that I may have missed please let me know :) Thanks all, I truly appreciate it.

MHC archive resources

My TE class today took a tour of the MHC with other 400 sections and was able to get a presentation on using the online archived information that the MHC holds. The two websites are: http://seekingmichigan.org and www.michigan.gov/archivesofmi. I'm going to check them out in continuing to research some information for our class project and thought other people may want to use it!

The difficult road ahead...

I have been attempting to construct some sort of map with business locations and any community areas pre-I496 to 'pinpoint the boundaries' that our focus point 1 topic has outlined, and let me just say how difficult that has been. Information on the internet is so scarce, and apart from background texts our class has already read through, outside of that is very limited. My search will continue, but I feel I will inevitably fall back on majority of the texts others have already investigated to find any substantial information. From the Matt Miller article, I was able to only pull about one business location for Lett's Fashion. I wanted to be able to find grocery stores, corner stores, small businesses, and other community areas to make a reconstruction of what it looked like (much like our interactive walk through we did for the first day of class). I know this is such a focused problem in Lansing MI in particular that I wasn't expecting thousands of websites, but any sort of maps, pictures, or anything from a search would have been really wonderful.

African American community in Lansing and I496 (focus 1)

Being that I was sick and not in class on Thursday, I'm having a difficult time wrapping my head around this focus option one. I get the directions and what the topic is, but approaching such a unique issue in creating our opinions about someone’s community seems maybe too broad, invasive or not fair. I’m not completely sure. A community can be defined as "a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage" (dictionary.com). The area we are examining had homes, families, businesses, churches, and organizations, all the ingredients that make up a community. So with that being said, my question now is, how wasn’t there an African American community in Lansing before/throughout the construction of I 496? Maybe I’m missing the point, which I’m sure was elaborated on in class, but my search will continue as I pick my brain for how to create a proposal for an exhibit based on the argument of a community in Lansing and how I496 affected it. I looked into some background reading notes other people in class did, such as "Capital and Communities in Black and White: The Intersections of Race, Class, and Uneven Development" by Gregory Squires that Heather read and "The Interstate 496 Residential Relocation Survey" by Bruce C. Brown that Brandon read which I thought could supplement this idea of who was living there, not just in race and class, and development of highways impacting them. Obviously interviews would be helpful, along with photos and other primary documents from the time of construction.

Anyone who can help clarify for me any further, I would greatly appreciate it :)

Visting the MHC

Yesterday we were fortunate enough to visit the Michigan Historical Center in Lansing and listen to two presenters share their own knowledge surrounding our project. I really wish we would have had more time to explore the MHC more, being that I had never been there before. Our presenters gave us a lot of information on urban development in Lansing, construction of I 496, and exhibits in museums in general, but I also would have loved to got the opportunity to even have a walk through of the building. Of course I can do this on my own, but in the context of our class with 'finding out audience', building a potential exhibit idea, and creating a proposal I feel it would have been beneficial. Overall, we received a ton of information for continuing our project and narrowing down ideas further!

"Divided Highways" by Tom Lewis

Tom Lewis’ book "Divided Highways" gives good background knowledge on construction of highways and its impact consequently on the surrounding culture, particularly the Interstate Highways. The book jump starts in the 1950's "Golden Age", with the steadily growing car industry, post war boom, and continued expansion across the United States. Part one of this book was more in the context of the 1950's and doesn't quite seem to apply to the path we are taking in investigating I 496. Part two dives into the process of creating unification within the committees nationally, formulating plans, and Interstate 80 expansion. Part three delves into the drama certainly associated with this process of construction with conflicting ideas, even about things such as color for the signs. This book was a broader look at interstate highway construction with its impacts on society and was outcomes it created.

Acts or events or groups: Federal Aid Highway Act 1965 (121), Route Numbering Committee (136), Federal Highway Administration, Bureau of Public Roads, American Highway Users Alliance, Road Gang (220), Federal Highway Act 1972,

Main historical players mentioned in the text have been: Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, and Nixon, William Levitt ('father of suburbia'), Tom MacDonald (Bureau of Public Roads), Jamet Bonnema (256; for highway history specifically)

Scanning through the sources Lewis uses a variety of books, interviews, and newspaper articles from credible sources like the Washington Post and New York Times.

Something kind of off topic is the race issues brought to attention in this book subtly, "In 1956, the Bureau of Public Roads employed few African-Americans in any capacity" (132) and "Much of the failure came about because large cities, particularly older cities in the East, were in serious trouble. Lured by the siren call of suburbia, whites had long since abandoned their urban apartments and left the task of maintaining an older infrastructure to minorities" (249). I found this interesting in that our project has been on my mind, and has deep racial factors in the problem. He continues on to talk about other social/cultural factors that were specific about the Bureau of Public Roads and the highway construction itself.

My initial reaction to it was that for such a specific project that we are working on, a piece like this won't be that valuable. It is great for building background knowledge on highway construction, but the issues we are investigating dives much deeper.

Nearby history...

The David Kyvig and Myron Marty book "Nearby History" is by far my favorite class text. Although some of it may seem obvious, it is important to examine and bring attention to the basics of "nearby" history with "what had happened nearby to someone, their neighbors, ancestors, and other ordinary people had shaped their lives". His focus on historians (and civilians in general) to dig into local accounts, grassroots movements, photographs, and elements of family to get a more concrete understanding of nearby history is incredibly important. It is interesting to think about legal documents like your birth certificate or future wedding photos are part of the nearby history in your life and could be examined/interpreted to give someone a look into what your life was like. Kyvig's book also outlined appropriate uses of sources, research tips, hundreds of potential questions to ask, and how to examine sources for a project, which is beneficial for any student working on a paper/project/proposal or even a lesson plan (for all the wonderful TE people like myself haha!).

Digging into the I 496 controversy

The construction of I496 in Lansing impacted not only the commute for people heading to work, but the community, and more specifically the families whose houses got completely turned upside down. The photographs from the Lansing State Journal of the demolition of homes was devastating to see, especially when you put yourself in the perspective of that being your home being flattened. The Miller article added to the personal connection of this project to those who lived in the area, "But when he dreams about home, he still dreams of 1212 W. Main, a house long torn down, a yard where the weeping willow trees have been uprooted. And he dreams of a neighborhood cut in half to make way for Interstate 496" (Miller).

Several questions I had were from reading about the construction, seeing the maps, and viewing the pictures:

- How did they argue the benefits of the construction for the communities (particularly those being dominantly nonwhite) in jobs? Did they follow through in the hiring or work that was benefitted from this project for those people? And were they easily transitioned in to new homes?

- Now with Lansing suffering through the hard economic times that we as a country are going through, was it worth it now to ruin all the homes and businesses that the construction did?

- Did MSU have any role or opinion in the controversy of the construction of I 496?

Union Depot

Searching for historic site number 2 for this class, I wanted to pick something in the downtown area. I found a register of historic sites in lansing and selected something other than the capital area sites, since I figured a lot of people would be doing that. Upon pulling up I was confused because there was no definite sign with the address for the Union Depot, just an abandoned building, pizza shop, and a restaurant. I took some pictures of the surrounding area and headed home to look it up. Upon searching, I find that the old train station was turned in to a restaurant, so no wonder it wasn't as obvious to me (although it should have been since the restaurant area was all decored in railroad esque decorations). It now is presented as Clara's Restaurant and is reserved in a different form. While running, the train station connected Pere Marquette and Michigan Central.

Visitor questions:

- Why was this made in to a resturant?

- When did the station stop running?

Historian questions:

- What was removed/taken when the renovation happened?

- Is there any part of the railroad (or station) preserved in the restaurant?

You can do something besides teach with a history degree?

Robert Kelley's article dove deep into the path college students could take in public history and where that path leads post graduation. Obviously, there are many jobs one could take on with a degree in history, but people are quick to assume that is naturally just teaching. Kelley was very specific in outlining the masters/doctorate program that can/should be offered for those interested in public history and he emphasized team work and historical method analysis within public history. He identifies public historians as potential expert eye witnesses, researchers, consultants, and working within business/corporate to bring their expertise into these areas. So where does this leave us for our class project? Taking the simplistic points first, team work will be essential in making our proposal a meaningful and successful product when we are through. As Knupfer says, "Standing on the shoulders of others is where projects/historical works come from"; so recognizing this is not something we can accomplish (the best, anyway) alone. Collaborating with others for bouncing off ideas and being flexible to change will help make the I496 project the best it can be.

"What is or ought to be the relationship between what happened in the past and how we interpret and present history in the present?"- Thelen

The Enola Gay controversy comes from how the exhibit presented the history of dropping the atomic bomb on Japan. The Enola Gay controversy debated over the script which was presented with the exhibit explaining the historical account of the bombing of Japan during the WWII era. Thelen does a great job of building some background around the controversy, and shows some of the major players in the argument such as members of Congress, WWII veterans, scholars, and the general public. I completely agree when he says that recognizing the skills and courage it took American soliders on the Enola Gay to drop that atomic bomb comes from the exhibit and the museum exhibit "has nothing to do with approving (or disapproving) Harry S. Truman's decision to drop the bomb or the consequences of the act".
Many veterans and the American Air Force Association have argued that the exhibit did not properly show their side of the event and did not portray soldiers in a positive light. The counterargument is that this is a display of history, not of heritage, so the exhibit showed the result of decisions from our government that they were to carry out. The devastation to Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a result of Truman's decision is in a hot debate in itself, weighing the number of lives actually saved versus those destroyed, and also the alternatives to the bomb that could have been utilized. The exhibit went through a huge public struggle, and ultimately ended up in December 2003 at the National Air and Space Museum.
Looking into the Enola Gay exhibit controversy made me think about our class project for the construction of I496. Granted, it is not even close to the same level of devastation and upset as dropping a bomb, but there were still consequences to the decision in building it and families suffered displacement from their homes.

Maine State Standards

The website for Maine's state social studies curriculum opened up to a page simply stating: "Performance level definitions are developed to describe the quality of a students responses on the Maine Educational Assessment (MEA) in relation to the standards for achieving Maine's Learning Results. These definitions will provide language for use in standard setting and reporting." I had to dig through the website, mostly with links encouraging kids to take the MHSA SAT, to try to find any social studies framework for standards. I finally found the 5 page PDF for "Major Enduring Themes in Social Studies" after much searching. This document is incredibly different from Michigan's extensive layout for social studies curriculum. The standards were laid out in options as a whole, not directed for specific grades, and were unbelievably general. One of their options, specifically Option 2 CSSAP, breaks down civics, economics, geography, and history with 4-5 additional notes below each. It does not direct any exact topics or events to follow, rather for example in history, it says "comparative history of major developments". This is very different when you look at Michigan's very specific outlines for each era or event in history, directing us to make sure we hit on specific points.

Being a future educator this made me think how we are often mad at the restrictions that the state has laid out for our curriculum, often limiting our ability to make genuine lesson plans. Looking at Maine's much more simplistic lay out though I'm not sure which would be worse. Some outline, or almost rubric you could say, helps keep you on the right track towards achieving an ultimate goal. How do they know what their students will be tested on? How do they keep somewhat of a unification in the Social Studies department in the curriculum among different teacher's classrooms? Maybe this is discussed further, but in this document I saw very little specifics about anything really.

"Time had no meaning, life had no meaning"- FUBAR

Only having watched a small part of Burn's film I can only speculate how wonderful the rest of it would be. This film is exactly what we idealize for connecting to the public about history utilizing local stories, photographs, streaming footage, letters and personal accounts to really connect to the audience. The veterans interviewed are brave enough to discuss these very personal experiences, discuss heroic feats on their part, and are presented as unbelievably strong.

Burns seems to support the accounts with photographs and video footage, which probably are dominantly from that particular time or event. But he also probably used a lot of general footage or photographs of soldiers, fighting, and the warfare that may not have necessarily been from that particular discussed event or time period; but the truth is who would know other than him and who captured the photography?

This film is different in that you aren’t seeing a bunch of academic historians’ opinions or knowledge of WWII, some never even soldiers themselves. Rather you hear firsthand accounts from veterans, letters, video, photographs, and journals right from the heart of the conflict. I really enjoyed the film, even though it discussed some of the more viewed "failures" from the war, it was compelling and amazing.

History Channel

For our investigation into shows on the history channel, I decided to browse my options last night. Unfortunately on the website guide, the only shows that were on while I was home from school/work were Modern Monsters, Ice Road Truckers, Axe Men, and Ganglands. Don't get me wrong, they are all shows I really do love for entertainment purposes, but did not fit the criteria for what we needed as a historical show. The History Channel's agenda for placing shows like Ice Road Truckers and Ganglands on at times when people are most likely home proves their targeted audience. Meanwhile shows that have more historical content are placed late at night or early in the morning, where they are less likely viewed by the every day person.

I chose to watch one of the shows online Ancient Discoveries: Lost Science of the Bible, and it was incredibly fascinating. The show followed some of the controversies around the stories in the Bible and whether the amazing details in the Bible could be true. Science was utilized to supplement the claims that the stories like the Tower of Babel and David and Goliath. I immediately found this interesting because speculation around the Bible is so common, whether people are debating the events, people, or the possible hidden messages within in. It is incredible that they are taking stories from the Bible and proving them with scientific evidence and tests. Although the Bible has been debated in its historical accuracy by some, these events and stories could not be denied with scientific evidence.

The purpose of an episode like this was to take stories documented from ancient times and prove their claims with scientific proof of its possbility. Granted this wasn't a special on WWII or The Civil Rights Movement, I still respect the historical content in the Bible and other ancient texts.

A trip down heritage lane...

While reading through “The Heritage Crusade and the Spoils of History” by David Lowenthal I found myself thinking about the sense of belonging we so desperately seek as human beings, which is only natural. Heritage plays a key role in that belonging and knowing where you came from; even as early on as middle schools (and sometimes elementary school) kids are doing heritage projects or family trees. It has a similar, funny parallel to how so many argue about history that you “need to know where you came from to know where you’re going”. Lowenthal points out that the search for legacy and heritage can uproot “unwelcomed legacies” that your ancestors have left behind, which may be associations you want to avoid. The point is your past doesn’t set the path for you; America is founded on the values of climbing up the social strata and succeeding beyond your socioeconomic status to great heights. What heritage is important in is that it can set a sense of morals, beliefs, a sense of belonging, and taking responsibility for what we do in our lifetime. Throughout history, heritage has played a crucial role in government, whether passing on leadership, and in lineage has also been important in certain inheritances. Right now, as both members of our family and citizens of this society, we are leaving behind legacies about our culture and the world around us that people will be looking back on some day; much like we do with, say the 1950s “Golden Age”. I wonder what our life will be summed up as in a catch phrase?

Adventures with Cavalcade of America

Having already had a brief overview from Ian Tyrell's book about Cavalcade for America, I thought I was fairly prepared for what I thought it would be like. Surprisingly it was a light hearted comedy in a play form with musical background additions, following a storyline of characters the listeners could easily relate to. Tyrell compares it to the other radio show Headlines saying, “Cavalcade sought to use the past to legitimate the present, whereas the Headlines sought to use the present as a window to stimulate critical interest in the past” (105). Who is right? Which message is better? Either way, it was history connecting to the public in a medium that was all the rage at that time, and creating an audience for the past and current events.
I chose the Cavalcade of America clip called “The Gals They Left Behind” assuming it would be about the life of women during the war, and I truly respect women a lot during that time in history. During WWII women stepped up to incredible feats while their husbands, sons, brothers, or boyfriends were over fighting the war, and this episode followed two women through both their struggles and ridiculous stories of success. This particular episode of Cavalcade of America followed Taffy and Jo, whose sweethearts were both in the war, and they were trying to survive together. Jo inherits a farm from her aunt that is a total dump, and the duration of the play follows them while they attempt become farmers. Despite criticism from neighboring characters, they were successful until the winter time hits. Jo relays the stories to Bill, her sweetheart, in letters being sent to him. Jo and Taffy confide in one another of the loneliness they feel from being alone and the struggles of running a farm. This is something that listeners who experienced the emptiness and hardship of making it on their own can certainly relate to, obviously mostly women. This story seems to emphasize though that although they are getting through it together, the ultimate focus is their sweethearts and how much they depend on them to survive. This Cavalcade episode seemed to promote support of the war effort and women's role while men were gone.
I think Cavalcade of American was a great way for historians to communicate with the general public, making past and present events interesting, sometimes comical, and character based that the audience could try to relate to. The drawbacks of using media like this to present history in an often fictional story line could sometimes cloud certain facts or present it from only one perspective.


(http://www.archive.org/details/CavalcadeOfAmerica Clip: 44-08-14_CavalcadeOfAmerica_396_TheGalsTheyLeftBehind.mp3 )

Can history "come alive"?

It was teased today in class that people often use that metaphor to describe their ability to present history in a vibrant and enthusiastic way. History obviously can't literally come alive, since much of history is done or the people are long gone, but rather it is making the content relevant and meaningful. This is a phrase we use in education a lot, because we are striving to make connections to students to history so it can become 'alive'. Thoughts?

“Honest history must often be unsettling, even jarring”- Brinkley

a) First, do you agree with Tyrrell and, to some extent Brinkley’s, observation that something is “wrong” with history?

I can’t agree fully that something is “wrong” with history, rather misunderstood by varying accounts, perspectives, in context, and bias with source taken from. Tyrrell’s observation that something is “wrong” with history is more around the idea of perspectives. What’s “wrong” with history is in the eyes of the beholder, whether they support or are against certain people, events, beliefs, countries, etc, will influence their opinion on how things of the past have happened. The problem is that the academic world is becoming powerless for the main source of information, leading the way for others to fill in the cracks. Information being fed from the New York Times editor versus someone in the academic historical community could produce two completely different pieces of text on the same event or person. And who will be more likely read by the everyday person?

Brinkley tends to put the ball into the historians and scholars’ court, saying that it is their duty to fulfill in making their academic historical works accessible; otherwise it will be left to others “less qualified” to reach the general public. We discussed this in class on our first day when asked where the general public gets their history from, that being the History Channel, movies, etc, and not from scholars or academic texts. What’s wrong with history is making it out of the reach of every day citizens to understand and relate to. Brinkley urges the history scholars and academic writers to find their links to the public to fuel the spread of knowledge.

Specialization has also been challenged and debated as a problem, arguing its effectiveness and use in the light of historical information. The “waves” of specialization have changed around social progresses, events, leaders, and around the context of the time period it was in, and it has been argued that “For the first time historians took seriously the possibility that academics’ specializations might be incompatible, not bricks that could be connected in a common edifice as Jameson had hoped” (33). I feel that specialization can become a problem when it is focused on to deep and the reader must go beyond to find multiple perspectives to understand the event, person, or examined issue.

High school text books are generally written from a white American male perspective, leaving events to be portrayed in the bright light of “we do no wrong” as Americans, and our history is written as “settled” and not “invaded” from the Native Americans. Primary sources are presented as inserted boxes that are often skipped over when reading is assigned. The same can be seen throughout accounts of history, presented in whatever light the author believes or supports. The Nazi’s aren’t going to paint the history of World War II and the Holocaust in the same way that a Jew would at that time; that is obvious. So when reading texts, historical accounts, scholar work, articles, etc, the reader needs to be aware of bias and opinions of the author itself.

b) Second, do you see yourself as being the kind of audience that the historians in the readings are trying to reach? Outside of academic settings, are the works of academic scholars your first resort in trying to understand the past?

Much of college undergrad texts and required readings come from primary sources and academic sources, so I would say that whether we are the kind of audience they intended or not, we do make up a big majority. Outside of working on a research paper or something for class, works of academic scholars are not always my first resort. I find they aren’t always easily understood, layered with a lot of bias and personal information, and not a quick reference.

Introduction

Introduction:

My name is Christina Larsen and I am a senior at MSU going in to secondary education, with a history major, geography minor and completing the Rx Endorsement. I will graduate in December 2010, which is an extra semester than originally planned, but I will be able to complete the Rx Endorsement and work for a semester before starting student teaching in August 2011. I have wanted to be a teacher since 7th grade when I had a teacher who sparked my fascination in history. Throughout MSU I have had opportunities to be in a variety of classes absorbing history I hadn't been exposed to previously. I want to make my students interested in history, since many kids who I have talked to absolutely hate history. In utilizing a variety of perspectives, sources, teaching strategies, and projecting my enthusiasm in history will hopefully help in achieving this goal. This HST 480 class is so far very unique to any other history class I have taken at MSU and I'm excited to get more hands on in our community with history.



Our first assignment was to visit a historic site near us and analyze using the perspective of a visitor versus a historian. Since I was already in East Lansing for work when we received the email with the assignment, I chose a site locally to investigate. I chose Mt. Hope Cemetery in East Lansing MI, but unfortunately I was unable to take any pictures because I broke my digital camera recently (which I am very prone to). Upon entering the cemetery you see the archway entrance that opens into the large expanse of land dotted with tombstones. Visiting any cemetery is always difficult for me, particularly when I see grieving families while I am there, because I feel as though I am intruding on their very personal experience.

What questions would any visitor ask about this site?

- What's the oldest tombstone here?

- Is there anyone famous buried here?

- Are any of my ancestors buried here?

What questions would a historian ask about this site?

- When was the cemetery established?

- How many plots are here?

- Why was this cemetery built here?

- What was this land before it was a cemetery?


Any questions or comments are very welcome :)