To Charles Alan Watkins:
 
Re: Request for information on the relationship of theme parks to museums
 
        An interesting and much needed area of inquiry. One citation that
comes to mind is:
 
Wallace, Michael. "Mickey Mouse History: Portraying the Past at Disney
World," in Warren Leon and Roy Rosenzweig, HISTORY MUSEUMS IN THE UNITED
STATES: A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT (Urbana and Chicago:University of Illinois
Press, 1981): 158-80.
 
You might find some more food for thought in:
 
Lowenthal, David. THE PAST IS A FOREIGN COUNTRY (New York:Cambridge
University Press, 1989).
 
Have you considered comparing the visitation statistics of theme parks and
nearby museums over a period of years to see if there is any correlation?
Our local tourist commission keeps those sort of statistics available.
Perhaps others do, too.
 
I have been researching how first-person interpreters and character
roleplayers at living history museums and other places communicate with
their audiences and would be most interested in reading your paper.
 
Stacy
 
Stacy F. Roth                     |    [log in to unmask]
 P.O. Box 383                      |    Voice: (215) 943-1232
 Langhorne, PA 19047               |