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Subject:
Re: NMAH Material exhibit
From:
"David E. Haberstich" <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 26 Jul 2002 23:01:04 EDT
Content-Type:
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In a message dated 02-07-26 07:24:40 EDT, Deb wrote:

<< The NMAH used to be named something
 like the National Museum of American History and Technology so the scientific
 stuff fits right in. >>

The original name was Museum of History and Technology (a few of us
old-timers still slip and call it MHT), then the National Museum of History
and Technology.  The "history" part was always understood to mean American
political, military, social, and cultural, etc. history, although much of the
"technology" was international in scope.  There was even an exhibition on
Arab pharmacy once, which I recently discovered is still pretty much intact,
although hidden from view.  In the early 1980s the name (and emphasis) was
changed to National Museum of American History.

For what it's worth, I recently had lunch with an administrator of the
museum: he not only was quite unaware of the depth of our non-American
collections, but expressed the opinion that the entire Smithsonian
Institution should be "American" and that museums of African art, Asian art,
and other non-American subjects don't "belong".  I find this a curiously
parochial, if not jingoistic, view.  I forgot to ask him if he felt that the
pandas in the zoo should be returned to China.

Deb, I hope you don't feel I've been picking on you as I've picked apart your
remarks for separate replies.  It was unintentional, and I didn't mean to
send 4 separate messages in one day--that's definitely my limit.  My
apologies to all for being a listhog.

David Haberstich

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