When I first began to work in museums, I observed that they seemed to
combine the very best AND the very worst of the academic world.

My opinion has not changed greatly over the years and, no, I will not expand
upon my theme. Those of us old enough to remember The Asp will likely
understand what I'm driving at!

Harry

" When Eve upon the first of Men
  The apple press'd with specious cant,
  Oh! What a thousand pities then
  That Adam was not Adamant!"

               -  Thomas Hood (1799-1842) "A Reflection"


Harry Needham, M.A., CFE, etc.
President
Harry Needham Consulting Services Inc.
Training & consulting services for heritage institutions - and others!
74 Abbeyhill Drive
Kanata, Ontario K2L 1H1
Canada
email: [log in to unmask]
(Voice) +1.613.831-1068
(Fax) +1.613.831-9412
----- Original Message -----
From: Elizabeth Stewart <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, September 05, 2000 8:39 PM
Subject: Re: Academia vs. Museum


> Admittedly my experience in regard to this rift is anecdotal, as David
> Haberstich observed, but suggestive nevertheless.  In researching the
> state of "public history" recently for a department considering adding it
> as a component of their M.A. program, I had the opportunity to trace the
> background of academic hostility toward the notion of the professional
> practice of history outside the university.  Some of it had to do with
> legitimate concerns about the loosening of standards in regard to
> historical evidence and its interpretation in the public realm; other
> concerns were only stimulated by "turf-protection" and fears about the
> loss of resources.
>
> Here's the interesting part: when I presented my findings about the
> viability of a public history component to the faculty of this
> university, I prefaced my discussion with a brief history of the
> difficulty that virtually _all_ departments have had in establishing
> these programs.  Ie. the academia vs. museums debate expressed itself in
> pretty wrenching ways within faculties as these programs were set up in
> traditional departments.  I explained that public history now has a
> long-standing experience addressing concerns about rigorousness, and that
> they needn't replicate the same rancorous debates as other departments if
> they familiarized themselves with the excellent work that public
> historians have done.  I explained this verbally and in my written
> report.
>
> Needless to say, they didn't hear me, and the exact same vicious
> tug-of-war has taken place within this department between professors who
> feel a responsibility to prepare M.A.'s for something other than more
> graduate work and those who believe that a public history component can
> only result in the dumbing-down of their intellectually challenging
> program.
>
> The rift appears all but unbridgeable to me, except in this respect: the
> same professors whose distaste might have discouraged me from pursuing
> public history now take pride in my success.  Perhaps this falls into the
> category of backhanded compliment ("some of my best friends are public
> historians"), but maybe their minds can really be changed through
> personal contact with successful and conscientious public historians.
>
> Elizabeth Stewart
>
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