Claudia -- thanks for your thoughts. I have a copy of "Presence of the Past"
-- but unfortunately, they don't define the term (unless I have just missed
it, in which case I would appreciate a citation).  They do use the term
often, asking folks how "connected" they feel when they engage in a variety
of activities.  

But my question remains -- what do people mean when they talk about
"connections?"   I have my own opinions, but I am looking for a useful
definition that emerges from either visitor research or the opinion of
thoughtful folks in the field.  It appears that it is a term that both
people in and out of the field (history) just assume is understood, but I
would like to "upack" its meaning.  

Once again, if anyone knows of a citation or source that directly addresses
the meaning of "connection" I would appreciate it.  Otherwise I'll craft my
own definition and see how it goes.

Thanks!

Dale Jones
Institute for Learning Innovation



On Tue, 7 Aug 2007 14:25:37 -0500, Claudia J. Nicholson
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Go back and look at "Presence of the Past" by Rosensweig and Thelen--it is
>probably the clearest thing that came out of their research.
>
>Claudia
>
>
>On 8/6/07 2:20 PM, "Dale Jones" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> Hi -
>>
>> I am preparing a session at AASLH on personal connections to history in
>> museums and am looking for some working definitions, or better yet, a
>> definition that comes out of relevant scholarship.   Many history museums
>> and sites now use some variant of "personal connections" or "connecting to
>> the past" in their mission statements, but I have found none that define
>> what they mean.
>>
>> Any thoughts?
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>> Dale Jones
>> Institute for Learning Innovation
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
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