Sandra Kay Gladney <[log in to unmask]> wrote in article > I am a graduate student at the University of Oregon in Arts Management. > I have been participating in this listserv for a few weeks and hope that > some of you can help me, too. > > I am trying to locate organizations that use performance to illustrate > historical people and events. I am reluctant to use the phrase "living > history" because I do not want to limit my search to military > battle reenactment activities. So far I have three organizations identified: Sandra: As someone who wrote his own MA on a related topic a few years back, I can certainly sympathize with your search for information... However, as I'm sure you're beginning to realize from your other replies, "living history" is not limited to "military reenactment." If I may be so bold as to offer a summary definition, "Living history is the interpretation of the past through physicalization on the part of the historian." This is perhaps even more inclusive than your search for the dramatization of history, as it would also include experimental archaeology, reenactment, and a host of other activities. More to the point of your issues, while many have suggested contact with both Association of Living Historical Farms and Agricultural Museums (ALHFAM) and the National Association for Interpretation (NAI) (both on the web); I'd also give your library (or interlibrary loan) a work out.... Try looking at all or some of the following texts: Jay Anderson's various works on living history, including "Time Machines: The World of Living History" and "The Living History Reader"; The annuals of ALHFAM (over a dozen volumes of articles); Warren and Piatt's "History Museums in the United States: A Critical Assessment"; Richard Schechner's "Between Theater and Anthropology"; Steven Eddy Snow's "Theater of the Pilgrims".... and pay close attention to the footnotes and bibliographies, as these will lead you to at least 100 more texts, articles, and items on the subject. Hope this helps, Mark L. Shanks [log in to unmask] "Clio Eternum, Vita Brevis"