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Date: | Thu, 14 Sep 1995 11:10:12 -0400 |
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Sorry I missed so much of this thread! The initial title relating to
natural history museums didn't hit my areas of interests. Anyway, I
recently published an essay discussing Disney's proposed Virginia park and
its relationship to the increasing economic necessity to "entertain" that
historic villages currently encounter. The essay, which was written before
Disney backed out, appears in _The New England Journal of History_ Volume
51 (2), Fall 1994, pp. 57-66, if anyone is interested. Among other things
I argued that entertainment in the museum or historic village was not
necessarily a bad thing and in some instances functioned as an important
learning tool. I also argued, to quote from the essay, that "The idea that
Disney's America poses a threat to the integrity of history simply because
it involves play and entertainment does not seem a serious worry to me.
Museums and historic villages have always been in the entertainment
business and the Disney venture will not lead them down a new path. That
living history museums such as Colonial Williamsburg are criticized because
they are entertaining the public while they educate seems unfair and misses
an important point. These places would not exist at all were it not for
tourist dollars."
Chris
******************************************************************************
Christopher D. Geist Phone: (419)372-2981
Chair, Department of Popular Culture FAX: (419)372-2577
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, OH 43403 E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
Visit Our World Wide Web Site: http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/popc/home.html
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