Transformation of Historical Interpretation: the departure of the creation myth from American historic sites

Abstract

The rise of feminist analysis and critical race theory in academia in the 1970s led to an explosion of literature in which scholars created new research and exhibition practices. Some topics of discussion include the omission or sanitation of women’s history and black history and the focus on the idealized great man’s accomplishments in history, in which white men receive reverence while women, Americans of color and working class people are forgotten. I will analyze how these social movements influenced public historians’ work and, in turn, how their scholarship has influenced modern day historical programming through a case study of two Hudson Valley historic sites, Locust Grove in Poughkeepsie, New York and Huguenot Street in New Paltz, New York. In my case study, I will compare primary sources from these sites such as tour guides, furnishing plans, and interviews with current staff members of the historic sites to analyze the changes made in the past 50 years in interpretive practices.