Reimagining both the House Museum and Reconstruction memory for the twenty-first century
In Rebirth, public historian Jennifer Whitmer Taylor provides a compelling account of how to reenvision the historic house museum. Anchored by oral history interviews with docents and using the Museum of the Reconstruction Era—formerly known as the Woodrow Wilson Family Home—as a case study, Rebirth offers best practices for interpreting issues of contested public memory, such as white supremacy and domestic political terrorism, for twenty-first-century audiences. Taylor challenges readers to contemplate how historic sites interact with and contribute to vital contemporary political conversations. Rebirth is a necessary book for public history practitioners, students of museum studies and historic site interpretation, and those interested in the history and memory of the Reconstruction era.
Jennifer Whitmer Taylor is assistant professor of public history at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
"Jennifer Whitmer Taylor shows how the story of race relations in the South is both broader and deeper than the critical, but limited, periods of slavery and the civil rights movement."—Alena Pirok, Georgia Southern University, author of The Spirit of Colonial Williamsburg
"Essential reading for all those who care about public history and the historical properties that focus public attention on our shared pasts and futures."—Bruce Baker, Newcastle University, coeditor of Remembering Reconstruction
"Historic house museums are generally thought of as relics of another time, where red velvet ropes and romantic narratives keep honest history at bay. In Rebirth, Jennifer Whitmer Taylor details what is possible when a house museum evolves to re ect a more forthright history and the full spectrum of the human experience. An important addition to the literature on museum studies, as well as the history of Reconstruction, race, and public memory."—Karen L. Cox, UNC Charlotte, author of Dreaming of Dixie
