A resource for Harmony An Etunographic Study of Exhibition, Heritage, and Race at Family Heritage House Museum, Bradenton, Florida

Date of Award

2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Baram, Uzi

Keywords

Museums, Material Culture, Exhibition

Area of Concentration

Anthropology

Abstract

This thesis is the product of ethnographic fieldwork spanning from January 2010 to January 2011. The artifacts, exhibits, and events which are a part of Family Heritage House Museum were methodological tools which provided cultural insight into the community-centered African American heritage museum. An analysis of specific artifacts, exhibits, and events illustrate the manner in which exhibition, heritage, and race intersect at Family Heritage House Museum. As an instrument of power exhibition separates the subject from the object turning the intangible and ephemeral responses to culture into a tangible thing. Through this process, the museum constructs heritage for specific social and cultural goals in the present. For African Americans heritage, race and racism are central components. This analysis is used to frame Family Heritage House Museum as a resource that connects African American families, children, and the local community to their heritage in order to inform an African American identity that confronts dominant racial ideology.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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