Cultural History Commons^™

Crowdsourcing History: When We All Get To Help, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

I'm a bit bitter this week. The arrival of the Space Shuttle Discovery to the Washington, D.C. area has got me down. My first dream job as a kid, before I wanted to be a LEGO model designer or National Park Service ranger, was the illustrious position of space garbage man. I think part of that came from my grandfather's penchant for taking me around the neighborhood on trash day during his smoke breaks and picking through the fine assemblages of junk the neighbors had left by the curb. There was some sort of glamour in the idea of seeing …

Dead Is Dead: Why 20% Doesn't Matter, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

Over at Cosmic America, Keith Harris beat me to the punch on this one. But Jake can attest to the fact that, since the "news" of the revision of Civil War dead up by 130,000 broke, I have been grumbling on and off.

Once Upon A Time In Gettysburg: Sometimes It Works, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

Monday night, I took my class out on the 'battlefield.' I know some of them are taking my class because, "it's Gettysburg College and I should take a Civil War class before I leave." I couldn't resist the siren call to show them where they have lived for four years and transform the meanings of that ground for them. So we went on a campus tour, the battlefield they walk everyday when they go to class or dinner or out to party on a Friday night. [excerpt]

Guest Post: Fear And Loathing At Shiloh, Vanessa Smiley

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

Everyone is and has been talking about the Shiloh 150th commemoration, whether it be the NPS event starting this week or the battle reenactment that took place this past weekend. It has been called the 'Antietam of the West.' All the events surrounding its 150th anniversary have been heralded as being one of 'the big ones' this year. Over 23,000 casualties of both sides in two days - a pretty significant and bloody battle. [excerpt]

Off The Edge Of The Map: The Search For Portuguese Influence On The Piri Reis Map Of 1513, Robert S. Bridges

Student Publications

Left tattered after centuries of ware, hidden in the walls of Topkapı Sarayı, the 1513 map of the Ottoman cartographer Hacı Ahmed Muhiddin Piri has not been properly contextualized in light of Portuguese cartography of the time. In the map’s colophon, Piri Reis indicated that he utilized Portuguese charts as his sources for cartographic depictions of India and China. Scholars have not inspected the full range of contemporaneous Portuguese charts that depict the Indian Ocean Basin in light of the Piri Reis map. My contribution is to examine several late 14th and early 15th century Portuguese cartographical sources and references …

Kingdom Comin': The Largest Slave Rebellion In U.S. History, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

Over at Present in the Past, Michael Lynch recently posted a provocative question and accompanying video about slave revolt. It got the wheels in my head turning. It also helped that Monday night was my first lecture scheduled on my course syllabus to dig into the "political war." My mind's been swimming with concepts of violence and resistance, freedom and slavery.

Your Fortune: Fried Rice And John Brown, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

I had Chinese food Sunday night and it got me thinking. I know that's a very random thing to say, but it's the truth. We don't usually consider Chinese food to be brain food, but for me it can be very powerful stuff. I like the stuff they serve up from the back of the Giant Supermarket here in town. The people who work the counter are always very nice and it tastes just clean enough. I like a bit of mystery in my pork fried rice. [excerpt]

Interpretive Vernacular: Pop Culture Is A Language, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

I trust people who sound like me. I trust people who speak the same language as me. Part of this comes from a simple fact of understanding. I speak very little Spanish, even less French.

But I also speak other languages, and trust people who speak to me in those languages. [excerpt]

Confederates In The Dorm: Hidden In Plain Sight, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

You can imagine the terror in the young 21-year-old's eyes as he realized who was charging down the Cashtown Pike into Gettysburg on the 26th of June. You can feel the chill that might have run down his spine as he realized that the rebel army he had deserted, the one he had escaped by running to the Federal lines, was crashing down upon him again. And the deserter's fate during this war was simple: execution. [excerpt]

Meaningless Landscapes Yield Meaningless Graffiti: Are We All To Blame?, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

It is a juvenile bit of graffiti. Someone has slathered spray paint across the chest and mustache of one of those iconic Gettysburg monuments: the 2nd company, Andrews (Massachusetts) Sharpshooters monument along "the Loop" just to the west of the Wheatfield. The news hist Facebook for me yesterday afternoon, when local historian and house history sleuth Kendra Debany posted the shocking photo on her wall. The kneeling figure now has two cartoonish blue female breasts and a blue handlebar adorning his lip. It is ridiculous. It is uncalled for. [excerpt]

History Not Hokum: Learning From Specters, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

What are we to make of those who literally try to raise the dead at our nation's historical locations? Can ghost tours ever be a successful medium (pun intended) for interpretation? [excerpt]

Practical Necromancy: Raising The Dead For Fun & Profit, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

Our profession is a unique and somewhat strange one. We are paid, fundamentally, to give voice to the voiceless. History is taking the people of the past and breathing into their lungs, letting them speak and act again even though they are long dead. [excerpt]

A Letter Of Man: "And What Is 'Truth'?", John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

Have you seen the letter making the rounds on the internet? It's been tough not to see the letter in the past week or so. And it certainly is powerful and meaningful. Jordan Anderson has struck a chord with modern audiences nearly 150 years after he dictated a snide and sarcastic letter to his former master. Reading over the former slave's word, it feels like he tailored his tone for the tongue-in-cheek, breezy style of the virtual world. [excerpt]

"Realize I Don't Want To Be A Miser": Giving Up Power, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

Oftentimes, 'the visitor is sovereign' is used as a crib notes version of, "the customer is always right." That's not what it was intended to mean. That is a gross bastardization of the concept, in fact. David Larsen in Meaningful Interpretation characterizes it succinctly: "it is the audience that will ultimately decide if they've had a meaningful experience, connected emotionally and intellectually, and believe the place is worth caring about and for." [excerpt]

Sit Down And Cry: Why Our Favorite Joke Is Demeaning, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

A family of visitors walks up to the information desk and smiles at the interpreter. "We have 15 minutes," the father says, "What should we do?"

The interpreter replies with a curt smile: "Sit down and cry." [excerpt]

Anniversaries, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

It has been one year since the birth of this blog. Not one year since our first post. If you run back in our roll, the first post was February 1st 2011. Still, this blog was born on this day one year ago, or at least the ethic which leads me to post week in, week out was. I didn't even realize that fact until a few weeks ago. [excerpt]

I Like Ike's Memorial: Who Owns A Legacy?, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

In 1963, former president Dwight D. Eisenhower spoke in the cemetery at Gettysburg to help celebrate the centennial of Lincoln's Address. His own speech was somewhat lackluster, largely skirting the issue of the war's legacy in the racially charged aftermath of freedom summer. [excerpt]

"...Of Shadow And Substance, Of Things And Ideas": Finding Inspiration In The Twilight Zone, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

"Tonight's story on The Twilight Zone is somewhat unique, and calls for a different kind of introduction. This, as you may recognize, is a map of the United States..."

Of all of the consummate storytellers of the 20th century, no other holds a candle to Rod Serling. In a half-hour, Serling and his corps of writers, directors and actors could weave a small tale into an epic. Serling could strike at the heart of the human soul. He could incisively cut to the core of social and political quandaries, injecting deep meaning through simple stories and fantastic everyday occurrences. [ …

A Century Of Brickmaking At Berlin Junction: A History Of The Alwine Brick Company, Duane F. Alwin

Adams County History

The Alwine family name had been associated with brickmaking in York and Adams Counties at least since the early 1850s, when Peter Samuel Alwine started his first brickyard on a farm in Paradise Township of York County.1 He learned the trade of brickmaking during his youth and by the age of seventeen had become a skilled artisan. He learned how to make bricks by working in the spring and summer months at a brickmaking operation in Peach Bottom Township, located in the southeastern corner of York County. He did not set up his own brickyard until later, and following his …

Adams County History 2011-2012

Adams County History

No abstract provided.

Shedding New Light On A Pennsylvania Painter: Finding "R. Fibich" And His Graveyard, Judith S. Pyle

Adams County History

The painting that would become known as the “York Springs Graveyard” (see cover illustration) was sold to Connecticut folk-art collectors Jean and Howard Lipman in about 1939 by Joe Kindig, an antiques dealer from York, PA. The 18” x 24” oil painting on canvas, of mid-nineteenth-century people and carriages at a cemetery, with cattle in the middle distance, is signed “R. Fibich.” The New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown, NY, subsequently acquired the painting from the Lipmans. It was cleaned, documented, studied, and then exhibited at various venues including the Primitives Gallery of Harry Stone (1942); the Union College of …

The Bbc And The Shaping Of British Identity From 1922 To 1945, Mallory Huard

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

There are few institutions in British history that have had such a massive role in shaping the daily lives of British citizens as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Although the BBC is only about eighty years old, an infant compared to an institution like the British monarchy, its contributions to national identity are practically unparalleled in the twentieth century. The scope of the Corporation in terms of its influence on British life is hard to imagine in a United States with multiple competing and politically-aimed networks. Robin Aitkin, a former BBC reporter and journalist says, “For many it is an …

Merry Christmas From A Land Of Hope And Sorrow, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

I was driving home from work a few weeks ago, flipping through the radio stations and I came upon one of those dedicated progressive/modern/pop holiday formats you hear so often this time of year. I tarried, only planning to spend a moment there. It was a cover version of "O Holy Night" performed by Josh Groban. I'm not the biggest fan of Groban, so my hand instinctively went back to the dial when I stopped. [excerpt]

Saturday Extra: Guerilla Civic Engagement On The Landscape, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

Over at Civil War Memory, Kevin Levin brought the community's attention to some installations placed on the fences surrounding a few of the statues along Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia. The signs are a redress of sorts to the Confederate narrative told through granite, marble and bronze on the massive monuments. They highlight black citizens of Virginia who challenged the racist establishment of the state throughout its history. [excerpt]

The Past Is A Foreign Country: But They Still Eat Ketchup There, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

Earlier this week, the folks over at the Gettysburg National Military Park Facebook page posted a link to their Gettysburg School Bus blog highlighting a post on integrating the Civil War into a language arts curriculum. I love the concept. I think in the current educational environment, which seems to be spurning history and social studies in primary classrooms, anywhere we can integrate the stories of the past into the state's standards, sneaking the history back in, is awesome.

"The Wrong Shall Fail, The Right Prevail, With Peace On Earth, Good-Will To Men!", John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

This past Saturday night, I was standing in one of my old haunts. The Dry Goods Store at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park is perhaps my favorite place to be an interpreter, especially at night. Low wattage lightbulbs (simulating whale oil or tallow lamps) and the darkness outside the windows make that building a perfect time machine. Near the end of the night, a family came in with two enthusiastic sons. One wearing a toy kepi and carrying a brand new souvenir envelope of Confederate money rushed around the store asking if he could, “buy that with this.” His excitement …

Huck Finn, Robot Jim And John Denver: Language, Young Man!, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

I'll be teaching a section of Civil War Era Studies 205, Intro to the Civil War Era at Gettysburg College this spring. I had been puzzling over my book list for the past month or two, trying to decide which tomes to assign to students who need an overview of the era and a firm grounding in the four Civil War historical schools: social, military, political and memory. While Drew Gilpin Faust and Charles Dew have drifted onto and off of and back onto my list as I've been planning, one firm holdout has always been Adventures of Huckleberry Finn …

Forever Free: The Dakota People's Civil War, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

As I mentioned last week, I left Fort Snelling after our tour as part of the National Association for Interpretation annual conference unfulfilled. The potential for high-drama and deeply meaningful connections was palpable on that landscape. The audience, a crowd of interpreters, were begging for meanings. One African American woman in the group, after the site administrator mentioned in passing Dred and Harriet Scott being held at the site, asked about the nature of the labor used to build the fort. I was sitting in the row behind her. I could not see her face. But from the inflection in …

Walking Out On The Meaning: Dedication Day 2011, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

I am a nerd. Last year on November 19th I was stuck in Las Vegas, attending the NAI conference (the same one Jake and I have been grousing about for the last two weeks). This was the first Dedication Day event I had missed since first coming to Gettysburg in 2003. I was upset. I was disconsolate. I trudged the strip dejected. I toured the Atomic Testing Museum, which was fascinating but unfulfilling. I am one of those dorks who doesn't understand how anyone can schedule anything other than a trip to Gettysburg on November the 19th. The glitz of …

Just Interpret To Me: Reflecting On Nai 2011, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

Last week saw Jake and I in St. Paul, Minnesota for the annual National Association for Interpretation workshop, a week long gathering of professional interpreters from around the nation. I'll guarantee that the next couple of weeks will be filled with recaps from both of us on what struck us the most during the conference. Our reactions ranged from "meh..." to "Dude!" [excerpt]