Interpreting the Civil War at Museums and Historic Sites - (Interpreting History) by Kevin M Levin (Paperback)

About the Book

Interpreting the Civil War at Museums and Historic Sites surveys how museums and historic sites approached challenges during the Civil War sesquicentennial (2011-2015). In doing so, this book offers museums and history professionals strategies to help shape conversations with local communities.

Book Synopsis

Interpreting the Civil War at Museums and Historic Sites surveys how museums and historic sites approached challenges during the Civil War sesquicentennial (2011-2015). In doing so, this book offers museums and history professionals strategies to help shape conversations with local communities.

Review Quotes

Kevin Levin has assembled an impressive cast of practicing public historians whose extensive experience in the field has translated into a series of engaging articles that will appeal to practitioners as well as to students of the Civil War. Each essay asks tough questions about how we communicate with our audiences, and how we might better understand their perspectives in developing new lines of communication with under -represented groups who feel marginalized at military parks and museums. Rather than lament the supposed decline in historical interest in America as is the party-line of cynics today, the authors in this volume offer powerful examples of dynamic exchanges with the public, digging deep into the conversations taking place at Civil War sites, revealing the challenges of interpretation, and pressing us to be more creative and collaborative with our audiences and our colleagues without losing sight of the practical realities in helping the American people think historically about the past.

Kevin Levin has edited a collection that will inform and inspire public historians who are committed to interpreting the Civil War in all its complexity. The authors draw on their experiences as educators, administrators, interpreters, and historians, as they analyze successful--and failed--strategies for interpreting the war. This volume will be welcomed by public historians and museum professionals who want to connect the Civil War-era with urgent issues in contemporary life.

Practitioners of history at Civil War sites and museums will delight in this book. Kevin Levin and his team of essayists provide most useful examples that will assist interpreters (and students) make sense of the War and its legacies.

About the Author

Kevin M. Levin is an award-winning historian and educator based in Boston and has taught American history on both the high school and college levels. He has written and lectured widely on the Civil War Era, historical memory, and public history. Over the years he has led numerous professional development workshops for history teachers at Ford's Theatre, the National Park Service, Massachusetts Historical Society and Yale's Gilder-Lehrman Center. He currently serves on the board of directors of the National Council for History Education.