Paper Example on Historical Museums in the USA

Introduction

The Historical Museums of today are filled with stories, memories, and information of a town or cities historical past. The smaller museums are often houses of once prominent people or possibly the oldest surviving house. Many times, these houses not only reflect the past, but have left an impact on local or United States history. Whether the buildings are large or small, they are always filled with artifacts, and objects donated throughout the years. Historical societies and volunteers play a large role in the functioning of a museum. A visit by students or residents to a museum can bring them closer to their communities. The importance of people visiting museums is that they often take away knowledge, a connection to the community, and pride in their ancestors.

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Museums began to appear in the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries. These museums began as collections of an individual's books, and at times held their personal journals or diaries. Expansion of museums grew to include the collection and preservation of various artifacts from specific time periods. Many of the artifacts are used to interpret the lives of people during specific. A small museum could include objects from local Native Americans, Geological specimens from the region, and the farming or industrial aspects related to the region.

Historical museums serve various roles in the country at certain levels. It has played a crucial role in education and further brought modifications to this sector. The educational role of historical museums in the United States of America (USA) has been evolving concerning how it is viewed and its relevance in predominant institutional resolutions. On the other hand, historical museums also partake the crucial role of developing accounts especially those of exclusion of groups such as the French. The contribution of historical museums to various sectors in the USA is relevant since they also boost their development. Also, it is vital to comprehend the struggles faced by historical museums in the USA to remain pertinent despite financial problems. Efforts of individuals behind their maintenance and efforts undertaken should be recognized especially due to their significance in the contemporary world.

Historical museums in the USA have further been integrated to include disciplines such as health and medicine. Apart from educational contribution, they can also be perceived to be of aesthetic value. Human body changes can easily be comprehended through the utilization of features in the historical museums. The study seeks to evaluate the contribution of historical museums in the USA to fields such as education and the participation of stakeholders to their maintenance.

Annotated Bibliography

Bowen-Murphy, A. (2013). National Museum of Health and Medicine. Journal Of American History, 100(3), 775-781.

The author has analyzed historical museums preserved for health and medicine purposes. Various historical museums linked to health and medicine have been analyzed. They display the complexity of history and at the same time, appreciate the modern advances especially in the military medical care and biomedical research. The National Museum of Health and Medicine (NMHM) has a rich heritage as a principal medical research organization constituting unique items that attract various visitors. Despite its focus on medical elements, it has been depicted that the museum has enabled people to appreciate history and all its features especially when exhibitions are undertaken (Bowen-Murphy, 2013).

Dunnett, O., Maclaren, A. S., Klinger, J., Lane, K. M. D., & Sage, D. (2017). Geographies of outer space: Progress and new opportunities. Progress in Human Geography, 0309132517747727.

The authors have acknowledged the significance of ancient scholars to the contribution and development of historical knowledge and museums. They have done this through the study of arts, humanities, and social sciences. Also, the article has established the importance of outer space geographies and their contribution to the development and nurturing of historical museums. Moreover, it has been depicted that human geography can offer immediate opportunities to the advancement of historical museums. The human geography in place entails cultural, historical, political and environmental. In the end, they all result to relevant knowledge for application in the historical museums (Dunnett, Maclaren, Klinger, Lane & Sage, 2017).

Oguntoyinbo, L. (2015). Preserving a Legacy. (cover story). Diverse: Issues In Higher Education, 32(1), 10-12.

The article has debated the struggle faced by African-American historical museums in the USA to stay significant despite facing financial pressures. Museums studied include the International Civil Rights Center and Museum in Greensboro and the DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago, Illinois. The article has further indicated that forty percent of African-American historical museums face financial difficulties. However, they are still in operation due to the high value accorded to historical elements and the need to preserve the heritage. Additionally, it has been depicted that certain groups have come up to build a new museum and thus support the efforts of those who have been maintaining them as well (Oguntoyinbo, 2015).

SAUL, G., & JOLIE, R. (2018). Inspiration from Museum Collections: An Exhibit as a Case Study in Building Relationships between Museums and Indigenous Artists. American Indian Quarterly, 42(2), 246-270.

Historical museums contain collections used as a source of inspiration as exhibited in the source. They endeavor to institute and further develop associations with native groups, communities, and people as well. An example utilized is the work of the Alfonso Ortiz Center that supports projects and displays like the components of the earth. They thus give one a chance to reflect on the procedure of developing reciprocal working associations. As such, the source as employed an exhibit as a case study to depict the aspect of inspiration from museum collections. The support and proper maintenance of historical museums have further been depicted to impart to the youth their cultural significance and how practices such as clay harvest were relevant to communities (Saul & Jolie, 2018).

Shreiner, T. L. (2017). Helping Students Use World Historical Knowledge to Take a Stand on a Contemporary Issue: The Case of Genocide. History Teacher, 50(3), 359-380.

The article investigates the way students can be assisted to employ ancient information and take a position on a certain modern matter, in this instance, a genocide. The importance of historical information as a source of background and the capability to contribute to policy issues has been discussed. It has been depicted that history is a rich source of information needed for application on various policy matters. It thus shapes the way policies will be developed and implemented. Besides, it also has details on teaching about certain genocide incidents which are then applied to decide on an issue such as its impact (Shreiner, 2017).

Sutter, G. C., Sperlich, T., Worts, D., Rivard, R., & Teather, L. (2016). Fostering cultures of sustainability through community-engaged museums: The history and re-emergence of ecomuseums in Canada and the USA. Sustainability, 8(12), 1310.

The article has explored the community-based culture and customs initiatives by considering the way museums in the USA and Canada have been designed. As such, the focus is on ecomuseums which are viewed to be quite accessible units and not associated with any political perspectives or opinions. In this way, it has been depicted that they nurture creative transformation and adaptation aimed at sustainability. Historical museums according to the authors is quite valuable to society and country at large due to the depiction of varying cultures and geographical context. Individuals extract important knowledge from them as well (Sutter, Sperlich, Worts, Rivard & Teather, 2016).

Valdeon, R. A. (2015). Colonial museums in the US (un) translated. Language and Intercultural Communication, 15(3), 362-375.

The role of historical museums in the USA in the development of anglophone stories has been explored in the article. Open-air museums that conserved old buildings and other areas indicative of the colonial past have further been emphasized. The Kress and van Leeuwen's model have also been employed when analyzing multimodal manuscripts. Additionally, the Belgian empire has been applied has been applied to justify the relevance of historical museums that enabled its easy exhibition to scholars. As such, it enhanced their understanding (Valdeon, 2015).

Williams, C. (2016). The museum effect: how museums, libraries and cultural institutions educate and civilise society.

The article has explored the way historical museums, cultural institutions, and libraries educate and refine the society. As such, it has been referred to as the museum effect. It has been depicted to be what occurs when one come across a book, art work or incident that results in them reflecting on their identity. Individuals who explore museums utilize that opportunity to contemplate on their lives and community and thus transform into better people. Therefore, the author has depicted the positive impact of visits to museums which is mainly to educate and further change people to being better (Williams, 2016).

References

Bowen-Murphy, A. (2013). National Museum of Health and Medicine. Journal Of American History, 100(3), 775-781.

Dunnett, O., Maclaren, A. S., Klinger, J., Lane, K. M. D., & Sage, D. (2017). Geographies of outer space: Progress and new opportunities. Progress in Human Geography, 0309132517747727.

Oguntoyinbo, L. (2015). Preserving a Legacy. (cover story). Diverse: Issues In Higher Education, 32(1), 10-12.

SAUL, G., & JOLIE, R. (2018). Inspiration from Museum Collections: An Exhibit as a Case Study in Building Relationships between Museums and Indigenous Artists. American Indian Quarterly, 42(2), 246-270.

Shreiner, T. L. (2017). Helping Students Use World Historical Knowledge to Take a Stand on a Contemporary Issue: The Case of Genocide. History Teacher, 50(3), 359-380.

Sutter, G. C., Sperlich, T., Worts, D., Rivard, R., & Teather, L. (2016). Fostering cultures of sustainability through community-engaged museums: The history and re-emergence of ecomuseums in Canada and the USA. Sustainability, 8(12), 1310.

Valdeon, R. A. (2015). Colonial museums in the US (un) translated. Language and Intercultural Communication, 15(3), 362-375. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14708477.2015.1015351.

Williams, C. (2016). The museum effect: how museums, libraries and cultural institutions educate and civilise society.