The Power of Place: Historic House Museums and the Interpretation of History

Friday, April 8, 2005
Room E103
4 p.m.

Dr. Marcia Young (David Davis Mansion Site Superintendent): Doing History in the Marketplace: The Role of the Public Historian

Erika Rozinek Nunamaker '01: History from Things

Megan Mondi '06: Unconventional Classrooms: Historic Sites as Venues for Learning

Matthew Cassady '06: Irish Servants and Historic House Interpretation

April Schultz (History), Moderator

Historic house museums are significant sites for teaching and learning about history. We are extremely fortunate to have one of the best examples of such a powerful place in Bloomington. The David Davis Mansion teaches visitors not only about an important figure in McLean County's past, but places that figure in the context of women, family, and immigration history. In recent years it has expanded its tours by offering elementary and high school students specific lessons in the interpretation of material culture, the relationship between David Davis and Abraham Lincoln, and the celebration of Halloween among it Irish-American servants. Illinois Wesleyan history students have worked with Dr. Marcia Young, the site manager, as interns at the Mansion. This panel will include Dr. Young, who will discuss the role of public history in the historical profession; Erika Rozinek, an alumnus whose work at the Mansion began her professional life in the field, leading to a degree from the top material culture studies program in the country, Winterthur; Matt Cassady, a junior who worked at the Mansion in 2004 researching an Irish servant and creating a character study of that servant for tours; and Megan Mondi, a junior who helped extensively on the education program about Davis and Lincoln.