Presenting the past: Education, interpretation and the teaching of black history at Colonial Williamsburg

• Main Author: Ellis, Rex Marshall
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: W&M ScholarWorks 1989
• Subjects: African History; American Studies; Higher Education; Other Education
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1539618660; https://scholarworks.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1870&context=etd

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation began in 1926. Within four years after its initial construction, the need to begin some means of presenting information to a growing population of visitors became apparent. In this study, an attempt will be made to answer the question, "How has the history of interpretation at Colonial Williamsburg influenced its teaching of black history?".;The major research question and the subsidiary questions were prompted by the recent inclusion of a black history program at the foundation. In this study, primary focus will be given to the history of interpretation at Colonial Williamsburg. An attempt will be made to assess the extent to which social, economic, political and cultural norms, within American society, affected the Foundation's decision to exclude the interpretation of black history until the late 1970's.;The major method of analysis will be done by comparing and contrasting the various decisions that were made regarding the teaching of history in Williamsburg and national trends. Focusing on ten-year increments, each period will be contrasted with the development of Colonial Williamsburg so that conclusions can be made concerning the extent to which the Foundation was affected by societal norms of the period.;Evidence for the proposed study will be primary sources found in three major areas: the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Archives, the Rockefeller Family Archives, and interviews of current and former employees of the Foundation.