The house that story built : the place of slavery in plantation museum narratives

Auteur(s) et Affiliation(s)

CARTER, P.

Dept. of Geosciences, Geography Program, Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock, Etats-Unis

BUTLER, D.L.

Dept. of Political Science, International Development, and International Affairs, Univ. of SouthernMississippi, Hattiesburg, Etats-Unis

ALDERMAN, D.H.

Dept. of Geography, Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, Etats-Unis

Description :
This article examines the characteristics and opinions of tourists visiting Laura Plantation Museum in southern Louisiana, paying close attention to their interest in slavery relative to other narrative themes presented at the site. Laura is noted for its “big house” as well as its remaining slave quarters, but museums are built as much around narratives as they are around artifacts. Museums tell a story that they hope audiences will want to consume. Envisioned as an audience study, this research examines data gathered from surveys and interviews conducted at Laura and uses the conceptual framework of “narrativized worlds” to gain an understanding of how visitors, especially African Americans, interpret and react to the representation of antebellum life offered by the museum's managers and docents.

Type de document :
Article de périodique

Source :
The Professional geographer, issn : 0033-0124, 2014, vol. 66, n°. 4, p. 547-557, nombre de pages : 11, Références bibliographiques : 2 p.

Date :
2014

Editeur :
Pays édition : Etats-Unis, Cambridge, MA, Blackwell

Langue :
Anglais