After authenticity at an American heritage site

Bibliographic Data

ID20054073
AuthorsEric Gable, R Handler (0000-0002-8742-9533)
Year2018
Pages244-258
Publication date2018-10-08
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeCHAPTER
VenueMuseum Studies Approach to Heritage (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.4324/9781315668505-20
OpenAlexW4254891595
ISBN9781315668505
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited1

This chapter explores what happens to a heritage site "after authenticity"—where the pursuit of an elusive authenticity remains a goal even as it generates public statements intended to call into question the epistemology of authenticity. It suggests that the vernacular concept of authenticity changes very little, that it shows a remarkable resilience, in a sense, because it is under threat. The chapter examines how Colonial Williamsburg tries to position itself in the tourist marketplace. The museum's patriotic, celebratory story of the American founding has been challenged by a new generation of historians hired at Colonial Williamsburg beginning in the late 1970s. Credibility armor is important because those who work at Colonial Williamsburg assume that the public is concerned with authenticity. People, in sum, are oftentimes predisposed to think of Colonial Williamsburg as a "slick institution" manufacturing facades and cover-ups rather than the authentic truth

Aesthetics · Archaeology · Art · Geography · Visual arts · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · History · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies

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