Interpreting Agriculture at Museums and Historic Sites
By (author) Debra A. Reid
Publication date:
31 January 2017Length of book:
284 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersDimensions:
266x183mm7x10"
ISBN-13: 9781442230101
Interpreting Agriculture in Museums and Historic Sites orients readers to major themes in agriculture and techniques in education and interpretation that can help you develop humanities-based public programming that enhance agricultural literacy. Case studies illustrate the ways that local research can help you link your history organization to compelling local, national (even international) stories focused on the multidisciplinary topic. That ordinary plow, pitch fork, and butter paddle can provide the tangible evidence of the story worth telling, even if the farm land has disappeared into subdivisions and agriculture seems as remote as the nineteenth century. Other topics include discussion of alliances between rural tourism and community-supported agriculture, farmland conservation and stewardship, heritage breed and seed preservation efforts, and antique tractor clubs. Any of these can become indispensable partners to history organizations searching for a new interpretive theme to explore and new partners to engage.
Humans depend on agriculture as a source of food, fiber, and fuel. However, there has been a dramatic shift in the number of farmers who supply these raw materials. Agricultural museums provide a view of the history of agriculture and present the different aspects of agricultural inventions, products, and progress. This volume attentively describes how museums and historic sites offer a view of agriculture that helps explain the progress that fostered this abundant supply of agricultural materials. Throughout the book, there are descriptions of the changes made in agriculture. Examples include the transition from hand picking to machine harvesting corn; the need to change methods for storage, processing, and management; and how agriculture prompted the need for road improvements and the creation of bridges to deliver products to markets. It is important to note that this work should be regarded not as a how-to guide for museums but as a unique vision of how humans depict and understand agriculture from the viewpoint of individuals who did not grow up on a farm. The insights provided in this effort reveal why it is necessary to tell the story of how agriculture has benefited humanity.
Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above; faculty and professionals.
Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above; faculty and professionals.