This paper reports on the assessment of digital museum on the American Civil War. Based on the reading of the book of Susie King, it also reflects on the limitations as well as the benefits of the public history. Also, discussed in the paper is the particular strengths of the exhibit basing facts on the understanding of the book of Susie King Taylor.
Benefits of Public History
There are significant benefits associated with public history. For example, it has endless possibilities due to the variety of jobs, locations, as well as the subject matter. In this digital museum, there are several ranges of activities that people undertake with some training in the history discipline. In most cases, they work outside of the specific settings of academic. Notably, the practices of the public history are deeply rooted in the areas of the museum curatorship and the historic preservation. These exercises are also found in the archival science, historic sites and homes, and other fields that are related.
Public history makes it possible for one to go to work daily because of the love for the job. People’s person is always met with faces that shine every day. Through public history, one gets to talk to persons on matters relating to the history and favorite subject, day in day out. Practically, these people will be much willing to be engaged in conversation. For this reason, public history will always remain a perfect career. At this time of growth, public historians are provided with an opportunity for thinking about some of the new directions that include the definitions broadening of what the topic encompasses.
Nonetheless, the public history also provides a job for individuals who are not the people person. Often, people work alone in the departments of collections and archives. Typically, these people are surrounded by hold material. In this case, one has nothing to worry about the maintenance of the interest of other people. Instead, the person is provided with the books, trinkets, and old papers for cataloging and perusing. Public history is also beneficial since this kind of job is never stagnant. It takes place in various settings and incorporates a broad range of practices. Its extended benefits make it difficult to be defined precisely.
Limitations of the Public History
There is a significant concern involved in the expansion of the training of public history. In particular, several traditional institutions and museums currently face substantial cuts in the budget. For this reason, new public historians taught in the filed which is under siege. Public history was looked down upon until recently. In the past, the only respectable way for going about the history was through the traditional method. This method involved first acquiring Ph.D., then enter the teaching practice after becoming a professor. Those who could not teach chose to make the public history.
Another limitation of the public history is the money factor. People will continue looking for money unless they work at the highly funded or government funded large museum or site such as the location of the national park service. Even though there are several numbers of places of non-profit public history, the staff must engage in the searching and apply for grants. These sites are fantastic; however, the team has to try several options including the generation of the funds from acquiring donations. Again, the field of public history does not guarantee one to be rolling in money. Remember that happiness cannot be bought by money. Moreover, some people just hate public history.
Particular Strength of the Exhibit
Based on the understanding of the King’s book, this exhibition has been very informative. In 1902, at the time of writing these memories, Susie King Taylor was already a woman. However, she was still a girl at the time of Civil War. In precise, she was 14 years of age when the Sea Islands were occupied by the Yankee army. Susie King Taylor crossed their lines. Though, she managed to do the work of a woman. She was in most cases a nurse and a teacher for the First South Carolina Volunteers’ soldiers.
Remember, the First South Carolina Volunteers marked the formation of the black soldiers that the union raised. Even though she got married to a sergeant, much was not known about the man until the 1890s. Here, the exhibition has been useful in the exploration of the public history that regard the topic of discussion.
Conclusion
Through a close examination of the Susie King Taylor’s book as well as the exploration of the digital museum, it was possible to establish both the limitations and the benefits of the public history. This digital museum explored the Young Historians, Walking Tours among others. In particular, the Walking Tours of 2017 regards the way history is hidden around the corner. All the walking tours are based on the “Pay What You Please.” Various topics about the Civil War are revealed in each month. Other programs captured by the digital museum include the stories about the Haunted History, Civil War’s Strange Tales, and the Strange Cases. Overall, this experience was terrific.