Spaces of Remembering and Forgetting: The Reverent Eye/I at the Plains Indian Museum Export

@article{citeulike:481511, abstract = {Museums, memorials, and other historic places are key sites in the construction of collective memory and national identity. The Plains Indian Museum in Cody, Wyoming is one such space of memory where the (pre)history of “America” and its native peoples is told. Based on the view of texts as experiential landscapes, it is argued that this museum works to absolve Anglo-visitors of the social guilt regarding Western conquest through a rhetoric of reverence. This rhetorical mode invites visitors to adopt a respectful, but distanced observational gaze. A concluding section assesses the social and political consequences of memorializing in this mode.}, author = {Dickinson, Greg and Ott, Brian L. and Aoki, Eric}, citeulike-article-id = {481511}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14791420500505619}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/rccc/2006/00000003/00000001/art00002}, comment = {Dickinson et al. argue that the Plains Indian Museum in Cody, Wyoming works to absolve Anglo-visitors of the social guilt regarding Western conquest through a rhetoric of reverence. (p. 27). They say that reverence ” exercises a double articulation, evoking both a profound sense of respect and a distanced, observational gaze. So, the PIM embarks on a discourse that celebrates the Other without identifying with it. They also say that ” spaces of memory” are better thought of as constitutive elements of landscapes than as discrete texts (p. 30). The museum creates a sense of difference by constructing a world that is culturally distinct form the world inhabited by most visitors. And the removal of social guilt is done by communicating an ideology of progress that underlies much of the struggle with memory in the U.S. ” The inexorability of history's progress is crucial, for it absolves Euro-Americans of guilt over the violence done to Plains Indians” (p. 37). Also, the ” assertion of survival” (the Indian's endurance) helps mitigate guilt of Euro-Americans by assuring visitors that progress has not resulted in eradication” (p 38). The most uninteresting exhibit in the PIM tells the story of conquest during the long nineteenth century. The absence of the high-tech multi-media exhibit during this also functions rhetorically. Also, Dickinson et al. argue that the particularities of the landscape (Wyoming) alter visitor's experience of the space. So, the analysis has to be localized in the particularities of the landscape. }, doi = {10.1080/14791420500505619}, issn = {1479-1420}, journal = {Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies}, keywords = {rhetorical-criticism, visual-rhetoric}, month = {March}, number = {1}, pages = {27--47}, posted-at = {2009-10-11 16:38:43}, priority = {5}, publisher = {Routledge}, title = {Spaces of Remembering and Forgetting: The Reverent Eye/I at the Plains Indian Museum}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14791420500505619}, volume = {3}, year = {2006} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:481511 L3 - citeulike-article-id:481511 N2 - Museums, memorials, and other historic places are key sites in the construction of collective memory and national identity. The Plains Indian Museum in Cody, Wyoming is one such space of memory where the (pre)history of “America” and its native peoples is told. Based on the view of texts as experiential landscapes, it is argued that this museum works to absolve Anglo-visitors of the social guilt regarding Western conquest through a rhetoric of reverence. This rhetorical mode invites visitors to adopt a respectful, but distanced observational gaze. A concluding section assesses the social and political consequences of memorializing in this mode. IS - 1 JF - Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies SN - 1479-1420 EP - 47 TI - Spaces of Remembering and Forgetting: The Reverent Eye/I at the Plains Indian Museum PB - Routledge VL - 3 SP - 27 KW - rhetorical-criticism KW - visual-rhetoric N1 - Dickinson et al. argue that the Plains Indian Museum in Cody, Wyoming works to absolve Anglo-visitors of the social guilt regarding Western conquest through a rhetoric of reverence. (p. 27). They say that reverence “exercises a double articulation, evoking both a profound sense of respect and a distanced, observational gaze. So, the PIM embarks on a discourse that celebrates the Other without identifying with it. They also say that “spaces of memory” are better thought of as constitutive elements of landscapes than as discrete texts (p. 30). The museum creates a sense of difference by constructing a world that is culturally distinct form the world inhabited by most visitors. And the removal of social guilt is done by communicating an ideology of progress that underlies much of the struggle with memory in the U.S. “The inexorability of history’s progress is crucial, for it absolves Euro-Americans of guilt over the violence done to Plains Indians” (p. 37). Also, the “assertion of survival” (the Indian’s endurance) helps mitigate guilt of Euro-Americans by assuring visitors that progress has not resulted in eradication” (p 38). The most uninteresting exhibit in the PIM tells the story of conquest during the long nineteenth century. The absence of the high-tech multi-media exhibit during this also functions rhetorically. Also, Dickinson et al. argue that the particularities of the landscape (Wyoming) alter visitor’s experience of the space. So, the analysis has to be localized in the particularities of the landscape. AU - Dickinson, Greg AU - Ott, Brian AU - Aoki, Eric PY - 2006/03// UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14791420500505619 ER -