History Exhibitions (UMKC)
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Items in this collection are the scholarly output of the Department of History faculty, staff, and students, either alone or as co-authors, and which may or may not have been published in an alternate format.
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Item Pursuing a United Memory: Harry Truman’s Construction of a Collective Memory of the Western Hemisphere(University of Missouri -- Kansas City, 2019) Gipple, Justin"Pursuing a United Memory: Harry Truman’s Construction of a Collective Memory of the Western Hemisphere” is an interpretive plan for a museum exhibition exploring President Harry Truman’s Latin American foreign policy. This exhibition explores how Harry Truman, on advice from prominent members of his State Department, attempted to form a collective memory of the Western Hemisphere as a “New World” founded on shared beliefs of freedom, democracy, and liberty. “Pursuing a United Memory” analyzes three specific opportunities Harry Truman had to spread a highly selective memory of similar historical experiences in order to emphasize a unity between the United States and the nations of Latin America. First, Truman travelled to Mexico City in March of 1947 during the 100th anniversary of the Mexican-American War. Second, Truman and the U.S. Congress held a ceremonial celebration in April 1948 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Joint Resolution of 1898, which brought the U.S. into the war for Cuban Independence. Finally, on the weekend of July 4th and 5th of 1948, Truman hosted Venezuelan President Rómulo Gallegos on a trip to Bolivar, Missouri, to dedicate a statue of Simón Bolívar—the “Liberator” of South America. Each of these events allowed Harry Truman to emphasize a shared historical experience and draw commonalities between famous national heroes of Latin America and the United States. Too often, historians of U.S.-Latin American relations during the Cold War focus on the dichotomous relations between the United States and the Soviet Union. Their analyses discuss how U.S. anti-communism prompted direct and covert interventions into Latin American countries to prevent a perceived communist threat. In addition, diplomatic historians often choose to focus on how the United States used military, economic, or direct political influence to shape domestic Latin American policy. When cultural influences are analyzed, historians shed light on racial or gendered constructions, and the concept of national or collective memories are neglected.Item Choosing the Best Course: Cultural and Social Influences on the Female Mathematics Graduate Students at the University of Kansas in the 1890s(2016) Lore, Savannah Nicole, 1992-The interpretive plan for the exhibit, “Choosing the Best Course: Cultural and Social Influences on Female Mathematics Graduate Students at the University of Kansas in the 1890s” covers women’s education and women in STEM fields in the nineteenth century. While many historians focus on exceptional women scholars who never married, this exhibit discusses a few women who got advanced degrees and then married. This exhibit explores the social and cultural influences of gender on women in academia by examining the experiences of Annie MacKinnon, Bessie Growe and Mary Rice, who studied at the University of Kansas in the 1890s. They were exceptional students in an era with limited life choices for women. This exhibit concludes that these women’s lives exemplify issues facing women in academia in the nineteenth century. Their stories demonstrate that in academia, scholarly research, and professional choices, women faced bias because of their gender. This bias was mainly based on society’s ideal of women and womanhood. This ideal focused on women being dependent on men and having children. Social ideas gave women fewer life choices and made it impossible for them to be truly independent. This played a role in what they studied in terms of field of study and degree level. This exhibit’s 12 panels use materials from the University of Kansas and other institutions to discuss nineteenth century women’s education through the stories of Annie MacKinnon, Bessie Growe and Mary Rice’s successes and struggles.Item Then Came a Post : Postcards and the Challenge of Communication During The Great War(2013-07-30) Faris, Sky; Hamid, Molly; Luchen, Katie; Morales, Emma L.; Voorhees, Roberta D.; Boice, Benton; Bergerson, Andrew StuartPostcards offered soldiers a medium to communicate their experiences.They took advantage of the postcard because it was the cheapest and most effective medium for communication. This exhibition analyzes a sample of postcards from the National World War I Museum during the Great War.Item Here comes Athena! : a representation of Kansas City in the Priests of Pallas Parade(2012-08-29) LeRoy, Sarah Elizabeth, 1987-; Burke, Diane MuttiThis exhibition examines the historical significance of the Priests of Pallas Parade and Ball, a tableaux style parade and carnival event that took place in Kansas City, Missouri, predominantly from 1887 to 1911. Organized by the town's wealthy business leaders, the celebration was a means by which they attracted tourism and increased profit that, in turn, helped the city grow. Additionally, the event was an important vehicle used to visually and publicly define and reinforce the social hierarchy existing in Kansas City at the turn of the twentieth century. Historians have studied nineteenth century public street parades as a whole, particularly focusing on their purpose in society and how they were utilized, but little scholarly attention has been given to Kansas City and even less attention, if any, has been given to the Priests of Pallas. Examining newspaper sources, ephemera, photographic and other visual media maintained by area manuscript collections and libraries, the celebration has been thoroughly explored and contextualized in Kansas City's history and the larger American narrative in this exhibit. Beginning with an overview of the history of Kansas City, Missouri, from its incorporation in 1850 to the 1880's, this exhibit moves forward to discuss the environment in which the Priests of Pallas Parade began and the motivations of its organizers, and presents details regarding the first parade, occurring in 1887. Leading into a discussion of the class construction of Kansas City as evidenced by the parade, visitors progress to the gendered and racial analysis of the event and the manner in which it reflected national trends of the time period. The exhibit provides viewers an understanding of the role the celebration played in the formation of Kansas City's identity at the turn of the twentieth century and concludes with details regarding the decline and eventual discontinuation of the Priests of Pallas Parade.