Exploring the Efforts to Control How U.S. History Is Presented in Museums and Monuments
Ask students: When did President Trump give a speech in front of Mount Rushmore? Why is the Trump administration targeting the Smithsonian Museums?
The Trump administration has put its mark on the nation’s cultural sector. One focus is on how American history is told and presented in museums and monuments. That has roiled many in the academic and art worlds. Jeffrey Brown explores the effort to reshape institutions for our series, Art in Action, exploring the intersection of art and democracy and our arts and culture coverage, CANVAS.
View the transcript of this story. News alternative: Check out recent segments from the News Hour, and choose the story you’re most interested in watching. You can make a Google doc copy of discussion questions that work for any of the stories here.
Discussion Questions
- What are some of the ways the Trump administration has tried to put its mark on arts and culture, according to this story?
- When did President Trump give a speech in front of Mount Rushmore?
- Why is the Trump administration targeting the Smithsonian Museums?
- How would the Trump administration direct funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities?
- Who is David Blight, and what is his background?
Focus Questions
In this segment, journalist Jeffrey Brown notes that a central question of this story is, "Who owns American history?" Who do you think should decide how public history, such as monuments or museum exhibits, is displayed?
Media literacy: Why do you think the producers of this segment interviewed historian David Blight? And why do you think they promise another segment on the same topic featuring Christopher Scalia of the American Enterprise Institute? What differing perspectives do you think these two represent (you can use a search engine to help answer this question)?
Extension Activity
As a class, discuss public art and history in your own community.
- What monuments, museums or other public art tell the story of where you're from and some of the people who helped build your community?
- If you could choose one person, place or event to memorialize as a monument, exhibit or through public art, what would you choose?
- If there's time, sketch out your idea and share as a class!
You might also watch the following video from Student Reporting Labs on the impact of art.
Addressing Threats to Democracy
Using the challenges to democracy in recent years as a teachable moment, we created resources to help students reflect on threats to democratic principles and explore topics such as media literacy, civil discourse, voter suppression, and misinformation.
Republished with permission from PBS NewsHour Classroom.
PBS News Hour Classroom helps teachers and students identify the who, what, where and why-it-matters of the major national and international news stories. The site combines the best of News Hour's reliable, trustworthy news program with lesson plans developed specifically for... See More
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