The House That Story Built: The Place of Slavery in Plantation Museum Narratives

This article examines the characteristics and opinions of tourists visiting Laura Plantation Museum in southern Louisiana, paying close attention to their interest in slavery relative to other narrative themes presented at the site. Laura is noted for its "big house" as well as its remaini...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Professional geographer 2014-01, Vol.66 (4), p.547-557
Main Authors: Carter, Perry, Butler, David L., Alderman, Derek H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
America
American South
Audience
Audiences
Bgi / Prodig
Data collection
el Sur Norteamericano
esclavitud
Louisiana
Managers
Museums
narrativa
narrative
Narratives
plantación
plantation
Slavery
Tourism
turismo
U.S.A
United States of America
West South Central
庄园农场
旅游业
美国南方
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Summary:This article examines the characteristics and opinions of tourists visiting Laura Plantation Museum in southern Louisiana, paying close attention to their interest in slavery relative to other narrative themes presented at the site. Laura is noted for its "big house" as well as its remaining slave quarters, but museums are built as much around narratives as they are around artifacts. Museums tell a story that they hope audiences will want to consume. Envisioned as an audience study, this research examines data gathered from surveys and interviews conducted at Laura and uses the conceptual framework of "narrativized worlds" to gain an understanding of how visitors, especially African Americans, interpret and react to the representation of antebellum life offered by the museum's managers and docents.
ISSN:0033-0124
1467-9272
DOI:10.1080/00330124.2014.921016