Patterns of Presidential Library Exhibitions and Favorability Towards Former Presidents

Dissertation Proposal Report
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Dissertation Proposal Report
Dissertation Proposal Title: Patterns of Presidential library exhibitions and favorability towards former presidents.
Introduction and Background Information
Museums are typically perceived as reliable sources of information in the public domain. In this light, museums are expected to share and convey accurate and reliable information to meet the needs of their guests. The American Alliance of Museums indicates whereas the American government is ranked as the least trustworthy information source, history museums are the most trusted source of credible information for nonprofit researchers and newspapers (MacDonald, 2020). However, presidential libraries constitute a unique integration of museums and government, which questions their trustworthiness compared to conventional historical museums. The Office of the Presidential Libraries (LP) can be conceptualized as a federal government agency tasked with overseeing museums and archives systems poised as presidential records repositories and managed by the National Archives and Records Association (NARA). Since Herbert Hoover joined the system, subsequent presidents of the United States (U.S.) have followed suit, often designing their respective libraries on their home town or family home sites. Accordingly, it is necessary to recognize that presidential libraries are independent institutions characterized by their distinct governance and structure. Prior studies on the library system prove increasingly critical and vast. Some researchers emphasized the presidential history quality presentation and missing links within the exhibit narrative (MacDonald, 2020). For example, Benjamin Hufbauer suggested that the presidential museum system idolized a monolithic antiquity narrative, one that he described as a “glamorized and a whitewashed portrait of the respective presidents” tailored to convey an image of imperial administrations that promoted American civic religiosity with the presidency as being the supreme entity (Hufbauer, 2018).
In contrast, additional studies emphasized the value of presidential museums as crucial institutions that honored American democracy by triggering public and historical discourses concerning the executive arm. NARA substantiated this conception in their official understanding of the libraries. In this context, NARA noted the value of presidential libraries in fostering the presidency conceptualization and understanding as well as American experiences. Additionally, the president might also have a final word or involvement in the exhibit’s development (MacDonald, 2020). It is anticipated that this dissertation would offer and preserve access to archival materials, foster research, and design interactive exhibits and programs that inspire and educate.
Nevertheless, current literature on presidential museums and library systems fails to discuss curatorial practices in the environments. Curatorial authority, or the conceptualization of how the curator exerts authority over the objects, institution, public understanding, knowledge, and collections, significantly influences the exhibit’s presentation, purpose, and implications (Yilmaz, 2021). In the scenarios when the presidential museums and libraries influence the public opinion of the executive and the American experiences via their collections, then it would be necessary to make sense of the perspective and intent of parties empowered to design such exhibitions (MacDonald, 2020). The study’s purpose is anchored on establishing curatorial choices when depicting executive history within the presidential museum and library exhibitions, and thus contribute to the fill the knowledge gaps in this research area.
Research Questions, Aims, and Objectives
The dissertation aims to establish curatorial decisions made during presidential history presentations within presidential library expositions. The researcher will seek to answer the following research questions:
* What is the role of presidential history exhibitions?
* How does a curated story present the president regarding themes and concepts?
* Which stakeholders influence the curation narrative and content?
* What is the role of NARA in choices regarding history presented during the expositions?
The research objectives include:
* To establish the role of presidential history exhibitions.
* To establish a curated story depiction of the president in terms of themes and concepts.
* To determine the stakeholders involved in the curative narrative and content decisions.
* To establish the role of NARA in the historical representation of the president during exhibitions.
These research questions are central to addressing Hufbauer and Clark’s claims that presidential libraries deliberately present whitewashed or propaganda history. Accordingly, the research questions and subsequent objectives were tailored to establish the understanding of curatorial authority while depicting presidential history within the executive space at the same time.
Scope of th...