Becoming American: A case study of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum.
Item
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Title
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Becoming American: A case study of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum.
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Identifier
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AAI3325429
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identifier
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3325429
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Creator
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Tutela, Joelle Jennifer.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Susan F. Semel
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Date
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2008
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Education, Social Sciences | Museology
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Abstract
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This is a historical study of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum (LESTM) that examines its educational philosophy and practices, from its inception in 1988 to the present, and how its policies and practices have changed (or remained the same) during the past 20 years. This study also examines LESTM in the geographic, historical, and cultural context of the Lower East Side; provides a historical overview of its role as an educator of the public; and describes the evolution of American identity from 1880 to the present and how this identity impacts the LESTM.;The aims of this research are two-fold: to obtain a clear understanding of LESTM's past and present role as a cultural and educational institution and to gain an understanding of whether of not it has fulfilled its mission from 1988 to the present. Qualitative research methods include (a) archival research; and (b) interviews with individuals who are, or have been, closely associated with the museum, or who support, or have supported, LESTM through grants and other subsidies. Close examination of two data sources will provide a crosscheck on the reliability of the findings and will serve to fill in any gaps that might have resulted had only one data source been used.;This work will inform professional museum educators and other scholars of the importance of LESTM---as a documenter, preserver, and disseminator of the urban immigrant experience from 1880 to 1920 to the public at large and to the educational community, and in particular that of New York City. This study also is intended to describe an effective institution developed to educate the public, within the context of education writ large, as conceived by Lawrence A. Cremin, and to encourage other scholars to examine the structure and function of other similar institutions.1.;1Lawrence A. Cremin The Genius of American Education (New York, NY: Vintage Books, 1965), pp.28-29.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
