One hundred and seventy-eight pieces of Victorian furniture in six Texas historic house museums have been photographed and researched in order to fulfill the three-part problem. (1) to research and write descriptive essays of the four major Victorian substyles--Victorian Empire, Rococo Revival, Renaissance Revival, and Eastlake; (2) to identify and choose six Texas historic houses which are open to the public and which display these Victorian substyles in period room settings; and (3) to identify, photograph, measure, and catalogue each piece of authentic Victorian furniture, and to compile a research guide which includes each of these six houses and their Victorian furnishings. This six-part guide includes brief histories of each house and a catalogue of authentic pieces which represent the major substyles of Victorian furniture. To give the study a broad base, and to make it useful for all students, teachers, and professional interior designers in Texas, two houses which represented the best collections of furniture from each geographic location were chosen. These included: (1 ) from North Texas, the George House and Millermore, both in Dallas; (2) in Central Texas, East Terrace and Fort House, located in Waco; and (3) in South Texas, Fulton Mansion in Fulton Beach, and McNamara House in Victoria. All four of the most popular substyles are represented in the six houses.

This thesis is an exploration of queer domesticity, queer possibility and intuitionin historic house museums. It develops a methodological framework intended to intervene in archival, research, interpretive and institutional practices at these sites. Using the Elfreth’s Alley Museum’s podcast The Alley Cast as a case study, I examine how utilizing a framework that understands queerness to be just as possible as straightness; that uses intuition to guide research; and queer and trans theory to denaturalize categories of sexuality and gender can uncover queer domestic patterns that unsettle and disrupt the public’s hetero- and cisnormative assumptions about the past. I argue that this is a framework that can be adopted by historic house museums in order to engage with queer history when evidence may be lacking or whose historical subjects’ gender or sexuality resists easy classification. Finally, I argue that implementing such a framework can only be done successfully if it is engaged as part of a larger institution-wide commitment to creating a socially just and responsive museum that understands the importance of sharing complicated and difficult history with its public and dismantling its own position of power and authority. / History

Community engagement and relevance are topics prominently discussed in the museum field. Conversations about public history and social justice, however, are less common. Combining these two ideas and thinking broadly about how museums, particularly historic houses, can stay relevant in their community by adopting a community-centered mission, this thesis uses Casey Farm as a case study. By conducting interviews with the site managers and market manager alongside surveying market vendors and visitors, this thesis compares the museum’s perspective of their relevance with the lived experiences of visitors. Ultimately arguing that historic houses should prioritize community interests when creating programming to retain audiences to the museum. Studying how Casey Farm partners with Coastal Growers’ Market to increase community relevance by aligning with the goals of the Food Movement, this example can encourage other historic house museums to use the resources at their site and seek out possible partnerships in their community.

In a perfect learning society, the whole community-from corporate institutions to family units-recognizes and acts upon its responsibility to nurture and create a total learning environment that should extend throughout the lifetime of each member (Senesh, 1991). In contrast, many efforts to reform education in America focus on only one locus of education, the pre/K- 12 school Fortunately, however, some current reforms are broadening their scope. One such example is found in Ball State University's Professional Development Schools Network, which has enlarged the focus of educational renewal by including a museum as one of its official network sites. This two-part museum, Minnetrista Cultural Center and Oakhurst Gardens, brings community partnership to the focus, incrementally enlarging educational environments and experiences beyond the school classroom and toward the ideals of a learning society.The purpose of this study was to describe and understand more fully the conception, planning, and initial implementation stages of this atypical Professional Development Schools (PDS) site, Minnetrista Cultural Center and Oakhurst Gardens. This case study drew from and contributes to the literature in three areas: (a) professional development schools, (b) community education and learning societies, and (c) program planning. Data collection consisted of 23 separate interviews with 12 participants, multiple observations, and extensive document review. Data were then processed through constant comparative analysis. Findings describe more fully this particular case, detailing the conception, planning, and initial implementation of the museum's partnership with the traditional schools (university and pre/K-12) in its community.Three conclusions were derived from the major findings. First, in the conception and planning phases, relationships among individuals were of great consequence in creating and developing Minnetrista Cultural Center and Oakhurst Gardens as a PDS site. Second, in the initial implementation phase of the museum's PDS program, the museum staff struggled to define and communicate the museum's role as a PDS site. Third, these insights, among others, have implications for PDS networks and potential non-traditional PDS sites, museums interested in their educational role, and those interested in nurturing a learning society. / Department of Educational Leadership

Historic house museums are the focus of an ideological tension between preservation and interpretation within the public history community. At a time where many house museums are failing, preservationists advocate for solutions to the house museum dilemma focused on saving the building. Historians and other museum professionals point to the importance of the value of the collections, memories, and documents preserved within the house as critical tools for understanding and teaching American history. Of specific focus in this thesis is the role gender influence played in the formation of historic house museums and how an examination of its continuing effect on agency within heritage sites creates access points for cutting-edge public history and interpretation. This is done through a case study of the history of the Jacobsburg Historical Society's Boulton Historic Site in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. The site was the location of the Boulton Gun Works, built in 1812 by the Henry family, manufacturers of the Pennsylvania Longrifle and key members of the early industrial community of Jacobsburg, located just north of the Moravian community of Nazareth. / History

Thesis (M.A.)--Baylor University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 137-144)

Chan Siu Hin. / "Architecture Department, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Master of Architecture Programme 2006-2007, design report." / "Museum in youth hostel, youth hostel in museum"--Dissertation t.p. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 101). / Chapter Part 1 - --- Study of MARK I Design / HISTORY / MARK I / THE FORMAL PRINCIPLES / GENERAL CHANGES OF MARK I / STRUCTURE / SPECIFIC CHANGES OF MARK I - VARIATIONS & TYPE SOCIAL DETAILS / Chapter Part 2 - --- Programme Study / HOUSING AUTHORITY EXHIBITION CENTRE STUDY / PRELIMINARY PROGRAMME / Chapter Part 3 - --- Exploration of the Trasformation / "MEI HO HOUSE - PLAN, SECTION, ELEVATION" / PRELIMINARY IDEA FOR TRANSFORMATION

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The landscape of James A. Garfield’s Mentor, Ohio home (now preserved at James A. Garfield National Historic Site) contains multiple layers of historical meanings and values. The landscape as portrayed in political biographies, political cartoons, and other ephemera during Garfield’s 1880 presidential campaign reveals the existence of the dual cultural values of agrarian tradition and agricultural progress in the late nineteenth century. Although Garfield did not depend on farming exclusively for his livelihood, he, like many agriculturalists of this era participated in a process of mediation between these dual values. The function of the landscape of Garfield’s farm between 1876 and 1880 is a reflection of this process of mediation. After President Garfield’s assassination in 1881, his wife and children returned to their Mentor home. Between 1885 and c. 1905, Garfield’s widow Lucretia made numerous changes to the agricultural landscape, facilitating the evolution of the home from farm to country estate. Despite the rich history of this landscape, its cultural complexity and evolution over time makes it difficult to interpret for public audiences. Additionally, the landscape is currently interpreted exclusively through indoor museum exhibits and outdoor wayside panels, two formats with severe limitations. I propose the integration of deep mapping into interpretation at James A. Garfield National historic site in order to more effectively represent the multi-layered qualities of its historic landscape.