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Bicentennial Memory: Postmodernity, Media, and Historical Subjectivity, 1966-1976 By Malgorzata Joanna Rymsza-Pawlowska B.A., Barnard College, 2002 M.A., Georgetown University, 2005 M.A., Brown University, 2008 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of American Studies at Brown University Providence, Rhode Island May, 2012 © Copyright 2012, by Malgorzata Rymsza-Pawlowska This dissertation by Malgorzata Rymsza-Pawlowska is accepted in its present form by the Department of American Studies as satisfying the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Date:____________ _________________________________ Professor Susan Smulyan, Director Recommended to the Graduate Council Date:____________ _________________________________ Professor Steven Lubar, Reader Date:____________ _________________________________ Professor Lynne Joyrich, Reader Approved by the Graduate Council Date:____________ _________________________________ Dean Peter Weber, Dean of the Graduate School iii CURRICULUM VITAE Malgorzata Rymsza-Pawlowska was born on September 25th, 1979 in Wrocław, Poland. EDUCATION: Ph.D., American Studies, Brown University, 2012 M.A., Public Humanities, Brown University, 2008 M.A., Media and Cultural Studies, Communications, Culture & Technology, Georgetown University, 2005 B.A., History and Sociology, Barnard College, 2002 GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS: Smithsonian Institution Predoctoral Fellowship, 2011-2012 Humanities, Arts, Science and Technology Advanced Collaboratory (HASTAC) Scholar, 2010-2011 Graduate Workshop Grant, Mellon Foundation, 2010-2011 Graduate Fellow, Cogut Center for the Humanities, Brown University, 2010-2011 Conference Travel Grant, Society for Cinema and Media Studies, 2010 Miss Abbott's School Alumnae Fellowship, Brown University, 2009-2010 Conference Travel Grant, Brown University, 2008, 2009, 2010 Summer Research Fellowship, Brown University, 2007-2009 Salomon Curricular Development Grant, Brown University, 2008 University Fellowship, Brown University, 2006-2008 PUBLICATIONS: Review of Alison Griffiths, Shivers Down Your Spine: Cinema, Museums and the Immersive View (2008), Technology & Culture,(October, 2009): 33-34. “Frontier House: Reality Television and the Historical Experience,” Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Film and Television Studies (Spring 2007): 35-42. COURSES TAUGHT: TV on History: Representations of the American Past on Commercial Television, 2011 American Consumer Culture, 1870-present, 2009, 2011 Broadcasting the Past: Commercial Television and American History, 2008 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In both spatial aspects and temporal ones, this dissertation exceeds far beyond a few hundred pages. It’s been an active part of my life for the past three years, and as a set of ideas and questions, for much longer. And so, the people that I wish to thank have been involved both explicitly and implicitly in its--and in my--development. Foremost, I would like to thank Susan Smulyan, whose intellect and generosity have been a model to aspire to, as a scholar, a teacher, and a colleague. Steven Lubar and Lynne Joyrich have likewise been careful and rigorous readers, who have continuously pushed me to rethink this project in new and compelling ways. I have been lucky to be a part of a community that has been nurturing, inspiring, and, when needed, distracting. Most especially, Sarah Seidman has been a fantastic colleague, friend, and influence throughout our time in Providence and beyond. Nathan Conroy made the final year of work on this project better than the others. Thanks also to Pooja Rangan, Josh Guilford, Michelle Carriger, Sarah Osment, David Fresko, Sean Dinces, Erin Curtis, Jonathan Olly, Miel Wilson, and Gill Frank. Many people have listened, read, questioned, and commented on my work in ways that have been incredibly helpful. Here, I would like to thank participants in three Mellon Workshops (Photography Beyond the Visual, Affect Unbounded, and Speculative Critique), weekly seminars at the Cogut Center for the Humanities, the weekly colloquium at the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution, and the Modern Culture Workshop. I wish also to thank co-panelists and respondents at several annual meetings of the American Studies Association and the Society for Cinema and Media Studies. I would like to thank the Cogut Center for the Humanities at Brown and the Smithsonian Institution, both awarded graduate fellowships that provided me with important resources and community in finishing this project. Most especially, Peter Liebhold at the National Museum of American History and Pamela Henson at the Smithsonian Institution Archives have been wonderful mentors, and with their knowledge and advice, have pushed this project in new directions. Ralph E. Rodriguez, Sandy Zipp, and Douglas Nickel have been important teachers, givers of advice, and all-around influences. Jean Wood, Carole Costello, and Jeff Cabral at the Department of American Studies, and Susan McNeil and Liza Hebert at the Department of Modern Culture and Media, have made things smoother for me and for countless other students and faculty. Matthew Tinkcom and Michael Coventry were instrumental in my master’s program at Georgetown and I have been lucky enough to v keep them in my life as a doctoral student. My undergraduate thesis advisor at Barnard, Jonathan Rieder, helped guide me through the most embryonic form of this project. Archival research in support of this project has been exciting and rewarding. I would like to thank archivists and librarians at Brown University, the National Archives in College Park, the Boston Public Library, the Rhode Island Historical Society Library, Independence Historical National Park in Pennsylvania, the State Archive of Pennsylvania, the David L. Wolper Archive at the University of Southern California, and the Smithsonian Institution Archives. I am also grateful to friends who have been generous with their spare rooms and their company, making research trips fun as well as edifying. This list includes Stephen Groening and Andrea Christy, Nicole Restaino, and Matthew, Adam, and Kayako Abrams. I am also grateful for the support of family and friends in Washington, DC, particularly, my stepfather Andrzej Rogalski, Nikos Kourkolakos, Erin Boland, Adam Krell and Rayya Newman, Karie Reinertson, Jennifer Potter, and Laurie and David Adamson. Finally, this dissertation is dedicated to Elzbieta Rymsza-Pawlowska, who is the most wonderful mother in the world, and to the memory of Wojciech Rymsza-Pawlowski, who I hope would have been proud. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction…………………………….. ………………………………………………..1 The Historical, Transformed Chapter One…………………………………………………………………………..…17 “The New Nostalgia” and Past as Present: Postmodern Time, Television History, and Reflective Culture Chapter Two…………………………………………………………………………..…75 The Commemoration Revolution: The Federal Bicentennial, 1966-1976 Chapter Three….……………………………………………………………………..…136 Changing Collection: New Preservation and Artifact Usage Chapter Four…..…………………………………………………………….………….187 Cultural Logics of Reenactment: Affective Engagement with the American Past Chapter Five…………………………………………………………………………….240 Past and Protest: Activism, Identification, and the American Archive Conclusion……….…………………………………………………………………..…298 Making History Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………....307 vii INTRODUCTION: The Historical, Transformed The National Museum of History and Technology tells the story of America and studies the story of America. From household goods the colonists brought from their native lands--to weapons, military and otherwise, that made them free--to technology that helped make them wealthy and strong,--to memorabilia of men and women who led them-- the museum's collections comprise a tangible biography of the Republic. The depth and scope of these collections are unparalleled.” -Smithsonian Institution Office of Public Affairs, Increase and Diffusion: A Brief Introduction to the Smithsonian Institution, 19701 The National Museum of History and Technology recaptures and interprets the American experience from colonial times to the present; from man's basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter, to modern social and technological developments. It chronicles the lives of the men and women who have contributed to America's heritage, and relates two centuries of progress in political, cultural, and military history, industries, applied arts, and science and technology. -Smithsonian Institution Office of Public Affairs, Increase and Diffusion: A Brief Introduction to the Smithsonian Institution, 19752 The above quotes are taken from two editions, published five years apart, of an introductory pamphlet issued by the Smithsonian Institution. Both convey the same general information: they open the section describing the National Museum of History and Technology, which, in 1980, would be renamed the National Museum of American History, and was then--and continues to be--the nation’s primary repository of historical artifacts and its most prominent history museum. Each outlines the museum’s mission and indicates the nature of its holdings. However, the transformation in language between the two is striking: while the 1970 edition begins by noting that the museum tells the 1 Smithsonian Institution Office of Public Affairs, Increase and Diffusion: A Brief Introduction to the Smithsonian Institution, 1970, Smithsonian Institution