历史的酬劳:公共历史前线的情感劳动
The Wages of History
Emotional Labor on Public History's Front Lines
by Amy M. Tyson
Published by: University of Massachusetts Press
240 Pages, 6.00 x 9.00 x 0.90 in, 10 b&w illus.
Paperback
9781625340245
Published: June 2013
DESCRIPTION
Anyone who has encountered costumed workers at a living history museum may well have wondered what their jobs are like, churning butter or firing muskets while dressed in period clothing. In The Wages of History, Amy Tyson enters the world of the public history interpreters at Minnesota's Historic Fort Snelling to investigate how they understand their roles and experience their daily work. Drawing on archival research, personal interviews, and participant observation, she reframes the current discourse on history museums by analyzing interpreters as laborers within the larger service and knowledge economies.
Although many who are drawn to such work initially see it as a privilege—an opportunity to connect with the public in meaningful ways through the medium of history—the realities of the job almost inevitably alter that view. Not only do interpreters make considerable sacrifices, both emotional and financial, in order to pursue their work, but their sense of special status can lead them to avoid confronting troubling conditions on the job, at times fueling tensions in the workplace.
This case study also offers insights—many drawn from the author's seven years of working as an interpreter at Fort Snelling—into the way gendered roles and behaviors from the past play out among the workers, the importance of creative autonomy to historical interpreters, and the ways those on public history's front lines both resist and embrace the site's more difficult and painful histories relating to slavery and American Indian genocide.
简评:
《历史的酬劳:公共历史前线的情感劳动》(The Wages of History: Emotional Labor on Public History’s Front Lines)是由艾米·M·泰森(Amy M. Tyson)撰写的一本重要著作。该书深入探讨了历史博物馆工作人员在其工作中所承担的情感劳动,尤其关注那些以第一人称或第三人称视角解说历史的解说员。泰森的研究不仅仅聚焦于历史知识的传递,更重要的是,她关注于这些历史解说员如何通过自身的情感表达和体验,来为观众创造一种情感共鸣和教育体验。
书籍内容概述
情感劳动的定义与应用: 泰森首先阐释了“情感劳动”这一概念,并将其应用于公共历史领域。在此背景下,情感劳动指的是历史解说员在与观众互动中,不仅要传达知识,还要激发和管理观众的情感反应。
历史解说员的日常工作: 书中通过对历史解说员的深入观察和访谈,揭示了他们的工作日常。包括如何准备角色、穿着时代服装、处理观众提问、以及在表演中保持历史的准确性和吸引力。
挑战与压力: 泰森详细讨论了历史解说员在工作中面临的种种挑战,如处理敏感话题、满足不同观众的需求,以及如何在职业与个人情感之间找到平衡。
情感劳动的价值与影响: 书中还探讨了情感劳动对历史解说员个人及其职业生涯的影响,以及这种劳动对提升公众历史教育的重要性。
主要特征与风格
实地研究与深入访谈: 泰森的研究方法包括实地观察和深入访谈,使得书中的内容生动且具有说服力。
情感与教育的结合: 该书特别强调了情感与教育的结合,表明历史解说不仅仅是知识的传递,更是一种情感上的交流和体验。
细腻的人文关怀: 泰森在书中展示了对历史解说员的深刻理解和同情,体现了对这一职业群体的人文关怀。
学术意义与贡献
情感劳动理论的拓展: 泰森的研究拓展了情感劳动理论在公共历史领域的应用,为理解情感劳动在不同职业领域的特殊性提供了新视角。
公共历史领域的深入洞察: 通过对历史解说员工作的深入剖析,泰森为我们提供了关于这一领域工作人员的独特见解,尤其是他们如何处理历史知识与情感表达的交织。
对历史教育的启示: 该书对如何有效地进行公共历史教育提供了重要见解,特别是在如何利用情感劳动来增强历史教学的吸引力和效果方面。
总结而言,《历史的酬劳》不仅为情感劳动的研究贡献了新的理论和实践视角,也为我们理解公共历史领域,尤其是历史解说员在其中所扮演的角色提供了深刻的洞察。这本书对于历史学者、博物馆工作者以及对公共历史教育感兴趣的人来说,都是一本不可多得的重要参考资料。