Incoherence and Continuity in Narrative-Building and Social Memory Production at Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage

• In Event: 2129 - Section on Comparative-Historical Sociology Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 1. Collective Memory, Politics, and Representation

Abstract

To integrate the new sociology of work with collective memory studies and to account for varying representations of slavery (Eichstedt and Small 2002), I explore points of incoherence and continuity in narrative and social memory production at Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage, a historic house museum and plantation site near Nashville, Tennessee. Former U.S. President Jackson is a controversial figure who is simultaneously famed for his valor in the War of 1812, for championing the interests of the “common man,” for orchestrating the Trail of Tears through the Indian Removal Act, and for his prominence as a slave owner. Based on six months of participant-observation as a part-time historic interpreter at the Hermitage, I identify conflicting representations of Jackson in the following arenas: 1) in the narratives presented on tours, 2) in the multi-use nature of the site, 3) in the aesthetics of the site, and 4) in individual interpreters’ personal political leanings and their perspectives on enslaved and indigenous communities of Jackson’s time. I seek to explain the jarring juxtaposition of representations of Jackson as a champion of democracy, an unapologetic slaveholder, a military hero, and a murderer of indigenous peoples—all at one site, and often in rapid succession on audio and guided tours. I identify four broad categories of factors that may account for the mingling of conflicting representations: 1) historic interpretation as customer service and the Hermitage’s existence as a private organization; 2) conflicting organizational logics; 3) differences among individual interpreters with regard to politics, generation, tenure, and meaning-making; and 4) the site’s continuous operation for 129 years, and the cumulative nature of narrative development. In this manner, I contribute to debates over presentism and demonstrate the manner in which organizational factors and individual worker identities shape representations of controversial figures and difficult pasts.

Author

• Elizabeth Kathryn Barna, Vanderbilt University