So I’m taking a course right now that’s about examining reenactments. On the first day of this course we were asked to think about what reenactments are and the first thing I thought of was my high school history teacher, because he does reenactments of the American Revolution. Outside of historical reenactments, I couldn’t really think of anything else that would constitute being a reenactment. So my professor tells the class to look up words like sensorium and senses and to think “outside the box” when thinking about reenactments.
Now I’m beginning to slowly grasp how broadly the term reenactment can be applied to the world around us. I’ve been visiting numerous model homes lately because my family is in the market to buy a new home and it’s interesting how all of these homes are decorated. The different ways these model homes have been decorated and set up are representative of how traditional family life is perceived in America.
Another way I examined reenactments is by visiting the Hall of Mammals at the Smithsonian. As soon as you walk in you’re bombarded with displays of “exotic” animals. There are markers that tell you the three requirements of being a mammal: hair; ability to lactate; and the existence of certain earbones. All of the different mammals on display have markers that explain what they are and other tidbits of interesting information. The displays play on your sense of sight by not only providing physical reproductions of these animals, but by positioning them in ways that are at times welcoming, funny, dangerous, and voyeuristic. They also play on your sense of hearing by providing stations where you can hear a lion hunting and capturing its prey. Some displays also allowed you to touch specific items to connect with the texture. I also had an opportunity to watch the short film they were showing on evolution and where humans fit in. It was interesting to see how the film presented evolution and it was even more interesting how they never mentioned the word evolution, even though it was the subject of the film.
These are just some of the ways I have been encountering reenactments. Hopefully, as the semester rolls on I will have a better understanding of what reenactments are and what role they play in the way people are educated, especially within schools.
