Beth McNeill
Candidate, M.A. Public History
| Degrees: | B.A. History (Honours) & International Relations (Mount Allison University) |
| Email: | elizabethmcneill@cmail.carleton.ca |
Current Program: MA Public History (2023)
Supervisors:
Academic Interests:
Canadian and European political history, labour movements, Atlantic Canadian social history, folk cultures, museum narrativity, and community heritage and memory.
Teaching Experience:
History of Cowboys in the Americas (M. Anderson), Fall 2023
Canadian Political History (K. Badgley), Winter 2024
Description of Research:
My research project is focused on uses of humour in the work of historical interpreters at living history museums, and how this joking impacts visitor encounters in the discursive space of the museum. I am interested in exploring not just what sorts of jokes are told to coax a laugh from visitors, but also how humour is used by interpreters, as both experienced practitioners of public history and customer service professionals, to emotionally connect with audiences, to adapt to their educational needs, and to potentially challenge and defend. Relying upon the field-work methods of participant-observeration and interviews with interpreters, my aim is to present an ethnographic survey of interpreter and visitor laughter, and the effects this may have in the discursive space of the museum. Through an investigation into the uses (and potential abuses) of humour at living history museums, this project will contribute to a more informed understanding of a particular type of emotional labour potentially asked of historical interpreters, as well as the possible benefits and drawbacks of using humour in practical public history encounters.