[FPSPACE] Space historian Dr. Roger D. Launius speaks at UMass-Amherst

[LARRY KLAES]

http://www.dailycollegian.com/news/2007/03/15/News/Space.Historian.Speaks.In.Lecture.Series-2776599.shtml

Space historian speaks in lecture series

By: Jaegun Lee, Collegian Staff

Issue date: 3/15/07 Section: News

The University of Massachusetts History department hosted this year's Five 
College History Lecture yesterday at Memorial Hall.

Dr. Roger D. Launius, chairman of the Division of Space History at the 
Smithsonian Institute's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. 
spoke to a crowd of students and faculty members from UMass and the other 
five Colleges.

In his speech, entitled "American Memory and the Challenges of Presenting 
the Past to a Diverse Public," Launius addressed a number of issues 
contemporary historians face in presenting history to the American public.

He explained that human memories are mostly constructed by personal 
experience of an individual and those whom they associate with.

"Most Americans," he said, "don't necessarily have a great deal of 
connections to great historical events.

"Mostly what they have is connections to personal things at the local level, 
at the family level, the inner relationships which intersect with national 
themes," he explained.

He pushed on the issue by stating that such people cannot differentiate 
between wars, such as the Civil War, the American Revolution and the 
Crusades.

"At some level, like politics," he argued, "history is local, too."

He elaborated on how the construction of memories and the creation of 
national identities act as barriers for contemporary historians to deliver 
alternative views to the official history.

Launius said that with such restrictions applied, museums are not likely to 
present exhibitions which would promote diversity and historically important 
speculations.

"The passing of the cultural debates early in the first part of the 21st 
century has made it exceptionally difficult to present the past in all 
complexity in a national museum, such as the one that I am in, to the broad 
diverse public that it serves," he said.

Launius listed 10 exhibitions not likely to be seen in America. Among them 
were musicians dying in plane crashes, speculation on the moon landing 
conspiracy and the existence of extraterrestrial life.

Such issues, according to Launius, challenge authoritative and prominent 
beliefs and values among the American public and are likely to be shut down 
eventually.

Launius served as chief historian of NASA between 1990 and 2002, has been a 
guest commentator on major television networks and is frequently consulted 
by the media for his insights on space issues.

He has also served as a consultant to the Columbia Accident Investigation 
Board in 2003 and presented the Harmon Memorial Lecture in Military History 
at the United States Air Force Academy in 2006.

He has written or edited over 20 books on aerospace and on a variety of 
historical topics, including American politics during the Mexican-American 
War, and the relationship of baseball to American culture.

The annual Five College History Lecture series is funded by the Five 
Colleges Incorporated.