The Use and Abuse of Historical Reenactment: Thoughts on Recent Trends in Public History

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For several years broadcasting agencies interested in the public dissemination of history have shown a growing predilection for staging reenactments as a means of broadening the appeal of traditional documentary film. In a genre pioneered by programs such as 1900 House, Frontier House, and The Trench, viewers have been presented with a form of historical pedagogy in which modern volunteers are placed in a simulated historical situation with the goal of enlightening both the public and participants as to conditions of life in the past. In the summer of 2001 I participated in one of these projects, a BBC series called The Ship, in which a crew of fifty "experts" and volunteers sailed a replica of Captain James Cook's ship Endeavour from Australia to Indonesia along the path it sailed in 1770. This article is a discussion of some of the issues raised by that experience and a consideration of ways in which the format might be improved.