We spent the morning in the library reading an article by Donna Haraway called “Teddy Bear Patriarchy.” This is a sophisticated piece of cultural analysis that looks closely at the messages embedded in the American Museum of Natural History, where we will visit tomorrow. Our conversation as we read took us a number of interesting places. Here are some of the things we know now that we didn’t know before:
- The museum has a memorial for Teddy Roosevelt which is fitting because of his fascination with nature – JB
- The museum was originally established to bring a piece of nature to the city, and to those people who could not access nature and its substantial benefits otherwise. -AL
- Taxidermy was thought as freezing an animal in a snapshot moment of life, rather than the idea of death that is usually associated with the practice. -CC
- Akeley said if they got women to hunt gorillas then it wouldn’t be masculine anymore. Therefore Akeley considered it a conservation measure to take women along; if a woman could shoot a gorilla it was no longer manly and further hunters would be discouraged. -CB
- Akeley died in the same place that he shot the first gorilla (Irony!). -WK
- The name “Teddy Bear” is thought to be derived from Theodore Roosevelt. It supposedly came to be when he showed up after an unsuccessful hunt and a lady stuffed a bear for Teddy Bear. MN
- Despite Akeley being a conservationist, because of the perceived ideas of masculinity at the time, he felt it necessary to hunt and kill the animals he also wanted to protect. – GD
- Those involved in hunting often considered the practice as a personal opportunity, some going as far to say that they desired the chance to hunt a specific animal prior to it ceasing to exist, ironically enough perpetuating the aforementioned extinction. – TR
- The essay started out with a thought-provoking statement that sums up the mentality of the founders of the museum: “Nature teaches law and order and respect for property. If these people cannot go to the country, then the Museum must bring nature to the city.”
We concluded our day with lunch from Chick-Fil-A and a viewing of the hit movie Night at the Museum starring Ben Stiller. AB