dc.contributor.author	Calorusso, Christine	en
dc.contributor.committeechair	Clements, Terry L.	en
dc.contributor.committeemember	Johnson, Benjamin C.	en
dc.contributor.committeemember	Shifflett, Crandall A.	en
dc.contributor.department	Landscape Architecture	en
dc.date.accessioned	2014-03-14T20:30:21Z	en
dc.date.adate	2003-03-05	en
dc.date.available	2014-03-14T20:30:21Z	en
dc.date.issued	2002-12-19	en
dc.date.rdate	2004-03-05	en
dc.date.sdate	2003-01-10	en
dc.description.abstract	This thesis explores how the landscape, or the physical environment in general, can play a more active, meaningful role in historical site interpretation for the public. It asserts that the landscape can serve not merely as a passive backdrop or stage set for interpretation but as an active tool for communicating important understandings about history. To accomplish this, a constructivist approach to design—one that emphasizes the direct interaction between the individual visitor and the physical site as the origin of meaning—is presented. The Constructivist Design Approach (CDA) emphasizes the manipulation of form, scale, materials, and path to facilitate visitors' physical, psychological, and emotional immersion in their environment. The CDA was developed from three research areas: an epistemological grounding in constructivism, ritual theory, and case studies of built works that promote the interaction of visitor and site. Application of the CDA to historical site interpretation is explored through a conceptual design proposal for an Appalachian slavery interpretive complex in Southwestern Virginia, which interprets mountain slavery from the slaves' perspective. Through direct interaction with the landscape of the participatory living history complex, visitors deepen their understanding of how mountain slaves perceived, moved through, and appropriated the landscape for their survival. The design project indicates that the CDA can enhance the effectiveness of interpretive programs. It also reveals the importance of ongoing collaboration between landscape architects and historians throughout project development in order to achieve a physical site design that effectively incorporates and reflects interpretive content and objectives.	en
dc.description.degree	Master of Landscape Architecture	en
dc.identifier.other	etd-01102003-103227	en
dc.identifier.sourceurl	http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-01102003-103227/	en
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10919/30879	en
dc.publisher	Virginia Tech	en
dc.relation.haspart	07Chap12_Appendixes.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	02Chap4_Chap5.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	05Chap9_DesignProposal.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	06Chap10Concl_Chap11Refs.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	04Chap8_SiteInventory.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	01Title_Chap3Method.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	03Chap6_Chap7.pdf	en
dc.rights	In Copyright	en
dc.rights.uri	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/	en
dc.subject	slavery	en
dc.subject	landscape architecture	en
dc.subject	constructivism	en
dc.subject	historical interpretation	en
dc.subject	experiential design	en
dc.title	Rethinking the Role of the Landscape in Historic Interpretation: A Constructivist Design Approach to Interpreting Slavery in Appalachian Virginia	en
dc.type	Thesis	en
thesis.degree.discipline	Landscape Architecture	en
thesis.degree.grantor	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	en
thesis.degree.level	masters	en
thesis.degree.name	Master of Landscape Architecture	en

Rethinking the Role of the Landscape in Historic Interpretation: A Constructivist Design Approach to Interpreting Slavery in Appalachian Virginia

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