Bemis, Bethanee
National Museum of American History staffBemis, Bethanee
National Museum of American History staff
Bethanee Bemis is a museum specialist with the Division of Political and Military History at the National Museum of American History, where she works to ensure the intellectual and physical care of the division's 150,000+ political history objects. She has been part of the exhibit team for several exhibits at NMAH, including most recently the forthcoming Mirror, Mirror for Us All: Disney Theme Parks and the American Experience. Her fields of interest include the development of national symbols and the evolution of the national narrative. Her current research focuses on the Disney them parks as locations of the formation and negotiation of the American identity.
Positions
- Museum Specialist, National Museum of American History 2010 -
Geographic Focus
- United States of America Country
Background And Education
Education And Training
- M.A. in Public History, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Awards And Honors
Publications
Selected Publications
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Article
- Bemis, Bethanee. 2021. "In the Magic Kingdom, History Was a Lesson Filled With Reassurance." Smithsonian Magazine, Oct 7, 2021, 2021
- Bemis, Bethanee. 2018. "Epcot Just Got a New Smithsonian Museum Exhibition." Aug 22, 2018, 2018
- Bemis, Bethanee. 2017. "How Disney Came to Define What Constitutes the American Experience." Smithsonian Magazine, Jan 3, 2017, 2017
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Blog Posting
- Bemis, Bethanee. 2023. "The long history behind "Disneyland After Dark: Pride Nite"." DisNet Blog Jun 12, 2023. https://disnetwork.wixsite.com/disnet/post/the-long-history-behind-disneyland-after-dark-pride-nite. 2023
- Bemis, Bethanee. 2017. "Artifacts of assassination, Pt. 1." O Say Can You See? Stories from the National Museum of American History Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Oct 31, 2017. http://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/assassination-artifacts-one. 2017
- Bemis, Bethanee. 2017. "Coffee cups, chairs, and jackets: Presidential last moments preserved." O Say Can You See? http://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/last-moments-preserved. 2017
- Bemis, Bethanee. 2017. "Unique souvenirs of death kept to remember U.S. presidents." O Say Can You See? Stories from the National Museum of American History Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Oct 20, 2017. http://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/souvenirs-death. 2017
- Bemis, Bethanee. 2016. "A Scrap of Suffrage History." O Say Can You See? Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Aug 13, 2016. http://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/scrap-suffrage-history. 2016
- Bemis, Bethanee. 2016. "The Laptops that Powered the American Revolution, What it Means to Be an American." Zocalo Public Square Tempe, Arizona: Zócalo Public Square/Arizona State University. Feb 23, 2016. http://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2016/02/23/laptops-powered-american-revolution/chronicles/who-we-were/. 2016
- Bemis, Bethanee. 2011. "Common objects, uncommon connections." O Say Can You See? Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Museum of American History. May 4, 2011. https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2011/05/common-objects-uncommon-connections.html. 2011
- Bemis, Bethanee. 2011. "Pregnant in Uniform." O Say Can You See? Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Sep 26, 2011. https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2011/09/pregnant-in-uniform.html. 2011
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Book
- Bemis, Bethanee. 2022. Disney Theme Parks and America's National Narratives: Mirror, Mirror, for Us All. New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003315094. 2022
Contact
Location
- National Museum of American History Department
