Becoming America: Thinking through Identity, Culture, and Traditions in Early America
Out of Many, One?
Identity on Display
Among the many unique traits we have as humans is our ability create, learn, and share different ways of knowing our world. Through things like art, music, or language we can demonstrate different values, traditions, and beliefs to others. Those cultural values frequently influence the ways in which people make art and other objects. Culture also shapes our group and individual identities. Looking at art from the past can help us understand more about the culture or identity of the people who made them and the times in which they lived. Art can often preserve aspects of a culture and it can impact the way in which we see a particular society too.
How is identity shaped by an individual's culture and other influences around them?
How much does your home environment and the people around you contribute to who you are?
Object Story: Niagara Beadwork Hat
This hat was created by a Haudenosaunee craftsperson in the mid-nineteenth century.
Object Story: Oval Shaker Box
This large oval box was made at the Shaker community in New Lebanon, New York.
Object Story: Painted Schrank
This wardrobe holds important clues about the identity of an early Pennsylvania family.
Activity: Why Does It Look the Way It Does?
Look closely at an object to describe its characteristics and features and connect these with ideas of culture and identity.