The performance of identity as embodied pedagogy: A critical ethnography of Civil War reenacting

Civil War reenacting presented itself as hobby with a mission statement dedicated to the educational and cultural practice of living history. In a multicultural society, Civil War reenacting raised questions about cultural identity, social space, and educational practices. This critical ethnography focused on four California Civil War reenactment events during 2002. The purpose was: (a) to explore how Civil War reenactors constructed identity through the performance of history, and (b) to examine the pedagogical practices within Civil War reenacting in relation to educational outcomes. Critical theory was used as a theoretical framework in order to address issues of identity, socio-political consciousness, and structures of power as represented in Civil War reenacting. Data collection included: (a) participant observation, (b) open-ended interviewing of educators, participants, and observers, and (c) discourse analysis of popular Civil War reenactment literature available at events. Data collection first documented the complex interactions between body, dress, culture, history, and performance in the construction of individual and collective identities, norms, beliefs, and practices among Civil War reenactors. Data collection also revealed the hidden curriculum embodied in pedagogical practices within Civil War reenacting as manifested by claims of priority, white exceptionalism, uniqueness, and entitlement in the celebration of white American heritage united in its conservative, patriarchal, and national identity. Authenticity served as a legitimating device that reified white cultural hegemony as whiteness became naturalized as the norm against non-white as ‘other.’ Identity was embodied in subjectivities in which the body became the site of textual production in the social construction of white culture anchored by ritual performance of an Anglo version of brotherhood. Emotional responses of reenactors and observers in hyper-aroused states obscured the sub-texts of racial and gendered subordination within the hidden curriculum of Civil War reenacting.