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The Social Class Of Museum Learners During The 19th Century

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Laurence V. Coleman (1939), who wrote about museums in the U.S. during the 19th century, indicated that the social class of museum learners during the 19th century consisted of adults in the middle class or higher and those considered to be in the bourgeois class, such as museum members and their children. People in the working class, the urban underclass, or disadvantaged individuals with disabilities were excluded from the scope that the museum considered as its pubic audience. Thus, the definition of the public introduced by 19th-century museums was narrower than that of today. Interest toward the marginalized minority started to rise due to the civil rights movement in the late 1960s, and museums started to provide education to them accordingly.
American cultural policy needs to be understood through the framework of public-private sector policies, the diversity of culture and race, and the high value and desire placed on freedom. This is because such perceptions have been applied to cultural welfare policy for individuals with disabilities and affect the direct operation of various public institutions. Originally, the American perception toward individuals with disabilities started from the definition provided by medical models. However, with the enactment of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, the 1975 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (originally known as the Education of Handicapped Children Act), and the 1990 Americans with Disability Act (ADA), areas such as

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