Did American Girl Dolls Do Right By History? (Part 1)

Civics 101

NHPR

Government, History, Society & Culture

4.2 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 19 September 2023

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For so many of us, American Girl dolls were more than just toys, they’re how we learned about the past. But is American Girl’s version historically accurate? Believe it or not, there's no shortage of scholars who have a lot to say about that. DONATE TO CIVICS 101 NOW AND GET OUR NEW STICKER! CLICK RIGHT HERE TO SUPPORT OUR WORK. (YOU CAN ALSO GET A VERY COOL BASEBALL CAP!) This episode of Civics 101 is the first chapter of a story about dolls, and what one beloved brand got right – and wrong – about the American experience. Guests include Marcia Chatelain Pulitzer Prize-winning author and the Penn Presidential Company Professor of Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania; Spencer Crew, former president of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and professor of history at George Mason University; Emily Zaslow, author of Playing with America’s Doll: A Cultural Analysis of the American Girl Collection; and Molly Rosner, author of Playing with History: American Identities and Children’s Consumer Culture. CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! To see Civics 101 in book form, check out A User's Guide to Democracy: How America Works by Hannah McCarthy and Nick Capodice, featuring illustrations by Tom Toro. Check out our other weekly NHPR podcast, Outside/In - we think you'll love it! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Justine, Hannah, Nick, Hannah, Justine, Nick, Samantha, Samantha, oh my god, Samantha.
0:13.5	That's she.
0:14.5	It's her hair.
0:18.0	Yeah, so this is, um, this is Samantha.
0:22.9	Can I hold her?
0:23.9	Yes, please.
0:24.9	Please describe for our listeners what you've got in your hands.
0:27.5	I have not held an American girl doll in a really long time.
0:32.9	This is actually, I feel emotional.
0:35.2	Wow, look at the teeth.
0:38.0	So this is Samantha Doll, who is, I would say, seen better days.
0:41.3	She's seen better days.
0:42.3	I believe she received a small haircut at some point.
0:45.5	Her hair is, um, it does look like she got a haircut and bangs specifically.
0:49.4	She maybe had an emotional.
0:50.4	She got bangs.
0:51.4	Samantha has bangs.
0:52.4	All right.
0:53.4	Did she get those at the McCarthy salon?
0:55.6	Okay.
0:56.6	It does look like she's wearing a, uh, off-brand dress.
1:06.7	This is not off-brand, it is off-era though.
	...

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