History 1.accessibility.fa2012

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Telling history &Creating accessibility

+How archives are created

A collection is usually donated

An archivist then describes the collection and tries to find some sort of organization to the contents

The collection is assessed and appraised

Then, anything that is not useful to the historical function of the archive in the collection gets sold or put elsewhere

Finally, the archive is put together in boxes with description sheets that tell exactly what the archive is.

Archive=constructed

And how can that help us think about this project?

+What to Keep?

Imagine you are the grandchild of a wealthy, famous man. He is a businessman, former professional football player, philanthropist, writer, and all-around wonderful person. Your grandfather dies and leaves you his entire estate. You alone are in charge of his belongings. You decide to donate many of his belongings to a museum because you don’t have the expertise to maintain them for posterity. What do you keep and what do you throw away?

+MVP Award

+Helping Orphans

+Liquor Cabinet

+Gun Collection

+Picture with Reagan

+Picture with Obama

+My Little Pony Collection

+Medal of Honor

+Signed Copy of Mein Kampf

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ProvenanceComes from the French provenir which means “to come from.” An archivist generally focuses on the provenance of the collection to determine the origin or the source of the contents

+Principles of Provenance

Records of the same provenance should not be mixed with those of a different provenance

The archivist should maintain the original order in which the records were created and kept. (Society of American Archivists, 2013)

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What is history?Who tells history? How did you learn history?

Group Discussion: Get together in a small group. Recap the 21st Century so far. Just hit the highlights. Share and compare with class.

+Cultural Memory

Time Distance from the “memory” Time continues and influences

context

Place Place it happens Place you learn it

Objects Artifacts Usable

Agent Firsthand knowledge vs.

retelling Car crashes

Memory vs. History Memory is how it

happened; History is how it is represented

Memory always relates to the present

Our perception of the past is influenced by the present The past always changes

Fancy word for history situated in context

+David Hockney’s Secret KnowledgeGet in to groups. Discuss Hockney’s argument. Is it effective? What makes it effective (or not)? What choices does he make?

Come back together as a class: Discuss. Why would people be angry about his argument? Who might that be (audience)?

+Dead Sea Scrolls

+Dead Sea Scrolls

Discovered in 1947 East of Jerusalem

Various writings, some part of the Bible, some not.

Written between Second Century BCE and Second Century CE.

Showed a diversity of views about what the Bible should be.

Changed accepted historical belief about where and who the Bible came from.

+Provenance?

Dead Sea Scrolls

+Renaissance Painting

How do we know about Renaissance painting techniques?

Is there donor bias?

+Medieval Painting

+Van Eyck

+Shroud of Turin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYdDYT8SkjE

+Narrating Your Research

Audience How will your audience know what you are talking about? What information do you need to include? (context)

Accessibility The audience is “accessing” your information through the

text, images, etc. You’ve gathered it and you’ve narrated the story

Agency Agency=the doer (agent) You have the ability/power to make knowledge

Creating accessibility

+Provenance Activity

Work with your group members.

Analyze your sources.

What is the origin?

Who had control of it?

What was at stake for them?

Is there another possible story out there?