More than just a pretty face

What must be considered when choosing material for a display? The aim of this exercise was to mimic the intellectual process of selecting documents to support a display of objects. An actual display was not created during the exercise. Several potential display topics were pre-selected for the students in advance of the session.

Audience: Undergraduate students in an advanced level course in History.
Note: I have been using this lesson for Education classes too with great success.

Objective:

·         To encourage students to be creative with original sources.

·         To participate in the “brainstorming” process of research.

·         To recognize bias when thinking about historical events.

·         To represent the past in a meaningful way.

·         To support the course assignment with a directly-related exercise.

Ingredients:

ü  Set of questions for students to consider during the exercise

ü  Pre-selected documents and objects for a potential display (in this case, five groups of records and objects were selected)

Method:

Preparation time: 30-45 mins

Exercise time: 30 mins

Part One: Interpret It

Instructions: If you were going to create a display with the material before you, consider these criteria. Be sure to give the display a name.

o   Is the material provocative enough?

o   Are the contents of this collection relatable?

o   What does this reveal?

o   Does this item connect to a larger theme?

o   Does reading this material cause you to question your own bias?

o   Is this “picture” speaking a thousand words?

o   Can these materials actively involve visitors?

o   What would you ask the author?

o   What else do you need to know? How do you find it?

Exercise time: 10 mins

Part Two: Represent It

Instructions: Each group will take two minutes to pitch your display idea to the class, be enticing and address:

o   What is the name of your display?

o   What is it you hope to achieve with your display?

Exercise time: 5 mins

Vote for your favourite display idea by secret ballot.

The winner gets to be included in the “virtual museum”.

Exercise time: 15 mins

Part Three: Discuss It

Instructions: As a group, we will take up some of the challenges within the archival and museum worlds, considering:

o   What is lost when just one story is displayed?

o   Why both keeping uninteresting records?

o   Whose “truth” is being preserved? Where? Who is doing it? Whose right is it?

o   How does bias/interpretation come out, despite safeguards?

o   What does the archives do/not do? How does this differ from a museum?

o   How do heritage institutions support each other?

Outcomes:

·         Students decided for themselves which material made the best display.

·         Students actively discussed and considered the opportunities and challenges of selecting materials for a display.

·         Students recognized the complexities of and considerations required for their assignment.

Notes: I brought the students’ attention to two books on which the exercise questions were based,

1.      Sherry Turkle. 2007. Evocative Objects: Things We Think With (discussed in this blog post http://classroomarchivist.blogspot.ca/2012/07/lit-review-evocative-objects.html)

2.      John A. Veverka. 1998. Interpretive Master Planning (discussed in this blog post http://classroomarchivist.blogspot.ca/2012/12/lit-review-interpretive-master-planning.html)