Reflections

While Jordan and I had jokingly talked on Wednesday night about who was going to be the last one to submit their blog posts, I said watch, I'll get mine in at 11:57 and Dawne will see the times tamp and just shake her  head. Well, after plugging away at Dr. Lockhart's paper for several hours, I had the sudden and gut wrenching realization THAT I DIDN'T DO MY LAST TWO BLOG POSTS! ACK ARE YOU KIDDING ME????

So here we are, a day late and a dollar short, but I had to finish them even if I don't get credit for them. So what did I learn this first semester? And am I a better (future) public historian because of it? Well the answers would be A) a lot, and B) most certainly. 

The first thing, and probably the most important, was that I learned how complex and diversified the field is. It's so much more than sifting through archival material or putting some objects in a glass box for people to look at. While someone can become highly specialized, it's far more useful to have a wide set of skills. Public history is literally everywhere, and by paying your dues and gaining the necessary experience any way you can, you're exposed to greater opportunities and will (hopefully) eventually get a shot at your dream job; it just takes patience and the will to keep pushing forward. 

Moving into the future, there are definitely things that I will always try to keep in the back of my mind as I navigate the field. Always try to understand how sense of place and collective memory can influence someone's thinking. Be prepared for people to not like what you're doing, because it is impossible to please everyone. I'm pretty sure that's a scientific fact. In that same stroke, be open and engage with the opposition, because they will have valid points of their own. Finally, to be confident in my skills. This program is built on making sure graduates are prepared practically for what they'll encounter, and while any job requires that you keep learning once you're there, I have to believe that I have the background necessary to find success.

The Curse of Oak Island

There's a show on the History channel that Scott and I kind of got sucked into this semester called "The Curse of Oak Island". It's about this team of treasure hunters (for lack of a better word) who are searching for an ancient buried treasure on Oak Island in Nova Scotia. Pirate treasure, Marie Antoinette's jewels, Shakespearean manuscripts, the Ark of the Covenant? It has been speculated that any one of these things can be hidden there, and people have been trying to find out what exactly is on that island for over 200 years. It's very "National Treasure", and they could definitely benefit from having their own Riley.

This particular incarnation of the hunt centers around two brothers from Michigan. One has had a life-long interest in Oak Island the elusive treasure (naturally) and the other is a savvy business tycoon, whose job is pretty much to bankroll the project and offer doubts about the endeavor every time something goes a little bit wrong (because the show wouldn't benefit from overall positivity. There's no dramatic tension in that). Using a variety of tools--ground penetrating radar, scuba diving, drilling, draining entire swamps--the team tries to unravel the mystery using the clues left behind by those treasure hunters who came before them.

So my questions are pretty straight forward: Is this for real, and what can we possibly gain from things like this? The third or fourth suggestion when you Google, "the curse of oak island' adds the word fake. So obviously other people are skeptical. Maybe they're planting this seemingly game changing evidence. Maybe they already found it and the government made them turn it over so the whole thing is a ruse. Maybe they are using real historical investigation methods and tools to find the answer to real historical puzzle.

I'd like to think that it's real, and that they aren't housing this elaborate hoax behind the veil of historical methods and research, but who really knows but them.

On the Move

Now that the semester has ended, I face the daunting task of packing up to move at the end of February.  I will be moving in with someone, so most of my belongings will be placed in a storage unit.  This is the perfect time to do another downsizing and determine what to take with me to the new place, what to put into storage and what to ‘deaccession’. Since I am the family historian, the items in those collections will be going with me.  A visit to Nebraska is on the schedule next summer, so I will separate items to take with me to show my cousin and ask if he would like to have anything.

Next is to make a decision about the furniture. Most of the furniture is items that I have purchased and will be going into storage. The only item I will not be keeping is the entertainment unit. Now let’s get to the nitty gritty my personal stuff. Yes, I said stuff.  Using what I have learned in class, I can now go through all the papers and make the proper decision about what to keep and what can be tossed.  This is the part that will take the longest, but by making the proper decision now, I will not be hauling around papers that are not necessary to hold onto for future generations to know about me.

My NEW DreamJob

When I started the public history program, I thought my dram job was exhibit design. After this semester, I have changed my mind. I want to be involved in digitizing collections, either art or archives.

I want to help people have access to archives and other 2D collections when they are unable to visit the collection. Not only does this allow people living hundreds of miles away do research, it can help people with mobility issues gain access, too.

While I understand the potential drawbacks of digital records, they are surmountable. Updates and backups need to occur often and the backups needs to be stored off site. Financial resources have to be available to continue the updates and backups.

I WANT TO DIGITIZE THE WORLD!

We Made It!!!!

We finally made it to the end of the semester. Our group worked through group presentations in the Introductions into Museums, and individual presentations in other classes.  The class got to delve into researching an artifact of our choosing, learning about the background of the object and how to conserve and place it on display. Visits to museums for us to critically review helped in putting into practice what we learned.

We had a plethora of guests in our classes.  Who knew that there were so many careers in the public history field? Guest speakers in archival positions talk to us about working in historical societies, government office and universities. We learned about careers in site preservation and in records management.  In archives class we learned about the newer segment of archives, digital collection. In the end we wrote papers like there was no end: 3 research papers, 12 article reviews, 3 museum site visits, 1 movie review and 10 blog posts and took 4 tests.

We did not know each other when the semester started, but we are getting to know each other and are forming the friendships that will last through our careers.  Even though the class will be splitting up next semester, we will be able to rely on each other now and in the future.

Apparently, I have been shunned....

My lack of being part of  connected social media outlets, such as Facebook has deprived me of the options to be part of group activities.  They do not understand that it is a plot by our potential robot conquerors...but that is a topic we do not need to delve too far into. 

In working learning about outreach initiatives for museums and archives from my paper, discussions, and presentations social media connections are a strongly viable (and recommended) type of program to make use of.  I think it has become vital to take your institution beyond creating a strong website and to move evermore into the digital realm of connectivity.  Our archives class even limited us to only making use of a single online program to pursue in developing our archives outreach.  Why stop at a website when you could reach out to people in Facebook, twitter, YouTube, and emailed newsletters to interested parties. 

Will there be a potential point where program ideas such as newspapers, ads, and magazine articles will become out of date?  Maybe the potential public to reach out to through these ideas will have fallen to a minimal amount and it is far more cost effective to use the internet to reach the maximum number of potential interested parties.  With how much technology has been slowly integrated (sometimes almost seamlessly) potential staff do not need to have specialized training in potential that the internet has to offer or may have the programming skills needed to manage the projects.

Hello our new robot overlords

So it seems that many of us in this class, if not all, will be able to look forward to our future careers in public history after graduation being overtaken by our robotic assistants.  Maybe even a an archive or museum would just be run by one human director that oversees everything...I imagine this will be Mitchel. 

Technology in public history has been a common topic we have covered a lot through out this class, through discussion, presentations, and a divided class debate on the merits or problems it would cause.  However, one thing I have heard usually added into the topic is about the possibilities for present and future forms of media being exhibited or presented to a researcher in an archive.

One thing that we as public historians really enjoy (hopefully) is the interaction with an actual artifact.  We like looking through (and handling if possible) the photographs, diaries, correspondence, and works of art that the generations before us have produced.  However, what will be the possible application of materials from our generation and a effective ways to use them?  How will we make use of emails, typed documents and presentations, this blog that I am writing, and the creative work in done digitally like art work and videos?  I think preservation has been a topic that has discussed how we would take care of this digital age, but how would you create ways of exhibiting and interpreting them when they exist in intangible formats.