James Newberry, Kennesaw State University Department of museums, archives, and rare books
PROPOSAL TYPE
Structured Conversation
Seeking
- Seeking Additional Presenters
- Seeking General Feedback and Interest
- Seeking Specific Expertise
RELATED TOPICS
- Archives
- Museums/exhibits
- Public engagement
ABSTRACT
Staff members in the Kennesaw State University Department of Museums, Archives and Rare Books (MARB) will share their experiences developing community exhibit projects and facilitating collections development and community engagement for diverse stakeholders and audiences. Each staffer will discuss specific scenarios in which their roles required the mediation of conflicting voices. To cap off this lively session, participants will work together to evaluate and make decisions regarding a complex scenario with multiple voices.
DESCRIPTION
The goals for the Maximizing Divergent Voices for Community Engagement proposal are to share experiences diversifying the “temple” of the archives and incorporating the foundational work of community members to curate local history exhibits. In addition, the proposed session or structured conversation should open a dialogue with similar and different institutions throughout North America seeking to incorporate more diverse voices and develop a sense of belonging in archives and special collections as well as the collective stories and cultural memories of communities. Through a range of examples from public programming, exhibit development, oral history and image collection projects, and focus groups, participants would present practical solutions for both resolving conflicts and incorporating difference into a project’s outcome.
Kennesaw State University staffers seek 1-2 additional panelists and/or participants to share similar experiences and offer practical strategies for diversifying collections and community projects. Additional panelists should represent organizations outside the university setting. In addition, the 1-2 other panelists should bring a proposed activity, which engages participants and provides a working list of best practices and tools for their respective organizations, institutions, and historic sites. The additional panelists should be open to networking in the future.
If you have a direct offer of assistance, sensitive criticism, or wish to pass along someone’s contact information confidentially, please get in contact directly: James Newberry, Kennesaw State University, [email protected]
ALL FEEDBACK AND OFFERS OF ASSISTANCE SHOULD BE SUBMITTED BY JULY 1, 2021. If you have general ideas or feedback to share, please feel free to use the comments feature below.
My colleague Libby Provost, [email protected], could present case studies from the perspective of a historical consulting firm.
I love that you are seeking to include participants from community groups in this presentation. That will add much-needed perspectives to the panel. I would recommend that at least one is from a minority community to ensure a diversity of voices in this area as well.
Hi James – This is an ambitious and worthwhile endeavour. I recently co-edited a special issue of the journal Social History / Histoire Sociale that dealt with the issue of memory and slavery in French contexts. There was one particular article by Renée Gosson that explores a “non-traditional” approach to museum exhibits in the Mémorial ACTe in Guadeloupe. It is called “Breaking Museal Tradition” that uses, what she calls, a “Creole museography.” This article might help inspire ideas for strategies and approaches that could be considered. In case you are interested in reviewing her piece it is in Volume 53, No. 107 (2020), pages 179-184.
Audra, thanks so much. We will check it out as we finalize the proposal.
I think thinking through oral history might be very useful for this project. Too often we assume that oral history is the “voice of the oppressed” or the forgotten. However, oral history often does not function in that way because of the scope of interviews and often have to be read against the grain just like other sources.