Category Archives: HIST 694 Digital Public History

HIST 694 Digital Public History, Project

DPH689 New Course – New Goals

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Cleveland Humanities Collaborative Celebrating Graduating Students with faculty & staff 

I work at Cuyahoga Community College teaching History, Women’s Studies and advising in a Transfer Pathway to Case Western Reserve University.  You may have heard of us in the previous 8 years when President and Mrs. Obama often used our college as a model for promoting community college education.

Having earned my Ph.D. in a very …very traditional program, I have great classic research skills and felt myself falling behind the Digital World.  I wanted to understand the “Digital” behind Digital Humanities and I wanted to add new dynamics to the teaching in my on-line classes.  Also I was struggling with a long-running research project.  I needed new tools to organize, diagram and (I now realize) ‘crowdsource’ the aspects of this work.  I was crowd-sourcing before it had a fancy name, but classic methods have been insufficient for what we have been trying to accomplish.

The Digital Humanities Certificate Program is helping me in many ways, broadening my awareness of the scholarship & literature of this field, creating deadlines and forcing me to develop technological skills and independence.  I have ventured into the new fields of mapping and blogging and tried utilizing new content management systems.  I had hoped to gain more technological proficiency which is my weakness.  Since this is a distance learning course and there are no nearby facilities to act as resources, that has been a challenge.

Considering the constantly changing dynamics, platforms and resources of Digital History, I am intrigued by the concept of ‘teaching’ it.  I have used digital tools in my courses, and as noted above, I have greatly expanded my understanding of the field.  My goal for this course is to consider how to balance theory and practice in the learning environment, where ‘expertise’ is one of the variables.  My fellow history professor David Bernatowicz (standing next to the window in the picture above) teaches a “History of Cleveland” course.  This course combines traditional class lecture and activities with actual physical tours.

 

 I have organized and taught the Cleveland  Women’s History class & tour.  A project I would like to envisage is transforming this physical class/tour into a digital/virtual experience.

Every class is a journey transforming the mind!

 

HIST 694 Digital Public History, Project

Phe Fyi Fo Fum… a giant journey!

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PHE: Public Humanities Experience

This semester has been a journey in Public Humanities scholarship and engagement.  Juggling the creation of a public engagement web page for a university archive ‘special collection’ while learning about the theory underlying that engagement has been challenging.  Students like to dream high and while studying are exposed to the best practices, which builds high hopes and expectations.  We explored exciting Digital Public Websites such as “Bracero History Archive” (2010); The Great Chicago Fire and the Web of Memory (1999)and Driving Through Time: The Digital Blue Ridge Parkway.  Learning has been directed toward thinking about the unique aspects of humanities interaction as well as the structural & interpretive components of web presence and websites.

The goal of my particular journey has been to develop a web resource that will provide awareness of resources, connections between resources, encourage scholarship and research and promote on going work on Women and their history in Northeast Ohio.  The real ‘engagement’ aspects of my experience forced me into the application of political, strategic politics as well as challenges of hardware and software, all while being confronted with insights of experts who exposed fallacies in practices and promoted a deeper awareness of audience needs and the connections between tools and conveyance of information.  Each aspect of the education, challenged my conception of the project.  The struggle with deadlines certainly simulated real life production pressure.  Meeting with collaborating individuals and institutions resulted in constant refinement and the dynamic challenge of conflicting goals and interpretations.

Ideas are made real by experiences and when they take place in the public setting they create true human engagement.

FYI: For Your Information

The purpose of digital humanities is to engage people in the ideas, purposes and actions of the world about them.  This does not sound so difficult until it is realized that communicating big and complex ideas to individuals who vary in age, culture, intellectual experience and ability is also being mediated by space, context and technology.  “Interaction (between presenter & receiver) is almost always necessary to accomplish your goals.”  Perspectives and cultures not only of people, but of the ‘organizations of collection’ themselves, among the objectives of the public education, and the audience which varies in capability & experience are all approaching this communication very differently.  It is only through building relationships, that clear and engaging communication can be developed.[1]  It is not merely thinking about the idea we wish to communicate, it is about rethinking about what the visitor is able to receive.  The idea of thinking about “visitors” to public museums, institutions and parks in terms of ‘relationships’ results in a radically different engagement.[2]  When “visiting” was solely defined by physical space, often difficult and expensive to access the “engagement” was much different than when access  to technology demands multi-sensory and multi-platform intersection.  Even though it still may be difficult and expensive to create, it is necessary for the audience to perceive the information we are trying to exchange.

If we want the audience to understand appreciate and act upon or incorporate our information; we must understand and intersect with their modes of communication.

FO: Field Operations

While Citizen Archivist,  The Postville Project and Digital Harlem have provided ideal types for my own ideas, it is not until I got into trying to create a project, that the complexity, collaboration and comprehensive strategy of these undertakings became evident.  These websites are masters of design and integration.  The elements of my project seemed fairly simple:

  • create a list of resource links to make resources accessible in a centralized portal
  • install an exhibit space where women’s history can be demonstrated
  • provide a contact sheet so that information can be exchanged and
  • enable a dynamic space where interesting projects can be announced and engage contribution

Immediately I was challenged by the concept of ‘is my concept of sharing information’ really sharing?[3]  Or am I maintaining control over the sharing, which is not really sharing.  Is there a deeper way to engage?  Am I providing a “newsletter” or a collaborative space?  Am I providing a design that invites the user into the topic and enables them to develop their own thinking as well as absorbing mine?[4]

Considering the audience as a specific individual, is an exercise forced me, as the creator of the site, to move from general concepts and overblown expectations as to who would really access this site.  It also made clear that engaging the content from different perspectives, helps define and present that content in more accessible ways.[5]  I experienced these different perspectives in meetings where interested potential users asked me questions I couldn’t answer.  So much for being an authority on the topic.  But even more humbling was translating my vision into technical reality.  Tools have always been limited.  They are extensions and helpers, but they are not the same thing as a concept.  The vision must be altered by what is possible to accomplish with the tool.  If the tool is insufficient it must be altered or exchanged for a different tool.  I tried to force a dynamic collaborative website concept into a tool that was meant for identifying and collecting things.  If I had technologic expertise or a collaborative team, I might have been able to adapt the tool.  However, I am also working with an established system and there was an unwillingness to adapt their system to my vision.  Back to the drawing board for reconception of how to convey my meaning within and established format.  It was necessary to share control, concept and expression.[6]

FUM: Formative Understandings & Musings

I had envisioned myself as an open and forward thinker.  My journey into digital humanities has challenged that self-conception.  I realize how my training in critical thinking has created its own set of biases and obstacles to communication.  Considering users as specific people with needs has shaped my thinking in terms of content selection. It also demands a broadening my use of tools, to facilitate my communication, rather than expecting others to put forth the effort to grasp my meaning.  Using technology has made me more aware of the multiple layers of interfaces and how that may limit our expressions and reshape our interpretations by focusing our content in “easily accessible tools or images”.  It has deepened my appreciation of the past and the present.  It has sharpened my awareness of the need to communicate ideas more frequently and engagingly.  It has indeed been a giant journey!

[1] Allen-Greil, D., et al. “Social Media and Organizational Change.” In J. Trant and D. Bearman (eds.) Museums and the Web 2011: Proceedings.Toronto: Archives & Museum Informatics. Published March 31, 2011. And Corbett, Katharine T. and Howard S. (Dick) Miller. “A Shared Inquiry into Shared Inquiry.” The Public Historian 28.1 (2006): 15-38.

[2] Lindsay, Anne. “#VirtualTourist: Embracing Our Audience through Public History Web Experience.” The Public Historian 35.1 (February 2013): 67-86.

[3] Michael Frisch, “From A Shared Authority to the Digital Kitchen, and Back,” in Letting Go?: Sharing Historical Authority in a User-Generated World. Edited by Bill Adair, Benjamin Filene, and Laura Koloski (Philadelphia: The Pew Center for Arts and Heritage, 2011) 126-137.

[4]Tim Sherratt, “It’s All About the Stuff: Collections, Interfaces, Power, and People,” Journal of Digital Humanities 1, no. 1 (March 9, 2012), http://journalofdigitalhumanities.org/1-1/its-all-about-the-stuff-by-tim-sherratt/

[5] Tim Sherratt, “It’s All About the Stuff: Collections, Interfaces, Power, and People,” Journal of Digital Humanities 1, no. 1 (March 9, 2012) and Steve Lubar, “Exhibit and Exhibit Labels Workshop, On Public Humanities, March 31, 2015.

[6] Tammy S. Gordon, “Community Exhibition: History, Identity, and Dialogue,” Private History in Public: Exhibition and the Settings of Everyday Life (Lanham: AltaMira Press, 2010). 33-57 plus notes.

HIST 694 Digital Public History, Project

Prog Blog

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“As it has for more than two centuries, progress will come in fits and starts.  It’s not always a straight line.  It’s not always a smooth path.”                                                                                                   Barak Obama

First it was Tech Week.  On the Tech side…I am getting more comfortable with the concept of trial and error.  Then it was Ad Week, as in administration.  In both cases, it has been about stopping and revisiting the plan.  It is about checking in with the partners.  To recap, this web page project is serving multiple purposes and involves a minimum of 4 partners.  Discussions on the tech side, are leading me to re-consider, either the theme or the look of the landing page.  I already have a minimum of elements in place.  I am looking to gain a better sense of the full set of resources we will be adding.

Then I caught up with my collaborating partners.  This involved following up with personnel who are in charge of items for the page.  I also moved forward in discussions involving the institutional issues of the page: such as locus of content and who is controlling which aspects of the content, whose permissions are required for additional links, who will be involved in creating, revising and maintain specific areas of content, etc.  This involved several exchanges of emails, calls and preparation of another proposal which included identifying and getting agreement on the following:

  1. A paragraph or two outlining the purpose of the page and other relevant information to help visitors understand what to expect and give them some background.
  2. A couple of suggested images to illustrate the page and explain its theme.
  3. A list of relevant institutional resources
  4. A list of relevant external resources

Directions have been re-established.  Items have moved forward in the approval process, issues are being clarified.  Project management is about keeping things moving, navigating expectations and continuing to visualize the goal.  We are moving toward the goal!

HIST 694 Digital Public History

Oral History?

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All I can say is WHOA………………

My introduction to the “modern age” of oral history really came when I was trying to help a student with a project and stumbled across the Bracero History Archive.  This archive is not just an oral interview collection, but a living history repository and crowd sourcing project, rich with related materials (videos, still images, documents, interpretations, maps, etc.) that provide an in-depth ‘experience’ of the  ‘guest laborer’ program that lasted from 1942-1964.

The Bracero History Archive sets a standard, but history (seemingly in any form) reflects the perspective and needs of the person or group creating it.  History is the queen of the humanities because it adapts and changes reflecting the human spirit and human endeavor.  There is nothing as powerful as the human voice expressing deeply felt and connected human experience.  Technological tools are increasingly making this aspect of humanity publicly accessible.  Specific tools, such as the Oral History Metadata Synchronizer; by indexing, providing the metadata for citation and presenting the interviews in forms that can be easily utilized by researchers makes a huge leap in terms of expanding human dialogue and connection.

The impact of the technological innovations on oral history are extended beyond the production aspects.  Because production and transcription s easier and better; more people can be interviewed.  Now the crowd is increasingly speaking for itself in sites like Story Corps.   This has created an astounding opportunity for “the common voice” to be gathered.  The voice of the crowd prior to this period, was delivered primarily through the voices (and mediation) of reporters.  Oral history is providing a new way to capture history.  In sites such as the Nevada Test site, Baltimore Rising and the Hurricane Digital Memory Bank the crowd is invited to tell its own story.   Stories and perspective are more varied.  A clearer picture of work places the dangers, the pressures, as well as the parade of “American industry” emerges.  Sites like American Folklife   

capture of the sources of endurance and community like music, poetry, crafts, mementos that might differ from those in categorized as “Great Art”.   This explosion of voices  is fracturing the ideal of a single “American Way”, which really never existed.  A fuller awareness of the complexities of the ‘real America’ is causing division and fear, similar to growing pains.

Technology is demanding more from us.  It is forcing us to examine issues differently.  In my project and others, there is a need to reflect on the voices that have been included and how we present them.  New sources always lead to new interpretations. …

This is exciting stuff!!

HIST 694 Digital Public History, Reviews, Tools

Oral Tech!

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Oral History Metadata Synchronizer    http://www.oralhistoryonline.org/

“The Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History at the University of Kentucky Libraries OHMS provides users word-level search capability and a time-correlated transcript or indexed interview connecting the textual search term to the corresponding moment in the recorded interview online.

  • OHMS Application: The OHMS application is where the work is done. This is the back-end, web-based application where interviews are imported, and metadata is created.  In the OHMS application transcripts are time-coded and/or interviews are indexed.  Upon completion, the interview record (including the synchronized transcript and/or time-coded index) are exported as an XML file.  When located on a web server, the OHMS XML file is what interfaces with your content management system through the OHMS Viewer.
  • OHMS Viewer: The OHMS viewer is the user interface of ohms. When an interview is called by the repository, the OHMS viewer loads, calling select interview level metadata and the intra interview level metadata created in the OHMS Application from the corresponding xml file.”

Examples  http://www.oralhistoryonline.org/examples/

Does this look like a commercial?  I apologize.  Although I am not currently working with Oral History, I have conducted and tried to utilize oral history in the deep dark past before the interviews were videotaped and indexed.  It was painstaking and the quality variable.  Like many others, I turned to easier sources for my work. This cool new tool is a game changer because it makes Oral History Accessible!  Examining the Resource & guides  indicates that the production is by no means a magic wand.  But the structure eases the transcription process and the data tools make all the production worthwhile, because at the end of it, more people will be able to access the content.  I immediately sent the link to all my friends doing Oral History, who probably already knew about it, because they DO oral history.

HIST 694 Digital Public History, Project

Digital Humanities Projects are Collaborative!

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Cleveland Women’s Archive Project Update or “Digital Humanities Projects are Collaborative!”

The words of my mother ring in my ears, “how many times do I have to tell you”!  The things I know, but have to be repeated until I finally take action.  ‘Digital humanities projects are collaborative’ and like all good academics, I looked around for the collaboration within my institution and my (actually fairly wide) circle of friends.  But when my known resources failed me in resolving my issues with Omeka,  I swallowed my pride and reached out to strangers in my community.  What a concept!  Is that not what “community” is all about?  Cleveland is a Midwestern town, where folks still help others!  I made an appointment at the Center for Public History + Digital Humanities at Cleveland State University.  Extraordinarily generous with their time and expertise;  Erin Bell clarified my understanding of Curatescape and some of the nuances of Omeka while Dr. Mark Souther introduced me to their goals for the Cleveland Historical ‘living history archive’ and the activities of Center.  We shared our love of the city and its history.

Armed with these new perspectives, I am somewhat back at the drawing board.  My recent investigations into the Landscape and Oral history modules have reminded me of the need to focus on audience and more intentional design.  The Omeka User Manual  clearly states that planning is critical, but an individual cannot know, what they do not know.   My new understanding of Omeka will necessitate re-calibration of what I can and cannot do within the Omeka structure in the time available to complete the project.  Traditionally, I have been uncomfortable with trial and error, but a huge benefit of my collaboration, was Erin Bell’s assurance that is an on-going aspect of “digital” humanities.  I will be eternally grateful for that advice.

My immediate goal is to finish the administrative aspects of the collaboration with the CSU Special Collections division, complete the identification of all the resource materials to be included on the site while I ponder the design.  This  IS  Community History!

HIST 694 Digital Public History, Reviews, Tools

There’s No Place Like Home

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Landscape, Environment, Location, Community, Local Culture, are really terms that describe Public History, in a space some people call “Home”.  People’s homes and pasts, are their identity.  Public history has a dual responsibility to convey information about the past, but it also has to resonate with the culture it is expressing.  Good public history creates a story that so well reflects people’s identities and captures their memories, that even difficult subjects can be addressed.  Traditionally, history has been drawn from objects and documents that people can feel and touch.  Stories written, passed down orally or conveyed in song or drama helped to portray the human experience through direct contact.

Digital public history expands the tools used to interpret and connect to the past.  For example in “World War One: Love and Sorrow – A hybrid exhibition mobile experience.” Visitors choose from among eight characters in a mobile application to guide their museum experience.  This character and Bluetooth technology helps them personalize and focus on specific aspects in the themes of the exhibit: ‘Spirit of the Times’, War Experience, Wounds, War at Home & Life after with the ultimate goal of exploring the true cost of war.  The character & technology particularly enable the visitor to identify with the Victorian Gaze, encounter stories that are usually avoided, and engage and debate in new ways and expand access to resources and the exhibition beyond the gallery through on-line support.  Technology creates an excitement and a new interesting way to challenge what might first appear to be a familiar past.

Digital History is mediated.  It is viewed through a lens that may be video (camera angles and focus determined by the director) or captured and digitized documents, images, or collections. These processes make the object more accessible and usually more visible or clear, but the context, texture and dimension may be lost.  Often the creation of Digital History requires the assistance of experts who may not be from the local community.  Involving the local community in the creation of these histories can result in better understanding and authentic experience that makes history ‘come alive’.  All history is about connections between people and the forces that are operating around them.  Even when it is local, it is reflective engagement with a period that no longer exists.  Effort is required to make intersections between the past and present both familiar and informative.  Mobile Apps, collected as galleries in sites such as Historypin, Clio & Curatescape Projects, make these connections for resident and visitor (actual or virtual) highlighting the uniqueness and significance of our homes.

Home on the Range

Mobile technology is also providing ways to engage with specific stories of the past in real time and place.  Curatescape Projects, Histories of the National Mall, Museum of London, Street Museum, Walking Cinema, and Murder on Beacon Hill are sites that enable users to access history based on  their physical location bringing up stories that are identified by GPS signals.  Instant information is a daily experience. Providing information when visitors need it addresses the culture that expects choices and is highly time sensitive.  Walls are tumbling.  Institutions that can meet potential audiences at the moment their interest is generated, in styles that are familiar actually draws them into a relationship.  Positive, preference-based experiences helps patrons “get the most out of a visit without having to dig through information that isn’t of interest … this concept while relatively new to museums, is common practice in industry.”  Baer et al.   Learning does not happen only in classrooms.  Having a web presence, makes the museum or public heritage site an active and accessible resource.

According to Mark Tebeau, “oral history and digital practice share an underlying activist endeavor, one that breaks down traditional power relations and re-imagines communities as part of the process of scholarly production.” The Curetescape platform developed first in Cleveland Historical “integrates public history, oral history, and digital humanities practice.”  It provides an alternative perspective by focusing on the storytelling process.  Rather than objects or images, tales are sought from the community and recorded and the stories of the city are collected.  Voices of the past, as well as image and interpretation are immediately available in the geo-located spot. Mobile technology is like a tap on the public shoulder, raising awareness of the connections of culture and inviting further investigation.  It makes public institutions relevant in daily activity and on the street!

ET Phone Home

Integrating the analysis of “landscape” and digital humanities reinforces specific practices and raises new awareness of some practical considerations in my mind.  It is significant that that all “homes” are not the same.  Reflecting on how and why a ‘place’ has its own unique character and how people live and interact in that space, is enriching to both the people that live there and visitors.  Locating actions, events, connections and people to a specific spot helps make them real.  ‘Anchoring’ locations, serves the same purpose as a timeline, enabling us to identify connections of human activity and aspiration.

When we tell our stories we need to recognize that people come from different homes that impact their experience of the story.  This ‘home’ arises not only from their cultural background which may differ from the site of the story, but also in their interests and means of engagement:

  • The “Idea” person likes to understand how the ‘big picture’ works.
  • The “People” person is attracted to personal and emotional connections.
  • The “Object” person is attracted by the aesthetics of the object.
  • The “Physical” person seeks physical and sensory experiences.

Baer, et al. “Beyond the Screen”

Our stories will be better appreciated and understood if we include ‘handles of familiarity’ for our audiences to grasp and connect.  There are practical considerations of presentations no matter the location: do people have access to the technology, are the instructions clear, what are the difficulties a stranger might experience, etc.  “Design” is the tool we can use to reflect on the entire experience of the engagement.  The design process includes far more than colors or letter styling.  If we approach digital humanities projects with the concept of collaborative design, an inclusiveness of expertise, resource, engagement, audience,  tools, and perspectives, we have a much higher chance of success.

“The purpose of a museum experience, public heritage site, (or good digital humanities project) is to create ‘memorable moments’”. Hart  Homes are spaces filled with the good and the difficult and they shape our experience.  When we open our homes, guests bring new ideas.  We share our experiences and our stories.  Our lives are understanding increases and our lives are richer.

Notes:

Tebeau, Mark. “Listening to the City: Oral History and Place in the Digital Era.” Oral History Review 40.1 (2013): 25-35.

Hart, T. and Brownbill, J. “World War One: Love and Sorrow – A hybrid exhibition mobile experience.” In Museums and the Web Asia 2014, N. Proctor & R. Cherry (eds). Silver Spring, MD: Museums and the Web. Published September 19, 2014.

Baer, Brad, Emily Fry and Daniel Davis. “Beyond the Screen: Creating interactives that are location, time, preference, and skill responsive.” MW2014: Museums and the Web 2014. Published February 1, 2014.

HIST 694 Digital Public History, Public Domain Sources, Reviews

Exploring Cleveland Historically

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I downloaded the Cleveland Historical, produced by the Center for Public History & Digital Humanities at Cleveland State University.

Mobile Public History App

Cleveland Historical is promoted as a mobile application that provides a GPS-enabled map, historic images from Cleveland’s top archival institutions and an interpretive view of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio history.  I had seen Cleveland Historical in its infancy as it is connected to Cleveland Memory and the CSU Center for Public History.

Center for Public History and Digital Humanities

The on-line version is more of an archival record format.  In its early state, the architecture was clumsy, the images fuzzy and many in the historical community viewed it as a ‘limited repository’.  When I tried to download Cleveland Historical from my home in a nearby suburb, it did bring up lots of great photos for Lakewood and the nearby communities.  Seemingly a random collection of documents and photos, I could not get a clear idea of what was chosen & why.  Either none of the sites had audio or they wouldn’t load.  Basically I reverted to my earlier judgment, ‘Kinda klunky but interesting, at least Cleveland is trying’ (it’s a motto here).

When I tried the mobile app from my office downtown, I was stunned by the difference.  Cleveland Historical really is a dramatic leap forward in technology and engagement!  When I opened it, the GPS-enabled map popped up a series of “Stories” historic images between .25 mi and progressively distant to my immediate location.  The top of the screen navigation bar gave the options: Stories, Tours, Map

  • Clicking on the Story selection brought up related thumbnails. Each entry had thumbnail image, a log distance and name. Clicking the thumbnail brought up a larger photo and historical description.
  • Clicking on the folded map brings up a location map that can be enlarged or reduced, scrolled or there is a bar to get directions which locates with directions the photo you have opened.

Back conveniently takes you back to the previous item.  Several ‘stories’ that have audio & video options indicated in the navigation bar at the top of the page.  Clicking on a headset or movie reel will produce a new list of clips: interviews, reports, images, newsreels.  The user can continue to scroll to distant locations or search on keywords.

Many of the clips and short documentary videos are drawn from CSU’s Cleveland Regional Oral History collection.  Cleveland Historical is designed to be a collaborative project with stories created by teachers, students, professors and community members.  While curated by the Center for Public History + Digital Humanities, the goal is to have the community actively participating in making and remaking its understandings of place and identity.  Tebeau believes “Listening and the human voice, in particular, evoke ‘place’ in visceral and profound ways.” Human voices call forth memory, time, and context.  Other images are drawn from a full range of collections from local institutions such as the Cleveland Museum of Art to family photos or the Cleveland Press, journalistic collection.  The selections are chosen based on location and engagement for example near to the grounds of the prestigious University Circle area with many significant institutions, a thumbnail of the Hessler Street Fair is included (this is an alleyway, which still maintains its original woodblock construction, and hosts a neighborhood festival every year).  The “Tours” option is very useful for visitors, providing walking or driving options to cover a topic area such as the Underground Railroad, Great Migration or history of Rock n Roll!  It did inspire me to ‘get on’ with my project as when I searched on women the thumbnails were obviously architecture or events that included “women” in the text or metadata.  As with all public history, there is more work to be done!  But Cleveland Historical is a very cool app and a great start!

https://clevelandhistorical.org/  accessed 4/8/2018.

Tebeau, Mark. “Listening to the City: Oral History and Place in the Digital Era.” Oral History Review 40.1 (2013): 25-35.

http://urbanhumanist.org/2011/07/30/from-cleveland-historical-to-mobile-historical/ accessed 4/8/2018.

HIST 694 Digital Public History, Project

A Social Week

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“Living organisms including humans are social when they live collectively in interacting populations, whether they are aware of it, and whether the interaction is voluntary or involuntary.”  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social)

Interaction is almost always necessary to accomplish your goals.  Also the ‘victory’ of accomplishing a goal is always more satisfying when it can be shared with others.  Basic speech classes and media classes study theories of communication and while the essence of ‘passing information’ remains the same, the circumstances, customs, medium and many aspects of “communication” seem to be constantly changing.  One of the defining characteristics of historical periods is how they communicate.

Allen-Griel et al make an effort to examine the ways the new period of social media communication and its’ production is impacting museum organizations.  Although focused on museum organizations, the analysis provides a broader insight into changes and behavior in contemporary public communication.  Museums, which are all organizations of collection and public education, are approaching public communication very differently – as building relationships, a necessary vehicle for promotion or as a content management system.  The fact that contemporary communication is being delivered via social media which requires the use of systems not controlled by either the ‘speaker’ or the ‘audience’ profoundly changes the dynamic from face-to-face or print mediums.  Allen-Griel argue there is a fundamental issue of trust* for public organizations which must be established within the organization itself and is reflected in its communications.  Furthermore, the creation of social media communications changes the relationships with-in the staff of these large institutions, but its successful implementation depends on {new} cultures of freedom and trust.  Management of these organizations needs to reflect on how social media impacts not only the production operation of these institutions, but how it shapes their character. roceedings.Toronto   But all projects working to communicate ideas to active public audiences need to consider these issues and styles of communication as well.

In working on the Cleveland Women’s Archive project, I have been struggling with the nuances of the Omeka platform.  I have been able to restore some of the links and basic exhibit that had been lost.  I effectively added some additional plug ins for functionality.  However, my mental disconnect between working a ‘back end’ that doesn’t mirror the ‘public face’ is stalling construction.  While making baby step progress working with asynchronous means of communication – tutorials and web support; I have searched for and contacted some local people who have worked with the program.  Throughout the formative period of my education, communication was face to face so I am using an older, but familiar pattern of communication.  This ‘dated’ method of physical communication has an inherent time lag, which is also impacting my production schedule.   A key attribute (and sometimes detriment) of the digital social networks are their speed.  Even if I can immediately access the tutorials, if they are not communicating in familiar terms or processes, the value of their speed is lost.

Dudareva and Lindsey explore how institutions make connections with the quirks and desires of varied audiences.  Museums and heritage sites have multiple goals including among others; marketing, education, membership development and quality.  The potential audiences also have different motivations and styles.  Dudareva identifies and defines 5 types of relationships that a user might be seeking with an institution, “Enthusiast,” “Connected,” “Contributor,” “Interested,” and “Informational.  Lindsey investigates the planning and structural elements that need to be considered in attracting the “virtual tourist” and developing the relationships with them.  She explores the methodology of three historic sites: Mount Vernon, Colonial Williamsburg and Monticello.  These studies provide not only technical aspects to consider, but the deeper choices that impact the relationship and ability to communicate with these audiences.

I have been exploring local and community websites and examples of expression and engagement in various forms of Social media (Facebook, Twitter, Blogs).  Wide diversity of personality among institutions is displayed.  Sometimes more, sometimes less effectively, organizations highlight their unique qualities and work to stimulate engagement.  Reflecting on these communications introduces important considerations like the impact of immediate communication, as well as ‘life span’ issues, technological longevity, web presence risks and publication costs of the digital modalities.  The digital communication style, while still new, is also evolving at an intimidating pace.  Large institutions even with intentional planning have to adapt and change policy to meet shifting needs. King “Narrations”.  The establishment of a web page, what appeared to be, and is, a technological challenge; is also a complex multi-disciplinary psychological, political, economic and social interaction. It is evident that investments in time and money can create authentic reflections of institutional purposes and treasures.   Thoughtful exposure and ease of interaction results in attracting larger audiences.  From this ‘traffic’ a certain percentage establish virtual relationships of great benefit to these heritage institutions.

In my project, I aspire to great ideas and impact.   But real time and knowledge constraints requires that I study and reflect on the nuances of sites that are doing similar things and adapt what I can.  I appreciate ingenuity, design and all the functionality of professionally created sites like the Citizen Archivist Dashboard and the Western Reserve Historical Society.  However, many local sites are capturing their own audiences and demonstrating the breadth of the human experience.  While I have some ethical questions about the re-enactment of Quantrill on Twitter, it does provide an open opportunity to raise ethical questions and interpret the meaning of local history in shaping current identity and beliefs.  Exploring blogs, I stumbled on The Jewish Women’s Archive  and new faces in Cleveland women’s history.   The goal of any research project is to uncover new information, but digital sharing expands communication across new mediums.  Getting social is essential, as really always has been.

Allen-Greil, D., et al. “Social Media and Organizational Change.” In J. Trant and D. Bearman (eds.) Museums and the Web 2011: Proceedings.Toronto: Archives & Museum Informatics. Published March 31, 2011.

*Note the Allen-Griel article was written in the Pre-Trump era of public institutions.

N. Dudareva. “Museums in social media.” In Museums and the Web 2013, N. Proctor & R. Cherry (eds). Silver Spring, MD: Museums and the Web. Published June 1, 2014.

Lindsay, Anne. “#VirtualTourist: Embracing Our Audience through Public History Web Experience.” The Public Historian 35.1 (February 2013): 67-86

King, Mary. “Rebooting the Social Media Strategy for the National Archives.” Narrations: the Blog of the National Archives, August 25, 2016.

HIST 694 Digital Public History, Project

“Progress” Blog

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“Progress means getting nearer to the place you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turning, then to go forward does not get you any nearer.If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man.”
― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

So the question for this weekly progress report is “what constitutes progress?”

I am learning the ins and outs of Digital Humanities – I am evolving in terms of my understanding of the larger significance of changing presentation modes from text to Digital Formats.  There is improvement in my abilities to navigate tutorials and digital interfaces that are growing with practice, practice, practice.  This practice IS frustrating, but skills are skills and skills get developed through repetition.  Preferably the practice would be fruitful, rather than fruitless. I spent hours in tutorials, I then searched for videos on the tutorials, and user forums.  I have contacted complete strangers and asked for help.  I called in somewhat helpful techies, but they got frustrated also.  I studied other’s exhibits…. trying to figure out how they were adapting the same theme I was using and getting very different results.  I spent more hours with dual screens following the directions and trying to make my page work.  I have something similar to the plan…but not quite what I had envisioned.  I have another section to go… but don’t even know how to attempt it or if it is possible to do.

The challenge for the traditional historian is the shift in time.  Traditional historians spend time in documents and research, not in presentation.  The loss of research time to computer construction is quite frustrating because it feels like “wasted” time.  A portion of the frustration arises out of unrealistic expectations.  Omeka is “an open-source platform” for digital archives and collections.  It is described as,  “makes web-publishing easy”.  Furthermore, “The developers at the Center for History and New Media have done a wonderful job providing a concise and understandable tutorial for first-time Omeka users”.  Teaching Hist.org   There should be a caveat behind these words…..’if you are already a developer, have computer programing or web skills.

Our public humanities literature promotes awareness of audience.  Review of local history and community websites demonstrates their need to define themselves as relevant to outsiders.  I have become acutely aware of ‘unintended bias’.  While struggling to navigate digital tools and production, I am wondering if my historical content is as difficult for digital natives to learn or appreciate, as learning the digital platforms is for me.  I think about the classes I teach and I believe it is.  Historians have jargon and expectations – surely you know when the U.S. Constitution was signed.  ‘Everyone understands that there are 3 branches of government in the U.S. and why the Supreme Court decisions are significant’…but really, not so much.  In on-line tutorials, it is evident the person who wrote the tutorial knows the product.  Their knowledge assumes digital literacy in the person to whom they are explaining the process. I find myself spending as much time looking up instructional terms or for other sites explanations of the tutorial ideas, as I do actually implementing the tutorial. There is a gap between the novice user and the literature around web design and development.  There are gaps between the historian and the historical novice.  There are gaps between the person or organization creating a public humanities exhibit and the audience.

Some of the challenges I have faced are:  It took me 2 weeks to get my page sort of working and then I realized there was a problem with the version of the Omeka Exhibit Builder I was using (from others working on similar projects – all along, I thought the problem was me).  I upgraded my exhibit builder and lost my exhibit in the process.  Working with Support is difficult, because even Support acts like you should have a certain degree of expertise to even be attempting this, ‘What were you thinking?’  …’I don’t know, I believed your promo that this software is designed for the non-techie?’.

I have made progress in: The Support site told me to change the source code….yeah, right – well I did, but it didn’t work…so fortunately I was able to change it back.  But I actually had the courage to change the SOURCE CODE!  I have learned, I am capable of following instructions that are more and less helpful.  Dual screens are really helpful.  I have realized that techies in person are much like the tutorials – they are thrilled with what they are doing …while I struggle to follow.   This has led to a critical realization … when I talk history, I am thrilled with what I am doing and people may be finding it hard to follow.

History must be a public endeavor.  The world can become isolated in digital silos.  The rewards of digital history are more understanding and connection.  Humanities engagement teaches how other people think and how to conquer obstacles and how to work together.  Learning new tools and skills is time consuming  and frustrating and making the world PROGRESS!

Notes:

https://quotation.io/page/quote/progress-means-getting-nearer-place-want  accessed 3/30/18

http://teachinghistory.org/digital-classroom/tech-for-teachers/25115  accessed 3/30/18

Some of the work shaping my thinking:  Tim Sherratt, “It’s All About the Stuff: Collections, Interfaces, Power, and People,” Journal of Digital Humanities 1, no. 1 (March 9, 2012), http://journalofdigitalhumanities.org/1-1/its-all-about-the-stuff-by-tim-sherratt/; Michael Whitelaw, “Generous Interfaces for Digital Cultural Heritage Collections,” Digital Humanities Quarterly 9, no. 1 (2015) http://www.digitalhumanities.org/dhq/vol/9/1/000205/000205.html; John Kuo Wei Tchen, “Creating a Dialogic Museum: The Chinatown History Museum Experiment,” in Museums and Communities: The Politics of Public Culture, edited by Ivan Karp, Christine Mullen Kreamer, and Steven D. Lavine (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1992) 285-326.  Katharine T. Corbett and Howard S. (Dick) Miller, “A Shared Inquiry into Shared Inquiry,” The Public Historian, Vol. 28, No. 1 (Winter 2006) 15-38.  Michael Frisch, “From A Shared Authority to the Digital Kitchen, and Back,” in Letting Go?: Sharing Historical Authority in a User-Generated World. Edited by Bill Adair, Benjamin Filene, and Laura Koloski (Philadelphia: The Pew Center for Arts and Heritage, 2011) 126-137.  Spichiger, L., J. Jacobson, Telling an Old Story in a New Way: Raid on Deerfield: The Many Stories of 1704 , in J. Trant and D. Bearman (eds.). Museums and the Web 2005: Proceedings, Toronto: Archives & Museum Informatics, published March 31, 2005. http://www.museumsandtheweb.com/mw2005/papers/spichiger/spichiger.html