Plans over Winter break

 Now that we've reached the end of the semester, we must realize that there is still great work to be done.

I plan mostly during break to look through resources that are available from RIT. I want to really refine my topic even more so a find a lot of information from these resources. I also plan on interviewing/emailing a lot of valuable people for this project that are involved with the Haudenosaunee. I hope to write a good amount for the actual thesis paper to hopefully alleviate the pressure of next semester.I plan on using 1-2 days each week just focusing on the research and just writing to get my ideas out there.

Winter Break Plans

Ahh! It's almost over, as nerve-wracking as that is.

I'll be spending most of my winter break gathering more sources, and working closely with my advisors to make sure I'm on the right track. I will take this time to start interviewing different school faculty in the Rochester area, and surveying classes as applicable. Hopefully, I can manage this all while working throughout the break, because who needs to actually rest am I right!

Winter Break plans

Over winter break, I hope to spend time working on interviews for my Sperr Memorial Park audio tour. This includes drafting lists of questions, contacting potential interview candidates, conducting at-home interviews (I hope to interview Rochester-based individuals when we come back in January), and spending time visiting AJ (Trooper Sperr). I try to make a point to visit him each time I come home, but it'll be interesting to really take the time to just be present at the park, and to see how all the research I've been conducting this semester informs/transforms my park experience.

I also have a local contact (and dear friend) who I'd like to touch base with --she's a photographer, so I think she'd be perfect for taking high-quality photos of the park to use for my tour. Speaking of photographs, here's one from Sperr Memorial Park this past weekend (before the Big Flats area was plummeted with power outages and snow). Some kind stranger had decorated the tree near the children's playground and, because it's seasonally-appropriate, I thought it'd be nice to share.

View of the children's playground and a decorated tree at Sperr Memorial Park. Photo taken by the author in November 2019.

Stay warm, everyone!

Winter Break: The Time To Get Going

As the semester is coming to an end and things are beginning to slow down, winter break is ever-present in the minds of all students. While I am excited for the chance to rest and take a break it also means making sure I have set goals for my continued work on my thesis over the break.

After some discussion with my primary advisor and some personal goals of my own, my main objective over the break is to get a good start on both my paper and my digital project. I would like to get into The Cazenovia Library's Collection and start compiling more sources regarding the specific history of its objects. I'd also like to give a thorough eye to its exhibition itself and how I will make it into a digital space. With all the free time I will have I'd ideally like to set weekly goals for myself on steps I want to be completed so that my schedule can still be flexible and restful without my work becoming completely pushed to the side.

Post #7: The Cold Numbing the Fingers that Type a Thesis

My goal over winter break is to read the sources recommended to me by my secondary advisor, Professor Casey from the Anthropology department. She provided me with a lot of sociological/anthropological sources, some of which couldn't make it into my lit review, but I will start reading them over the break. I will still be volunteering at the Air and Space Museum from Wednesdays through Saturdays, so that leaves the rest of the week to do reading. I plan to count all the articles, and then budget how many to finish each week. I'll be taking notes as I go, so hopefully, by the time Spring semester starts, I'll have a rough outline of talking points for my thesis. This will also help me compile a list of focused questions for my advisors and Dr. Lent.

Winter break

My plans for winter break are to conduct some visitor studies at the RMSC. I need to determine weather the new installation of VR technology on the Rochester diorama is successful in fulfilling its purpose.

I also need to interview the artist that made the artistic updates to the diorama. To see what intent he had in the changes he made to the diorama.

I also need a break, this semester was no joke! 

Winter Semester Break Plans

Hi everyone!

My winter break plans are to first relax! Taking 6 classes senior year can be extremely stressful!

In terms of thesis work, I want to work closely with my advisors to find more sources for oral history/shared authority and narrow down my target subjects for my interviews. I want to learn more about what equipment I can be using for the interviews and trying to develop my questions.

I want to mainly gather more sources and narrow my thesis question/subjects down. Maybe start writing my intro for the actual thesis paper but my sources are my main priority!

Blog Post 7: Winter Break Goals

My winter break goals fall into two categories, more research and case studies. For the research part of my goals I will be taking a deep dive into the sources suggested to me by my advisors, as well as sources that I have found on my own. I am hoping that these sources will be able to get me to the point I want to be at when classes start back in January. I plan to read for at least 2 hours a day  during finals week, then I will evaluate the sources place in my project and then update my literature review to reflect any changes. I will rinse and repeat this process for throughout the rest of the winter break.

For the case studies I will be contacting Dr. Calvin Uzelmeier of the RMSC about the the exhibit labels I would like to talk about in my project. He introduced these labels to my Museum Education class as an example of good label copy and I want to evaluate them from the lens of my project. Because these labels are currently on display at the RMSC, I want to get into contact with Dr. U and make sure that I can use it as a case study, as well as get any background information that I can about the process to make them. I will also attempt to contact the writers of the LGBTQ Welcoming Guidelines to interview them and get a better understanding of the process the team went through to write and revise the guidelines. I will also see if I contact any of the people that they referenced for their language guidelines to learn more about their research. I plan to focus on this after the new year to allow for the people I am contacting to focus on the holidays and not feel pressured to respond to me during this busy time of the year.

My third goal is to actually take a break! Researching and making connections is important but they'll be pretty useless if I'm burnt out in January. If I don't get everything done that I want to during break then I'll make them my first priority for the beginning of the spring semester.

Winter Break Goals

I have a few goals set for the winter break. First, I want to read the book The Land of Open Graves by Jason De Leon, which is an anthropological book written on immigration over the US Mexico border by the same guy who is putting this exhibition together. I think I'd get a better understanding of the situation at the border and be better able to understand the exhibition by reading it. I'll also create a list of questions that I want to ask people at the writing sessions. During all of this I'll be keeping in contact with my advisors and keeping up to date on the exhibition.

I'll allocate a small portion of my evenings to reading a chapter out of my book. I'll check my emails at least once a week. Finally I'll take a weekend to draft at least 10 open ended questions to as at the writing sessions. Hopefully everyone has a plan for the future and I can't wait to work with everyone again next semester!

Blog post 7: plans for break

Hello everyone! I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders as I have just submitted my final thesis proposal for the semester!

Some goals for myself over winter break:

• Schedule the program for sometime in January (?) at Solstice
• Make the program!
• Lots of research
• Test it out on my parents/grandparents/aunts and uncles who are willing
• Maybe start writing the actual thesis? I don't want to get too ambitious though, I do definitely need at least a short break from this before school starts back up again.

I will say my main priority for break will be spending time with family and friends who I don't get to see that often. My second priority will be researching and making a definitive lesson plan for the program, since that is really the crucial part at this point in the process. I'm sure I'll be able to write enough pages after the program happens, but nothing will get done if I show up at Solstice completely unprepared! Then if all else goes well, my third priority will be starting to write my thesis, though I'm sure once January comes around, wearing pjs and watching some Netflix will be more tempting than getting a head start on homework...!

Plans For the Break

My first goal over winter break is to put finishing touches on my literature review. I know I will receive feedback with my final submission and I am hoping to revise and complete an almost finished section before going into next semester. I would also like to take any critiques towards my outline and refine or change the groupings/name to better fit my thesis. I want to get the majority of my project done during winter break, focusing on my online platform which means:

1. Creating an Outline: How I want the platform to be set up. What information I would like to include and how these themes could be grouped.
2. Writing the Script: Writing the various parts for my sections, ensuring that all of the information is correct and having a base that I can continue to edit throughout the first part of the spring semester.
3. Choosing Visuals: Choosing what visuals I would like to include on the platform I am creating.  Also examining what steps I need to take in putting them on the site. I would love to include photographs, letters, audio, and if possible some video. I think this would add to the visitor experience and allow them to engage with the material presented.

I've found that this semester my time management skills have not been the best. I think I really need to sit down before winter breaks starts and make a goal sheets, that has specific dates when I need to have certain steps of my project complete. This will help me focus on what needs to be completed, and also stay on track instead of working on multiple things at the same time. Hopefully I will accomplish all of these tasks and come back in spring semester, with an almost completed project!

Things Change

As I've tackled my thesis and done research upon research my thesis has slowly changed bit by bit. The main aspect of it that has changed has been where my intended focus was. When I first started putting my thesis together and thinking about what it would like I imagined it to remain pretty routed in just repatriation and then adding on some nebulous technological aspect. As I've done my research, however, it has taken on a very education and public history twist. I've spent more time than I thought considering and looking into the way public history interacts with local identity and how best to educate others on these sorts of topics. It wasn't where I thought my thesis was going but I think it's interesting and I'm curious to see where it will go and how it will further change

How Has It Changed?

My project has not really changed, however you can say the research idea has expanded. When I first began the research for my thesis, I only had a general idea of what I wanted to do. As the semester went on, I decided to hone in more on my research and create a specific idea for my research. I know now I want to focus on Mental Health in New York-based schools specifically.

I see it evolving to maybe focusing on a specific grade in the school, based on curriculum already written by New York. I hope to create a lesson plan based around a specific mental health issue and be able to create awareness for students in the school. I know I still want to connect with schools in the Rochester area and be sure to work with them and know what they are already doing now for the mental health of their students.

Post #6: The Evolution of a Project, The Re-birth of a Child

When I first decided on this project idea, I was thinking about identifying European influences in African and Asian museums because I thought it would be interesting to see just how much European museum practices have become the standard around the world. I wanted to add some sort of practical element to it, which I why I added the part about the African and Asian museums decolonizing their practices and incorporating their indigenous cultures. I knew I had to pick a case study institution in order to focus the discussion around specific museum practices. I eventually decided on Zimbabwe as the location for my case study because their museum community is working on decolonization and promotion of indigenous cultures. I picked the BaTonga Community Museum as the case study institution because it embodied the ideals of the Zimbabwean museum decolonization movement. Even though I had my case study and nation picked out, my research question still included the wide umbrella of "African and Asian museums." I realized that it was way too broad, so now, I am only focusing on Zimbabwe.

I will probably still talk about general decolonization applications, but that will likely only happen if I compare Zimbabwean museums to museums in other countries, discuss global museum trends, or propose general courses of action in the conclusion of the thesis. As my my project progresses, I can see it evolving to include more anthropological perspectives, since I would like to dig into why culturally informed museum practices are important, and how the public can be affected by them. Depending on what I learn about various Zimbabwean museums, I may change my case study to a different museum, but as of right now, I am working with my current pick.

Changes to my Research!

My research question in particular has changed over the course of the semester. As I've done more and more research into my topic and talked more to my professors about the Hostile Terrain exhibition I've shifted my question to become more focused. My purpose in the exhibition will be more public and community outreach and helping to table writing events that contribute to the exhibition. To follow in line with my purpose in the exhibition I've made my research question this: "How do museums and exhibitions engage visitors and their communities with contemporary human rights issues, such as the humanitarian crisis on the US-Mexico border?" Now I've taken a greater focus in visitor/community engagement and contemporary human rights issues. I have also found two case examples for my research which I've already begun to read about! I am using the Tenement and Holocaust Museums in New York City. Each one has amazing projects to reach out to their visitors and surrounding communities to engage with not only historical, but contemporary human rights issues such as immigration, refugees, genocide, and antisemitism. From this I see my research evolving to include doing short impromptu interviews with people in the writing sessions for the Hostile Terrain Exhibition to gain insight on their feelings and thoughts about engaging with this material and about being a part of the exhibition.

My Idea for the Future

For the first couple of months I held pretty true to my original idea. Although as I continue to gather research and narrow down my topic, it seems that I keep tweaking various parts of my thesis and concept. My topic is no longer focused primarily on the digital space and the role interactivity plays. It seems to have shifted. I'm now examining how a digital space portrays a narrative/storyline and what role can users play in the content generated for the site. With this change I need to re-conceptualize my original thesis statement and continue to narrow down what topics are important to my paper. I'm happy with this new direction!

I believe that my ideas about my thesis will continue to evolve and change. But because I am happy with these new ideas, I feel like I can move forward with the project part of my thesis, and start the visual process. I have also officially decided to work with ArcGIS because of its story mapping capabilities. I think this platform will help me form an engaging narrative and think more in depth about what content users would like to see on this type of platform.

How has my project changed so far?

I'm pleased to report that my choice of topic has continued to solidify since my first blog post in September. I'm still just as dedicated to AJ Sperr and Sperr Memorial Park now as I was then.

Some things, however, have changed, and some important realizations have been made. I've played a bit with my research question (the current draft uses the term "emotional recontextualization," so I'm quite excited about that), and I've narrowed the scope of my project to make things more feasible. I've also been benchmarking potential software to make my app/audio tour, and submitted an application to the COLA Student Research Fund. All in all, things have started moving on the project front!

On the research/writing front, things are...dawdling. Writing the literature review has taught me that I've picked up quite a few bad habits throughout the course of my undergrad career, and I'm learning to remedy that ASAP. I spent the past weekend analyzing my current writing and time management skills, and have developed some new strategies that I'm looking forward to applying in the weeks ahead. As some of you can probably also attest, there are growing pains involved in academic writing, but I'm ready to see where this takes me. If I come out of this a better writer, then I'll have at least partially succeeded.

As of right now, I see my project having a life beyond the thesis deadline. By that, I mean that there'll be long-term maintenance involved as this project continues to grow and evolve well after May 2020. There's stories still to be told and there'll always be memories left to uncover at Sperr Memorial Park. I can't see the big picture just yet, but I can already tell that this project is going to have a ripple effect.

Things have changed for me!!

My topic has changed so many time and I am still not sure that it's down packed. it went from theatre to dioramas to VR and lastly visitor emotion. Now I hope to focus on a specific case study and discuss how this diorama and its VR experience make visitors feel. At first, I wanted it to be a project-based thesis, but now I see it is going to research all the way. Even though I am upset by this, I see my thesis ending up to be an interesting conversation on visitor's emotions and dioramas. the case study I have chosen is one at the RMSC, therefore I hope to learn a lot of interesting things that I can use after the thesis is over!
As the semester reaches its peak and stress levels rise, I can see that in the end, I will be happy that when this is over!       

Blog Post 6- Topic Evolution

After going back to look at what I was cooking up in September I don't think my topic has changed all that much. In our original posts about potential ideas I said that for a language based thesis I wanted to look at how visitor experience is impacted by language in the museum and how language could be adjusted to be welcoming for the broadest swath of visitors. In my research and our most recent lit review my sources focused on language and power and meaning making in the museum. I feel like I've stayed true to my original idea while drilling down and thinking about what I want the end goal for this project to be.

I currently see myself offering recommendations for language use in the museum with my final submission and that may change as time goes on but I do like the direction my thesis is heading in. I'm hoping to strike a balance between linguistic concepts and museum theory to make the project relevant to both fields. I think my big next step is to decide on if I need to include a specific case study in the project and if so how would I do that? I'm thinking that it would be a group of museums in a city with a diverse population and I would spend winter break going to these museums and documenting their language use. It might be more achievable to do this in Rochester but if I do that I need to start making connections with institutions soon so they know what I'm trying to do and give me the okay on it.

Blog post 6: how has my topic evolved?

This is it, the penultimate blog post of this semester! At this point, it's really about choosing objects, creating a lesson plan, and executing it. And yes, I still need to choose objects. I went to the RMSC last weekend and picked a bunch of toys, but had a terribly difficult time trying to create a lesson framework for them. After a great chat with Dr. Decker, I now have a slightly different plan of attack, start creating the lesson framework first, and find objects to fill in the gaps. The good news is this happened in early November, so I still have plenty of time to get everything done.

That all being said, my topic hasn't evolved too much since it was first conceived. With each step I get a clearer vision of what the end product will look like, but it's more like it's slowly coming into focus, and less like it's a completely different topic altogether. I imagine that as the framework gets built, objects get chosen, and the lesson plan starts to shape up, it will only become clearer still.

What I am learning about my thesis

I have a more concentrated topic now, I am exploring college aged girls and possibly using Campus Curls on campus as a resource but to use the women in that group to interview. In terms of sources, I am having a hard time finding written work on Campus Curls to tie into my sources but due to Project Muse I have found some really resourceful books and pieces by black women discussing their hair and analyzing it through different topics and mediums. I have also found lots of oral histories that tie into surveys that are help make larger observations. I am also learning that there are more contemporary works out there!

I still need to know if there are more accurate sources in terms of my literature review but thinking ahead, for my project I need to start learning about equipment. Asking my advisors if there are more sources for oral history, tips for condensing my project more and what equipment is attainable to interviewing my subjects.

What I have learned!!

I have learned so much throughout this thesis process:
 First to not get downhearted when the original thesis idea does not work out. Second to talk to be very proactive in getting a new topic. About my actual topic, I have learned the history of the Diorama. How panorama paintings were the "first" types of immersive exhibition. And how the Diorama was the advance of this with more 3D elements.

I still need to know how Dioramas create a sense of place for visitors and what specific things in the diorama contribute to this.     

What I've Learned

Thesis is hard! My thesis project vision has changed so many times. I have found it difficult to find contemporary sources. Most pieces look at black hair in the larger scope of black society rather than targeted stories. I have also found that most academic papers on black hair are written by black men, which can be insightful but not as concentrated as I need. Looking on project muse has been a great help as I have found more contemporary pieces of women analyzing how black hair from societal and intellectual scope.

As of now, my goal for my thesis is to explore how black hair shapes black women through the scope of college students. My target demographic are college aged women that are apart of the new chapter "Campus Curls" on campus which explores natural hair and provides a safe space for black women. The end goal will be a transcribed oral history interviews that can be donated to the RIT archives. Black women and their experience on this campus is one that is extremely underrepresented and creating something that can be recorded and documented for future students is important!

What I've learned

I have found that the whole research process can be frustrating but that too is a part of the process. I find that it is not as flexible as I would like but at the same time that is what is keeping me on track. But I'm finding that its all rewarding because the scale is so huge and the topic is varying, I really enjoy communicating and discussing with all sorts of people during this process.

The topic that I've found the most interesting, is the whole global process of digitization. Since my topic is specifically on the Haudenosaunee, I'm finding that the commonalities between a lot of Indigenous cultures is that they are all given the resources, but they all cater the resources to what they need specifically. The most interesting topic is how the many cultures are choosing to display their own history. It's almost as if there is a revival of culture and their history into the mainstream.

I still need to find and research a lot more on the Haudenosaunee, specifically. But I'm finding a lot of interesting trends and possible changes in how we view our history that I really want to highlight. I want to bring into light how if you train and give a lot of these cultures the ability to tell their own history it changes how we view history as well as how we can more accurately depict it. I need to look more into the actual impact their digital presence is having on the world, but from what I've been finding its all been quite impact and freeing.

What's Next

Hello All,

I can't believe we're more than half way through the semester! Since our discussions in class about the literature review, I've been focusing on finding research that connects to my topic and slowly but surely bringing different pieces together. I am trying my best to find literature that links to each other and also finding the best way to insert my own opinion into my review.

I've mostly been focusing on the digital side of my research, examining articles/books that are reviewing the digital space and that center their argument on ideas like accessibility, digital tourism, digitization, and interactivity. I really want to know what participants are looking for when utilizing an online platform and what they seem to learn the most from. I was researching one article that discussed interactivity and how it can be used as a learning tool, promoting the idea of finding one's own learning path through the use of different materials. I've also been going through case studies. One was very helpful, and was a tour that could be accessed through a website from anywhere. This helped me to think about my own tour and the type of platform I wish to use when creating the space. I hope to find other examples that could help when thinking about what online platform I want to use and what could be the most easily accessible for my audience.

There is still material that I need to dive further into for my thesis, and will be my focus for the second half of my literature review. I would like to look at the bigger narrative for my project, how my work could be applicable for other organizations (i.e. how could smaller institutions use my methods to work on similar projects). I also would like to further examine what system I should use to pick the material I will be working with for the tour. Also how I frame these points in history when thinking about the 100th anniversary and what stories will be considered the "most important" or crucial  in the camp's history to those who will be viewing the site/digital space.

Post #5: The Light of Knowledge Shone Upon the Topic

Before saying what I have learned, I'll start with restating my research question, which has been recently revised, “How can African and Asian museums identify the European influences within their professional practices, deconstruct those influences, and form new models that better serve to reaffirm their native cultures?” Firstly, I have learned that Non-European museums are more willing to tackle controversial topics related to imperialism than European museums. For example, even in the French overseas territory of Reunion Island, in the planned Maison des Civilisations et de l’Unité Réunionnaise (MCUR), the staff was prepared to interpret the history of slavery on the island. Secondly, Non-European museums tend to interpret native cultural patrimony and ethnographic objects differently than European museums traditionally do. European museums have displayed these cultural objects as primitive or in such a way as to imply that the cultures that produced them are historical rather than modern. Museums in the countries/territories themselves, however, interpret their cultural objects as part of an ongoing story about the people -- the past informs both the present and the future. They want to distance themselves from a view that their cultures are primitive or dead.

Thirdly, I have learned about some of the challenges museums face in Africa and Asia. The MCUR was never ultimately created because of political backlash from the French mainland. Funding is a big problem in developing countries, where the central government does not have much money to spare to support cultural institutions. In recently independent countries, many museums face the struggle of convincing the public that they are no longer puppets of the former imperialist governments. Local communities often distrust museums because of the theft and appropriation of their cultural artifacts, and the apparent pandering to tourists. The National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) is attempting to counteract these historical tensions and build relationships with communities by establishing "community museums" that promote local culture, including arts, language, and crafts. Because of the NMMZ's decolonizing efforts and culture affirmation, I have chosen one of their community museums, the BaTonga Community Museum as my case study.

I still need to learn about the sociological/anthropological reasons why it is important for a cultural group to have agency over the presentation of their own culture. It could also be interesting to look more into why communities distrust institutions. There may be some psychological and political aspects there. I also have to do more research about the history of European globalization and colonization, especially of the British in Zimbabwe.

Blog Post 5: Feelin Good!

Hey y'all, long time no see!

It's week 9 and progress is definitely being made. I have both my advisors locked in and I've started my story-board. Right now the story-board is just my research question and and some major topics i'm thinking of hitting on but its something!

I think for the first two weeks of my research I was spending too much time looking at language acquisition studies and discourse analysis studies and then I tried to mold my topic around that. I'm definitely branching out now after writing and revising my lit review. I feel like I have a much better idea of where my topic is going. I'm definitely going to focus less on language acquisition and more on language barriers, power structures, and communication through multiple modes. Within this I will be addressing the ways in which language use can alienate visitors. Two of these ways are high level language use and jargon in label copy, and the ways certain groups are talked about (i.e. are they being voyeuristic, oversimplifying, patronizing, paternalistic, or primitivist in any way). 

After meeting with my secondary advisor and doing my own research, I'm grounding my research in a socio-cultural direction and running with it. I need to do more research on things like code-switching, museum accessibility, and meta-discursive functions. Meta-discursive functions are basically how the language we use is interpreted by other people and then integrated.  An important part of meta-discursive functions is lexical indexing, meaning how we want people to interpret us through the way we speak. Focusing on these parts of linguistics will help me make my recommendations about language use changes that can happen in the museum. I'm excited for the next few weeks and the things I'm gonna learn in them! 

Blog post 5: what am I learning?

Hello, long time no write, but we're back and my thesis idea is stronger than ever!

Some updates before I delve into the prompt:

• I officially will be working with the Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC) to get objects for my program! I'm visiting and choosing the objects on Saturday, 11/2.
• My lit review is happening! It's not great, but we had a draft due last week that was 5 pages and used 7 sources. Baby steps, but progress nonetheless.

 So, since our lit reviews are coming along, I have been learning quite a bit about techniques and tricks for running programs, different statistics about adult learning, other projects similar to mine, and so on. For example, this afternoon I dove into sources I "stole" from my Muse Ed class from last fall, and I read about questioning strategies for getting students to arrive at an answer without just telling it to them. I also looked at some lesson plan templates and different verbs for describing outcomes. In one source, I read about how adult learning has 3 steps: acquiring knowledge, analyzing and reflecting on the knowledge, and applying the knowledge. The reflection part is apparently incredibly important, but something I would never have thought to include in my plan, so I'm glad I was able to find this source.

What do I still need to know?

Since I haven't picked out collection items yet, I still need to choose them. Once I know what I'm working with, I'll be able to construct a theme and research the facts behind the objects so that I am prepared to effectively facilitate a program about them. One of my sources said that adult learners expect the facilitator to be an expert on the subject, so I will have to be prepared for this and put in my research!
I also need to do a little more research on facilitating programs. While browsing the library stacks I came across a book that was supposedly a museum educator's handbook and I was incredibly excited to find it, but it didn't end up being that helpful. These are the two areas I'm going to concentrate future research on!

Some Revision has occurred

My thesis will be on the repatriation of non-native artifacts in small museums, 
more specifically, what should small institutions do when they do not reasonably 
have the funds to send objects back to their homes? What kinds of obligations do 
they have to these objects in regard to their care and exhibition? What can they do 
to best pay respects to these objects? With all the technology of the modern age, 
what options does this open up for them moving forward?

Using The Cazenovia Library as a case study, I will look into what museums have 
been doing with objects like these. I will be Researching not only what the Library 
has been doing with this item already, but also look to create a plan/proposal that c
an be implemented within the space to make the history of the objects transparent 
and respectful towards their origin country. Part of my plan will be to look into 
digital solutions to the situation on what can be done to further increase the 
transparency and knowledge about the items of this specific collection and 
how similar ideas could be implemented in other institutions facing a similar situation.

Sources:

David Maurice Smith, Tony Perrottet. “A 42,000-Year-Old Man Finally Goes Home.” 
Smithsonian.com. Smithsonian Institution. Accessed September 26, 2019.
 https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/mungo-man-finally-goes-home-180972835/?
fbclid=IwAR0_PgbGW1y6B4p00sUbTPYVqUoeX_R23QFOGtkkzE6CmqKfIvltU1ClD
rY#xlj2Pjw7mFI2G0Ij.01.

This article talks about the history and discovery of Aboriginal human remains in 
Australia and the history of these remains being taken away and the more 
recent movement to give them back -- specifically highlighting the return of
 the “Mungo Man”-- one of the oldest human skeletons in good condition -- to the aboriginal people for reburial.

For my research, it doesn’t quite hit exactly what I'm looking for but I can still
 see value in it. Admittedly I’m looking very specifically at objects being returned 
over large distances whereas this one was occurring on the same continent, however, 
this article does provide some really good thoughts and narrative on why we repatriate 
and the impact of taking and returning that can be of use to me in setting up aspects of my thesis.

Green, Jack. "General Treatment: Museums as Intermediaries in Repatriation." 
Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies 5, no. 1 (2017): 
6-18. https://www.muse.jhu.edu/article/649728.

This article focuses on the repatriation efforts of a couple of different case studies of 
larger museums returning artifacts to Mediterranean countries.

This article has the potential to be very useful for me, doing a quick read through, 
I can already so in the conclusion section of the paper them talking about efforts that 
Museums can make in regards to these kinds of objects and beginning to open 
conversations up about smaller-scale museums in this sort of conversation.
 I should be able to use that to bring in some initial ideas of what steps small museums should be taking.

Day, Jasmine. "‘Thinking Makes it so’: Reflections on the Ethics of Displaying 
Egyptian Mummies." Papers on Anthropology 23.1 (2014): 29-44. ProQuest. Web. 26 Sep. 2019.

This article primarily focuses on the ethics of displaying human remains like the 
mummy in public locations, tackling both sides of the argument, being for and against it.

Considering I’m considering avenues of using technology to do make information 
on the mummy back home more transparent to the people who visit them this could 
offer me some insight on what sorts of things to be considerate of and push for in 
regards to what more exactly to do.

Cuno, James. "Culture War: The Case Against Repatriating Museum Artifacts." 
Foreign Affairs Nov 2014: 119,124,126-V. ProQuest. Web. 26 Sep. 2019 .

Cuno’s article is an argument against the repatriation of museum objects, claiming that 
returning artifacts help create a narrow sense of identities rather than and instead by 
maintaining these objects in their collections and on display they are creating ideas of
 pluralism, diversity, and the idea of a larger shared culture. Instead of giving in to calls for 
repatration they should encourage mutually beneficial relationships.

While I certainly don’t agree with the ideas of Cuno here, I do think it is beneficial to
 look at opposing viewpoints on repatriation if in my thesis I am entering that domain of conversation.

Revision Be Like !

Research Question: 

What can the education system implement into their curriculum to educate students on mental health?

My thesis will focus primarily on New York’s Education system, and take data from Rochester based school districts. 

My research will see what resources if any, schools have in place for their students to use when it comes to their mental health. I will include focus areas on; what is required by New York State’s Board of Education when it comes to teaching about mental health, when schools implement these requirements into their curriculum and where/how they go about it, see how access to resources, funding, and location of the school affects how they tackle this problem and ways the state can improve this.

I will take data from the school district on what students think of what the school is doing by surveying classes in multiple schools about the topic of mental health and see the baseline of what they know, what the school has taught them, and if the school itself helps them in a way they feel is adequate.

The point of my research-based thesis is to find ways to improve the curriculum on mental health in secondary education based upon research in psychology, and medical-based facts.

Sources:

1. Board of Education, New York State. “Mental Health Education Literacy In Schools: LINKING TO A CONTINUUM OF WELL-BEING,” July 2018, 1–78. http://www.nysed.gov/common/nysed/files/programs/curriculum-instruction/educationliteracyinschoolsfinal.11.2018.pdf.

2. Reinke, Wendy M., Melissa Stormont, Keith C. Herman, Rohini Puri, and Nidhi Goel. 2011. "Supporting Children's Mental Health in Schools: Teacher Perceptions of Needs, Roles, and Barriers." School Psychology Quarterly 26 (1): 1. https://ezproxy.rit.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/862146515?accountid=108.

3. Atkins, Marc S., Kimberly E. Hoagwood, Krista Kutash, and Edward Seidman. 2010. "Toward the Integration of Education and Mental Health in Schools." Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research37 (1-2): 40-47. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10488-010-0299-7. https://ezproxy.rit.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/742995414?accountid=108.
4. Specht, Jacqueline A. 2013. "Mental Health in Schools: Lessons Learned from Exclusion." Canadian Journal of School Psychology 28 (1): 43-55. https://ezproxy.rit.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1449795363?accountid=108.

Revised Topic Discussion

Research Question: Through the use of interactivity, can online guided tours create a meaningful experience and allow participants to easily move about the digital space?

To promote interconnectivity I would like to introduce an online guided tour for the 100th year anniversary of Camp Kawanhee, connecting those who cannot be at the reunion to the camp, and promoting the historic milestone that the area is celebrating. The online guided tour would be centered on a map, providing a useful way for individuals to move about the space, and recognize areas from the past. The map would enable the experiencer to be taken through a digital tour, that allows visitors to look through photographs, audio, and archival material in the hopes of simulating an experience that reminds them of camp life. The map would look at both the past and present in an effort to replicate changes made over time. My research question centers on how these interactives play a role in digital tourism, and how the material presented makes a strong personal connection between the “visitor” and the digital space, creating a more authentic and impactful experience. 

By utilizing ArcGIS, I will create an interface, where participants are able to easily review various mediums, while also remembering and reflecting on the camp site. Reviewing where past activities were and where they are now, and listening to well known individuals at camp discuss their own memories, allowing for nostalgia and wistfulness to take hold. Connecting individuals to a place that they are not able to visit at that time. 

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Sources: 

1. Benyon, David, Aaron Quigley, Brian O’Keefe, and Giuseppe Riva. “Presence and Digital Tourism.” Ai & Society 29, no. 4. 2013: 521–29.
1. This reading provides insight on how digital tourism blends with physical material, and provides a definition and introduction to what the authors define as digital tourism. 
2. "Digital Huntsville, AL, History Tour Offers 24/7 Online, Guided Tour of City Center." PRWeb Newswire 6 Oct. 2014. Business Insights: Essentials. Web. 21 Sept. 2019.
1. This is a great example of a project that is similar to the one I would like to do. The tour is guided and includes photographs and other archival material. 
3. Grau, Oliver, ed. Museum and Archive on the Move : Changing Cultural Institutions in the Digital Era. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter, Inc, 2017. 
1. This article reviews how the digital space has impacted cultural heritage. I thought it would be interesting to note the different thoughts about digitization of archival material and other artifacts for my thesis. 
4. Kennedy, Michael. “Introducing Geographic Information Systems with ArcGIS: a Workbook Approach to Learning GIS. Hoboken.” NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2013.
1. This will help to guide my work in ArcGIS. The source provides information on the system and explains different features that users are able to access. 
5. Schoenau-Fog, Henrik. Interactive Storytelling 8th International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling, ICIDS 2015, Copenhagen, Denmark, November 30 - December 4, 2015 ; Proceedings. Cham: Springer, 2015.
1. This reading had a number of articles that spoke to the topic of interactive storytelling, which I think might be an important part of my own thesis. Individuals can connect with the story and be able to share their own thoughts.

Blog Post #4: Revised Statement of Topic, Research Question, and Sources

Research Question: How can digital memory capture add context to and increase emotional accessibility at an existing public memorial site? 

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Paragraph Statement of Topic: 

(Biographical/Historical Note) 

On March 1, 2006, Trooper Andrew J. Sperr was killed during a routine traffic stop in the town of Big Flats, NY. Unbeknownst to Trooper Sperr, the vehicle he had stopped contained suspects from a bank robbery that had just occurred nearby. He was able to wound both suspects, which aided in their later arrest, before succumbing to his wounds on-site.

Out of tragedy, something beautiful was created: the site where Trooper Sperr lost his life was quickly transformed into Sperr Memorial Park. The park, notable for its two stocked bodies of water and scenic walking trail, has become a popular site for both public reflection and recreation. Many believe that Trooper Sperr, who was an avid outdoorsman, would be delighted to know that his legacy lives on in this manner.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sperr Memorial Park operates as a locus of public memory surrounding the life and legacy of Trooper Andrew J. Sperr, as well as the other fallen members of law enforcement memorialized on-site. This project was born of the earnest desire to tap that memory font before it is lost to the desensitizing pressures of time.

Through the use of an app-enabled audio tour, visitors to Sperr Memorial Park will be able to access the public memories surrounding Trooper Sperr in an unprecedented way. App users will be invited to listen to stories from Trooper Sperr's friends and loved ones, and will also be afforded the opportunity to share memories of their own. It is hoped that through the app's creation of increased emotional accessibility, that the users' understanding of public memorials will be both informed and transformed by their experiences at Sperr Memorial Park.
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Sources
Dickinson, Greg, Carole Blair, Brian L. Ott, and John Louis Lucaites. Places of Public Memory: The Rhetoric of Museums and Memorials. Tuscaloosa, UNITED STATES: University of Alabama Press, 2010. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/rit/detail.action?docID=565716.

Doss, Erika. Emotional Life of Contemporary Public Memorials: Towards a Theory of Temporary Memorials. Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS, THE: Amsterdam University Press, 2008. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/rit/detail.action?docID=419805.

Hamilton, Paula, and Linda Shopes. Oral History and Public Memories. Philadelphia, UNITED STATES: Temple University Press, 2008. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/rit/detail.action?docID=368716.

Papailias, Penelope. “Witnessing in the Age of the Database: Viral Memorials, Affective Publics, and the Assemblage of Mourning.” Memory Studies 9, no. 4 (October 1, 2016): 437–54. https://doi.org/10.1177/1750698015622058.

Tumblety, Joan. Memory and History: Understanding Memory As Source and Subject. London, UNITED KINGDOM: Routledge, 2013. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/rit/detail.action?docID=1170329.