Revised topic paragraphs, research questions, and citations

My research will be a project based senior thesis helping the exhibition “Hostile Terrain”. This exhibition is an international pop-up exhibit concerning the humanitarian crisis at the US-Mexico border. A series of toe-tags will be pinned to the locations of deaths of migrants along the border on a large map. RIT will be exhibiting a piece of this map which will come together at the National Mall in the fall of 2020. To assist my understanding of the topic I will be doing a literature review and case studies of previous exhibits and museums who have presented controversial topics similar to this one. I will also be reading the book, “The Land of Open Graves” by Jason De Leon, who is the head of this exhibition. I want this exhibition and my senior research to contribute to existing research and arguments on museum involvement in political and controversial matters. This challenges the thought that museums and exhibitions are supposed to be neutral parties that only present facts to the public. I would also like it to raise awareness and spur action to help migrants crossing the US-Mexico border. I want to know how modern museums and exhibitions interpret, present, and engage the public with controversial matters, such as the humanitarian crisis on the US-Mexico border.


Citations:

León Jason De. The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail. Oakland, CA: University of California Press, 2015.

HANCHETT, TOM. "Rethinking Immigrant Integration in the American South: Can Museums Help Communities Address a Major Social Challenge?" In Remix: Changing Conversations in Museums of the Americas, edited by Holo Selma and Álvarez Mari-Tere, 182-85. University of California Press, 2016. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt19rmbt3.38.

“Museum Best Practices for Managing Controversy.” National Coalition Against Censorship. National Coalition Against Censorship, July 15, 2019. https://ncac.org/resource/museum-best-practices-for-managing-controversy.

“Latino Stories.” National Museum of American History. National Museum of American History, July 25, 2018. https://americanhistory.si.edu/america-on-the-move/essays/latino-stories.