Exhibiting History

    Andrew Hurley's article, "Chasing the Frontiers of Digital Technology: Public History Meets the Digital Divide," discusses some of the failures of technological innovations in the United States. These failures are attributed to deep social, economic, class, and racial divides. These divides create inaccessibility in the museum and a failure to animate civic engagement.       Technology is always advancing. But if an institute or organization fails to draw on local support or build up its local support, or recognize the hardships faced by its intended audience, then the institute or organization will fail. Hurley noted this when he discussed the Virtual City Project, which featured amazing technological advancements and updates by the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) and its project partners. However, what do these tools mean if the targeted audience of the technological innovations isn’t involved or taught how or why the tools are important? An...

Picture This! Early morning or late night, Florida's environment has a little something for everyone, from refreshing lakes to wonderous caves. These wonders are over 12,000 years in the making: in fact, 12,000 years ago, Florida's coastline was much larger. As the environment warmed, massive pieces of ice began melting, leading to rising sea levels. Celebrate the natural wonder of our beautiful state and explore the beauty of your own backyard.

His Pen Was Mightier Than His Sword: The impact of journalism in keeping us informed of how our government functions With this project, I hope to communicate the importance that journalism holds in providing information to the public, even when the information is not well-received. From the surface-level research I have already done (scrounging through Ancestry.com), was very keen on keeping the public informed of state politics. During this time (the 1930s-1940s from my best estimation) he also remained steadfast in his belief that the United States should aid Britain in World War II before the United States even entered the war.  Newspaper Course at Florida State University, Photo courtesy of Florida Memory, PR07645 John Kilgore is in the front row, 4th man from the left. Through this project, my goal is to learn more about members of my family that my immediate family doesn't know much about. For instance, when I asked my father and uncle if they remembered their uncle (my great...

Heroes and Titans: From Community to Consumer In A People’s History of Computing in the United States , Joy Lisi Rankin attempts to restructure the narrative of how the modern computer was established. The narrative  of the myth of Technological Titans to a more cultural tale of students, professors, and teachers constantly refining an existing tool. Rankin discusses how communication and community helped create a technological age of accessibility and accountability to people all over the country, from New Hampshire and Minnesota to the West Coast and beyond. And along with this narrative, how a once-communal activity morphed into a solitary pastime. Florida Memory (c034169) An Employee at the Comptroller's Office Processing Data  on IBM Equipment - Tallahassee, Florida, 1960 Throughout  A People’s History , Rankin enforces the narrative of everyday Americans leading the push to refine a tool that was previously inaccessible. A tool that was primarily a tool of the gover...

 Memory and Records  Terry Cook’s essays discuss the relevance, importance and evolution of The Archivist throughout the last two centuries and stepping into the dawning of the 21 st century. While both essays raise important p oints and questions – fr om who creates history, who stores and catalogues history, and even brushing up on what history is (documents, catalogues, oral histories, etc.), as well as discussing the evolution of ethics for archivists – there is a growth in discussion between the different essays.  Cook’s essays touch on the flexibility of Archivists and the meaning of the title through the last two centuries, discussing the theorists in the different fields in Western Archivist theory and giving readers examples of the theories put to use in the fields. The early rigidity of the supposed responsibilities gives way to a modern day flexibility which acknowledges that history is complicated and messy, what was once not considered record of ‘evidence’...

Holly Kilgore HIS 5067  Commemoration of Commiseration: Representing America Before America Lisa Blee’s, Monumental Mobility: The Memory Work of Massasoit studies the question of history versus memory regarding the earliest foundations of what would become the United States. Blee creates a compelling narrative, featuring voices from Wampanoag Nation, descendants of the Indigenous peoples that encountered the Pilgrims in Plymouth. The narrative follows a linear line of ‘storytelling’, while creating factual links with cities and states outside of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and the broad New England landscape. Blee’s work is groundbreaking and sets the stage for an up-to-date review of the impact of these statues and historic homes, these visual models of remembrance and commemoration. One point that came to mind while reading: for Indigenous docents at the Plimoth Plantation, who daily had to relive the trauma through reenactment, a process “…which demands a great deal of patience ...