Digital Media and the Future

Brown approached his analysis of digital media and its successes and issues by examining past projects that he was apart of and by studying the history of multimedia. He constructively criticized his own projects, while pointing out a major issue in digital media. Rather than allowing users to explore, discover, and make connections, Brown found that the program limited users by defining what information they acquired and how they applied it. By including the history of Frank Leslie’s publication and Barnum’s American Museum, Brown illustrated that interactivity is not new to the twenty-first century. The arrangement of images and artifacts allowed readers and visitors to “find connections, to rearrange, and restage to meet their own social, intellectual, and leisure purpose” (Brown 16). From his investigation of past museums and periodicals and modern examples of digital media usage for historical purposes, Brown argued that history scholars could use these examples to further the use of digital media.

Cohen and Brennan & Kelly discussed the future of historical records in the digital world. Comparing the collection of oral histories, narratives, and photographs pertaining to Pearl Harbor and 9/11, Cohen examined the issues and benefits associated with the collection of digital records and how they will be preserved over time. Quality and quantity represented the major concerns though the benefits of digital collections and their complementary position to oral histories made it a useful medium of gathering personal histories. Despite the benefits of digital media, Cohen presented issues of preserving a medium whose deterioration is more fragile than traditional paper collections. Cohen argued that the focus needed to be on the present. With the relatively short life of digital sources, they need to be saved and archived before they are lost. In a complementary piece, Brennan and Kelly used their experiences with the Hurricane Digital Memory Bank to outline the components needed when creating a digital archive. Their article focused on collecting photographs and oral histories in the present, much like Cohen. From their experiences, they offered four main categories necessary when collecting digitally: “collecting content; technical issues; attracting visitors to your site and building trust with potential contributors; and . . . allowing those most directly affected time to heal before they can share” (Brennan and Kelly, 4). Brennan and Kelly illustrated the importance of extending the professionalism of oral history to digital collections of personal narratives. Their article also showed the importance of people in organizing digital collections.

The articles presented the benefits and challenged of digital collections and media. Though they discussed the numerous issues that threaten digital media, they illustrated the importance of the medium to the future of historical scholarship and archives. The articles by Cohen and Brennan & Clark reminded me of our conversation with Gerard at the State Archives. He discussed their hesitance toward digitizing their entire collection, while the articles presented examples of collections existing only in digital format.

Popular History

The readings discussed the relationship between history and its representation in movies and television programs. The various authors explored how history was used to create a form of entertainment and ‘fact,’ and how the creators and viewers interpreted the presentation of history. Each reading examined a different aspect of history in entertainment. Glassberg investigated how the audience viewed the Ken Burns’s Civil War series through letters written to Burns. Glassberg found that the public’s positive response reflected Burns’s portrayal of widely accepted history that did not challenge popular opinions. The series focused on creating an emotional response from the audience, which Glassberg found to be the most important aspect of popular history (108). Davis also discussed how the main focus of popular history is not historical accuracy. Discussing her contribution to a movie about Martin Guerre and book on the topic, Davis argued that creators of popular history have a responsibility to adhere to the elements of the genre. Historians act as contributors to the creation of movies, but the producers, directors, etc., decide what appears in the movie based on factors that contribute to the overall success of their product. Davis argued that historians have a responsibility to comment on the history from a professional standpoint. She wrote, “It’s up to historians, those who have participated in the film and those who have seen it, to bring to debate both an understanding of the possibilities of the film” (Davis 48). Frisch’s chapter exemplified issues in popular history that often go unnoticed by the public. In Vietnam: A Television History, the creators used oral histories as the main authority without questioning the validity of memories or interpretations of the men and women telling their stories. Though oral histories provide an excellent primary source for researchers, professional historians and scholars are the authority on topics that they have painstakingly researched. Frisch’s chapter raised questions about the validity of sources and the presentation/interpretation of situations in popular history. For Frisch, oral history enhances the narrative created by extensive research by scholars; it does not act as an authority.

Glassberg, Davis, and Frisch examined specific examples of popular history. Toplin’s discussion of the film genre and the role of entertainment, cinema elements, and the creators enhanced the other readings by focusing on the film industry. Toplin examined why Hollywood (and independent filmmakers) present specific topics using specific approaches and formulas of representation. I found Toplin’s discussions of the three levels of researching historical films and of acknowledging the genre to be especially poignant. When viewing historical films, it is important to remember that filmmakers need to falsify or invent information, people, and situations to create a powerful representation of an event that fits into a specified time and adheres to the requirements of the genre. As Davis argued, historians need to comment and oppose narratives created in popular history, in order to present histories that do not conform their narratives for entertainment purposes.

Week 12: Thoughts on Reading

In Oral History and Public Memory, Hamilton and Shopes compiled writings to illustrate the connectivity between oral history, public history, and public memory. Dividing the compilation into three sections, the book progressed from oral histories that reflected ‘official’ state histories, to memories of individuals that create a local public memory and history, and eventually to oral histories as social activism. Through this progression, the authors exhibited the role of oral history in creating and perpetuating public memory. In the final section, authors discussed instances where oral history challenged the status quo.

A prevailing theme revolved around the connectivity of the past, present and future. We have discussed in class the concern with the past affecting the present and future through public memory, and vice versa. Through the discussions of oral history and public memory, the power of the present to affect the memories and histories of the past was prevalent. In “History from Above,” the political context determined what memories were captured in the oral interviews. Describing three museums of gum industry history, “’Scars in the Ground’: Kauri Gum Stories” illustrated how current, and continuous, social relationships affected the narratives at the museums. Matakohe Kauri Museum focused on the British gumdiggers. Jurlina Family’s Gumstore Museum and Yelash Gumfield Museum discussed the relationships between Maori, Dalmatians, and the British; including the oppression and common social standing. The past and present intertwined in oral history and public memory in other ways. In some of the accounts, the past gave the present a chance to voice their opinions and strength to challenge accepted histories. The Japanese-Americans first discussed their experiences during interment at reparation trials. Breaking this silence allowed them to record their histories that challenged popular ideas of Japanese-Americans during World War II and forced encampment. RIki Van Boeschoten used oral history to confront stereotypes through a course she devised.

The layout of the book into three sections provided an excellent method of examining oral history. As I read the book, oral history became more intertwined in the stories of public memory and activism. In the beginning, the authors focused heavily on their experiences with oral history and what these histories provided. In later chapters, the oral history became another aspect of creating and challenging public memory and social issues. I found Van Boeschoten’s and Kerr’s chapters to be especially fascinating. The authors showed how private, personal memories challenge public memories. Kerr illustrated how marginalized, disadvantaged groups can use their oral histories for positive benefits. Oral history does not have to be something stored in an archive. It was interesting to see how oral histories can make positive changes in society especially after we conducted oral histories.

Archives: More than a Collection or Repository

The contributors of Archives Stories argued that archives are a product of their political, economic, and social context from the very inception of documents into a collection. As chapters illustrated, the political context that surrounds an archives contributed greatly to documents available, the accessibility to researchers, and the amount of surveillance on topics, researchers, and collections. Jeff Sahadeo used his experience in Uzbekistan and its history to illustrate the dominating role of politics. Uzbekstan’s archive was used as a political tool to promote a specific history as regimes changes. “Uzbek leaders, meanwhile, are shaping the past to secure their own political future” (46). Archives became an important resource in establishing a past for the creation of the present and future that political leaders endorsed. Peter Fritzcshe argued how Germany used their archive for political actions. The Third Reich used archives to catalogue its citizens between Aryan and Jewish (196). Ghosh argued the role of social influence on accessibility at an archive. Indian archivists did not accept interracial relationships between Hindu women and British men. In their archives, documents attesting to this were not available, because these relationships did not exist. The context and history of archive not only shape the collection of documents, it also affects the resources and information available to researchers.

The approach taken by Archives Stories provided insight into the role of archives in research. The authors argued through their personal accounts and history of archives that archives are not collections of papers or repositories for holding papers. The archive does not exist in a vacuum, free from outside influences. The history of the specific archive for each chapter illustrated the importance of context. Who decides to allow access? Why was it created? Understanding the archive, allows a researcher to understand the limitations presented to them. When providing the history of the Passport Office under the Department of State, Craig Robertson illustrated the creation of the library by controlling archivists. The past of the collection set precedence for its present. James E. Schwarz controls the archive not allowing access to the collection.

While reading Archives Stories, I attempted to relate it to my experiences in archives. It is easy to dismiss the stories as products of less democratic societies, but the stories are universal. Despite our notions of democracy and freedom to access information in America, archives remain products of their contexts. The State Archives of Florida depends upon the state legislature for funding. A governor or legislature could decide to cut all funding to the State Archives dwindling its holdings and accessibility. Though “Intro to Archives” teaches you the basic principles of archives including accessibility and equal access for all, the archivists affect the researchers experiences to a great extent. I have seen an archivist’s interest in a topic prompting them to search relentlessly through the holdings while another request only receives a few minutes.