Library and Information Science Commons^™

Blood At The Root, Jarrett Martin Drake

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

What is the sound of silence and what is the sight of absence? The following essay situates itself along those two questions by devoting close ethnographic attention to the lives and afterlives of seven people—Delia, Renty, Jem, Alfred, Fassena, Drana, and Jack—whose reflections resonate and resound throughout the world of archives. I argue that a theory of archival power must consider the role of process and place in the shaping of modern memory practices. The article begins by narrating the story of how these seven people came to occupy the center of the archival universe. Next, it traces a tale …

Decolonizing African-American Museums: A Case Study On Two African-American Museums In The South, Anastacia Jonique Scott

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation seeks to understand how African-American museums’ exhibits help individuals gain their sense of racial identity through public memory. In an era where the United States is supposedly “post-racial” African-American museums are flourishing. As institutions serving an important role in preserving the collective memory of African-American people in the US, African-American museums evoke questions of representation within the larger US narrative that confirm the persistent saliency of race in society, and therefore continue to have a public function in maintaining and developing a racial African-American identity (Jackson 2012; Eichstedt and Small 2002; Wilson 2012; Golding 2009).

My research is …

Umaine's Incredible Cultural Legacy: Strategies And Models For Promoting Collections, Gretchen Faulker, Patricia Henner, Desiree Butterfield-Nagy, Katrina Winn

Desiree Butterfield-Nagy

Four UMaine museums and archives discussed projects that serve as case studies for promoting collections and casemaking at other institutions. Topics included the Hudson Museum's loan of a Northwest Coast mask -- the one that inspired the Seahawks logo -- to the University of Washington; the campaign to save the campus barn which is now home to the Page Farm and Home Museum; the digitization of the holdings of the Maine Folklife Center for the Library of Congress; and the digitization of holdings in Special Collections celebrating UMaine's 150th.

The New Pulpit: Museums, Authority, And The Cultural Reproduction Of Young-Earth Creationism, Lindsay Marie Barone

Theses and Dissertations

Since the mid-twentieth century there has been increasing concern among evangelical Christians over the depiction of human origins in American education. For young-Earth creationists, it has been a priority to replace scientific information which contradicts the six-day origin story reported in Genesis 1 with evidence they claim scientifically reinforces their narrative. As this has failed in public education, creationists have switched tactics, moving from “teach creationism” to “teach the controversy”. The struggle over evolution education in the classroom is well-documented, but less attention has been paid to how young-Earth creationists push their agenda in informal educational venues such as museums. …