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Full-Text Articles in History
The Half-Life & After-Life Of New Media, Nancy Austin
The Half-Life & After-Life Of New Media, Nancy Austin
Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies
It is fitting to think of the half-life of new media using the time-based metaphor of radioactive decay. As a metaphor, an object’s half-life can be a useful way to talk about the potent technological modernity of new media and, like Walter Benjamin’s well-known notion of the aura, call attention to an object’s performativity. However, Benjamin’s aura remains a constant reminder of irrevocable originality whereas remarking on half-life references a quality that changes over time. But what happens after the rhetorical impact of being new has run its course? What is the life expectancy of once-new media and what of …
Preserving, Interpreting, And Displaying Mental Health History: Establishing The Patton State Hospital Museum And Archive, Shannon Rene Long
Preserving, Interpreting, And Displaying Mental Health History: Establishing The Patton State Hospital Museum And Archive, Shannon Rene Long
Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations
There are few museums in the western half of the United States that provide an opportunity to educate the public about the history of mental health care. Recently, a mental health museum and archive of artifacts, photographs, and documents was established on the grounds of Patton State Hospital in Highland, California. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the establishment of this museum and archive and to provide an account of the 125 year history of Patton State Hospital. Understanding the history of Patton provides an opportunity to understand the history of mental health care in the United …