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Notes on Interpreting and Exhibiting History: Big Idea, Labels, Stakeholders, and Ethical Practice

Attendance

  • Attendance is noted at the start of class.

Questions over Practicing the Historical Method?

  • There were questions about the Practicing the Historical Method assignment.
  • This topic appears in the transcript as a prompt for discussion (referenced on Page 2).

Homework and Upcoming Assessments

  • Homework: Submit Practicing the Historical Method by 11:59 PM Today 8/29 (50 points).
  • You may use the list of terms and handwritten notes to complete the quiz.
  • Looking ahead: Book Quiz One 9/3/25 (100 points).
    • 10 multiple choice questions (2.5 points each) = 10 \times 2.5 = 50 points
    • 5 short answer questions (10 points each) = 5 \times 10 = 50 points
    • You may use the list of terms and handwritten notes to complete the quiz.

Interpreting and Exhibiting History: The Big Idea

  • The historical method is used to develop the thesis or big idea of the exhibit.
  • A Big Idea is:
    • A written statement of what the exhibit will be all about.
    • Includes a subject, an active verb, and a “so what?”
    • Whenever possible, the label should convey or support the big idea.

Communicating the Big Idea Using Labels

  • Labeling components to communicate the big idea:
    • Exhibit Title
    • Introduction/Master Label
    • Section topic label
    • Case or group label
    • Object identification
    • Descriptive caption
    • Funder list
    • Credit panel
    • Orientation label
    • Object identification label

Exhibits and Collaboration: Identifying Stakeholders

  • Stakeholders are anyone with a “stake,” a concern or interest in the exhibit.
  • Identify stakeholders using the reflective practice of Front-End Evaluation.

When Stakeholders and Historians Disagree: Ex. The Enola Gay Exhibit

  • Example discussed: The Enola Gay Exhibit (video resource linked in transcript).
  • Reference: https://youtu.be/qyQnK-dyyvg

When Stakeholders and Historians Disagree

  • Guidelines from the American Historical Association Standards for Museum Exhibits Dealing with Historical Subjects (2017).

Limiting Extreme Conflict with Stakeholders: Reflective Practice Through Evaluation

  • Formative evaluation: During exhibition development.
  • Remedial evaluation: Immediately after opening.
  • Summative evaluation: Occurs near conclusion.

Engaging Audiences: Interpretive Techniques

  • "Living history" approach.
  • Reference: Lamar Kewicz, “First Person Versus Third Person Interpretation,” August 31, 2013.
    • URL: https://historyboots.wordpress.com/2013/08/31/first-person-versus-third-person-interpretation/

Engaging Audiences: Difficult History

  • Definition: Describes memories of pain, suffering, oppression, trauma, and grief so they incite anxiety, resistance, and stress from audiences.
  • Purpose: Provokes learning about the formation of historical and current social structures.

The Ethics of Representing Difficult History

  • Three Building Blocks:
    • Faces: Develop personhood within interpretations that provide visitors opportunities to recognize and respond empathetically to someone who was or is human.
    • Real content: Empirical content made from authentic, measured, and relevant materials that museums collect and assemble.
    • Narratives: Explain how the experiences of people were connected to ideologies or organized actions in a historical context.
  • Reference: Julia Rose, “Developing Ethical Representations of Difficult Histories Part 1: Introduction,” American Association for State and Local History.
    • URL: https://blogs.aaslh.org/developing-ethical-representations-of-difficult-histories-part-1/

The Limits of Engaging Audiences

  • Public historians must balance their respect for public involvement with their academic integrity.