Online Lightening Talks
Museums and the Intercultural Communication Classroom: Using Art and Artifacts to Engage Critical Thinking
Online Lightning Talk Ac Panella
Edward T. Hall introduced the theory of high context and low context cultures to the fields of anthropology and communication studies. In doing so, he offered a lense for understanding the ways that dialogue is framed within specific cultures. While many college students understand this theory quickly, the application of the theory to daily communication may take a little effort. Leading students through a series of museum related activities focused on analysis of art and artifacts can help students engage in critical thinking and practice the application of theory, like Hall's. This paper will highlight and offer suggestions for embedding museums into college curriculum.
Silent Pedagogy: Impact of Museum Environment on Experience and Inclusivity
Online Lightning Talk Sarah C Graves
Elliot Eisner wrote on silent pedagogy in museums in 1988, specifically outlining how silent pedagogy impacts visitor experience and feelings of inclusivity. Silent pedagogy is essentially what museums do to help visitors experience works in the museum, whether art, historical, anthropological, or natural. Cues involve how works are displayed, navigation, content displayed, and more. This lightning talk re-examines silent pedagogy by analyzing several examples of museums using Eisner's case study research methods to identify successful and unsuccessful techniques. The goal of this study is to examine the use of silent pedagogy in museums thirty years after Eisner's article to examine to what degree its use has changed.
The Challenge of Library Exhibitions: Building and Assessing Engaging Exhibitions in Academic and Research Libraries - the British Library as a Case Study
Online Lightning Talk Marta De Gennaro
The barrier for library exhibitions is that the communication system in literature is different from the one of the visual arts. Consequently, challenges arise when books and manuscripts become items inside cases. It is necessary to find alternative ways in which the public can experience such material. But how can this be done? For conservation reasons, visitors cannot handle valuable objects. So, what can be built around them to provide an immersive experience, while preserving their natural function of literary material and protecting them from deterioration? This study identifies three main areas to improve visitor experience, connected one to the other: a sense of Narrative, through different levels of Interpretation, facilitated by Interaction (physical, digital, social) both with objects and other people (i.e. other visitors, or staff members). Acknowledging the fact that exhibitions are complex systems and therefore it is not possible to define one model for all, this work focuses on a specific case study, the Treasures of the British Library exhibition. The aim is to contribute to a better understanding of the needs of the visitors of library exhibitions. Data on visitors’ profiles, behaviour, and experience, were collected through tracking and post-visit interviews, and analysed in order to address visitors’ needs and expectations. The main needs identified involve: a sense of narrative, to address different levels of knowledge and perspectives; characterisation of the space, manifestly relevant to the material exhibited; sensorial experiences and information about the stories of the objects, to preserve the ‘hands-on’ nature of literary materials.
