Assignment IV : Welcome to America!

Assignment IV (10 points): “Welcome to America!”, due November 16

Throughout the semester, we've discussed how museums play a powerful role in shaping ideas about nation. History museums, in particular, contribute to and sometimes complicate our sense of shared national identity. How, though, might a museum respond to the variety of impressions about life in America that visitors from other nations bring into the mix? Your assignment is to answer that question in two stages:

1. Your peers at the University of East Anglia have provided nineteen wonderfully thoughtful responses to the question, "What does America mean to me?". Begin your assignment by reading their statements. Once you have, post a 500-word response on your blog that indicates how your own understanding of America most closely resembles AND most significantly differs from your peers’ impressions. Please be specific and use examples when possible.

2. Having reflected on how your counterparts in the UK understand America, propose a museum model--we'll call it the "Welcome to America!" museum--that is specifically designed to address the key themes raised in #1. Your proposal should reflect an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the four exhibitionary modes that we've discussed in class: display, interactivity, experience, and archive. In other words, you must devise a combination of these modes that you think would be most effective for achieving the museum's mission.

You have wide latitude to determine how you will respond to #2. I will accept illustrations, models, papers, new media products, and etc. No matter what format you choose, however, #2 must:

-reflect a level of effort equivalent to the writing of a 750 to 1,250-word paper;

-demonstrate your understanding of our course readings and discussions;

-and, be presented to the class during our November 16 meeting.

Good luck!