Dale,

This is such an interesting thing to think on, thanks.  I guess for my $.02, 
I'm more inclined to agree with what Claudia wrote, that's it has more to do 
with emotion rather than intellect.  A few people have mentioned 
understanding --'a better understand his/her own role in relation to a 
larger field' or
'visitors understand that they (the visitors) matter to history' --and i 
agree that a personal connection can be made in this way.  Still, i can't 
help thinking about a photography exhibit I went to years ago back home in 
California.  It was historical photographs of migrant farm workers, and 
there was one that just struck me...it was of a small boy, dressed in a 
suit, standing next to a rooster which was on a stool next to the boy.  It 
wasn't that I understood much more about him or my relationship to him or to 
migrant workers via this image, it was just that something in his expression 
completely moved me, so much so, I bought a copy of the photograph.  And to 
this day when I look at it I still feel the "personal connection" i have 
with this image, to that little boy.

Good luck with this Dale.  When's the session?
Keni

Keni Sturgeon
Curator
Mission Mill Museum
1313 Mill Avenue
Salem, OR 97306
503-585-7012, ex. 232
[log in to unmask]





>From: "Claudia J. Nicholson" <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Meaning of "personal connection"
>Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2007 07:14:29 -0500
>
>Dale:  Honestly, I think that when people talk about personal "connection"
>with a museum, it has more to do with emotion than with intellectual
>knowledge or literal recognition of themselves, friends, or relatives.
>
>I have a donor for whom our museum (a museum of Boy Scouting and Girl
>Scouting) represents a very personal experience.  We have just one group of
>objects that come from him and his family, but he felt this way about us
>before we had his stuff.  Boy Scouting has been an enormous part of his
>entire life, and therefore, our stuff, no matter who it came from, is
>personal to him, at a visceral level.
>
>I think the most successful visitor experiences are ones that make them
>FEEL.  It is not just Jewish people who are moved and engaged at the
>Holocaust Museum.
>
>Please post your definition when you formulate it!
>
>Claudia
>
>--
>Claudia J. Nicholson
>Executive Director
>North Star Museum of Boy Scouting and Girl Scouting
>2640 E. Seventh Avenue
>North St. Paul, MN  55109
>651-748-2880
>FAX:  651-748-0660
>[log in to unmask]
>
>Join us today!  Visit www.NorthStarMuseum.org
>
>
>
>On 8/8/07 1:50 PM, "Dale Jones" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > Claudia -- thanks for your thoughts. I have a copy of "Presence of the 
>Past"
> > -- but unfortunately, they don't define the term (unless I have just 
>missed
> > it, in which case I would appreciate a citation).  They do use the term
> > often, asking folks how "connected" they feel when they engage in a 
>variety
> > of activities.
> >
> > But my question remains -- what do people mean when they talk about
> > "connections?"   I have my own opinions, but I am looking for a useful
> > definition that emerges from either visitor research or the opinion of
> > thoughtful folks in the field.  It appears that it is a term that both
> > people in and out of the field (history) just assume is understood, but 
>I
> > would like to "upack" its meaning.
> >
> > Once again, if anyone knows of a citation or source that directly 
>addresses
> > the meaning of "connection" I would appreciate it.  Otherwise I'll craft 
>my
> > own definition and see how it goes.
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> > Dale Jones
> > Institute for Learning Innovation
> >
> >
> >
> > On Tue, 7 Aug 2007 14:25:37 -0500, Claudia J. Nicholson
> > <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >
> >> Go back and look at "Presence of the Past" by Rosensweig and Thelen--it 
>is
> >> probably the clearest thing that came out of their research.
> >>
> >> Claudia
> >>
> >>
> >> On 8/6/07 2:20 PM, "Dale Jones" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Hi -
> >>>
> >>> I am preparing a session at AASLH on personal connections to history 
>in
> >>> museums and am looking for some working definitions, or better yet, a
> >>> definition that comes out of relevant scholarship.   Many history 
>museums
> >>> and sites now use some variant of "personal connections" or 
>"connecting to
> >>> the past" in their mission statements, but I have found none that 
>define
> >>> what they mean.
> >>>
> >>> Any thoughts?
> >>>
> >>> Thanks
> >>>
> >>> Dale Jones
> >>> Institute for Learning Innovation
> >>> [log in to unmask]
> >>>
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