Site-Seeing: Postcards of the Middle East and the Visual Construction of Place, 1890s to 1990s
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Nottingham
Department Name: History
Abstract
How is a sense of place visually constructed and communicated? How do certain views of places or landscapes become iconic, transforming 'sites' into 'sights'? How do these authoritative images evolve in the context of wider political, social and economic changes? This project examines the role of the picture postcard as a crucial technology of twentieth-century visual culture and modern place-making. To do so, it draws on the BM's expansive collection of postcards of the Middle East, spanning colonial and postcolonial periods, and analyses the production and use of these postcards both as visual media and as material objects.
| Description | I have used my findings in public gallery talks at the British Museum attended by over twenty people; to build a database that is publicly accessible on the British Museum website; to adapt the display of postcards in the Museum to provide new information to visitors; and to develop a crowdsourcing platform that engages the public with the material (see: Micropasts project, the pilot run of which was successful and completed quickly by the public). Additionally, my research has been used to supplement the material around the collection - in terms of the information around the postcards on the collections database, and also in terms of adding to the British Museum's library collections, available to other scholars. My work has also been used to help define a new set of geographic parameters for the collections database which should make it more searchable for the public and for Museum staff. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2016 |
| Sector | Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural |
| Description | New cataloguing and geographical hierarchy for postcards and Middle East department generally |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
| Impact | As part of work with the archive of postcards of the MENA at the British Museum, I catalogued, scanned and documented a portion of the collection. As a result, I was able to collaborate with St John Simpson on a new framework for the cataloguing of postcards, which has improved the quality, scope and availability of information on the collection, as well as improving search-ability for the online collection which is public-facing. In the course of cataloguing, I noted that the geography around Israel/Palestine in the cataloguing system was quite muddled (duplicates of place names, old borders etc.) and worked with the Lead Curator to establish a new, more streamlined geographical hierarchy to ensure logical categorisation and easier search functionality. This all means that the collection is better accessible for the public, and researchers, as well as those who work at the museum, and that the museum has a set of guidelines for how to catalogue items such as these in future. |
| Description | Arts and Humanities Research Council International Placement Scheme |
| Amount | £8,070 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | AH/N002350/1 |
| Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2017 |
| End | 05/2018 |
| Title | Postcards from Israel and Palestine |
| Description | Part of my work at the British Museum has been to develop and finalise a digitisation procedure for the postcard collection. Thus far, all postcards from Israel and Palestine have been digitised and a formalised system has been put in place for the addition of data to the museum database. I have also begun a collaborative process with the digital team to crowdsource translations for the postcards. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The postcard collection is far more digitised than it was when I began my project - and is therefore available in the online Museum's Collection Database, which is available for the public to explore and engage with. |
| URL | http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/search.aspx?images=true&place=39605&object=2... |
| Description | CDP Induction Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I was invited by JD Hill to speak at the induction on the new year of CDP students, provide them with information about my research and the CDP program overall, and to answer any questions students may have. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | CDP Induction Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I was invited by JD Hill to speak at the induction on the new year of CDP students, provide them with information about my research and the CDP program overall, and to answer any questions students may have. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Curating Online Resources for Engagement and Learning |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I was a student advisory panel member for COREL, a digital humanities project based at the University of Nottingham, the purpose of which to develop an online platform for the display of textual materials held by libraries, museums, archives and private collections. The project was intended to engage with public institutions to allow them to showcase their documentary 'assets'; promote wider public access and engagement; create customisable learning resources and to generate impact from academic or community research. It also sought to engage with local communities through active collaboration with the Life Lines group, which provided feedback, testing and evaluation of the service as engaged end-users. The impact of the project, at its conclusion in June 2017, was that it enhanced understanding of the needs/capabilities of various holders of digital resources, and funnelled that into the design of a new open-access digital tool that is available for use for public engagement. More needed to be done to engage actively with local community history groups; however one of the project outcomes was a new understanding of the best ways to develop a co-production approach in future projects. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017 |
| URL | https://corelproject.wordpress.com/ |
| Description | Gallery Talk (British Museum) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I secured an opportunity to present a Gallery Talk at the British Museum on the 24th May, 2016. Approximately 20 people attended, and it was advertised on the British Museum website. Attendees, who I spoke with afterward, were visiting the Museum from various places, both local and international. My talk focused on the display of postcards in the Collecting the World gallery, the Museum's collection, my work as a CDP Researcher, and what we have been able to learn about postcards generally and the collection specifically. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/events_calendar/event_detail.aspx?eventId=2993&title=Postcards... |