In early December I had a meeting with the director of my department at college. My only homework assignment during this winter break is do chose 3 aspects of the material world which interest me in regards to medieval life. One of these three will ultimately become the focus of my senior honors thesis. The director actually got quite excited when I discussed my optimal future plans.
I want to make history more exciting to the general public. I love history and the way that it is presented is key to capturing interest. I recently went to the Natural History Museum in NYC. Even though I was anticipating this museum trip, I found myself getting lulled to sleep by the warm circulated air and the somewhat musty "museum" smell. If a person who is honestly looking forward to a museum visit is having a hard time keeping their eyes open, how is a non-interested student supposed to get caught up in the actual history?
I love public speaking and I'm not sure exactly how yet, but I want to make a difference in the way medieval history is shown to the public. In my opinion, history is strongly dependent upon it's presentation.
When I discussed that with my director, she decided to make my honors thesis divided into a paper and a mini-exhibit. I would hopefully be able to get into some area museum storage and have a few pieces transferred to my college. There I could work directly with a museum and some artifacts. Then I could present my paper alongside visual aids.
The Problem:
My library at home is abysmal. Every book I wanted to take out is out of circulation in their back room. As of right now I am interested in pagan religious articles, the symbolism behind heraldry (and any over-arching symbolism), and medieval medicines/herbs/tools of the apothecary/barber trade. I'm also interested in medieval performance arts such as buskers at street fairs, or holiday mummers.
In other words:
ARGH!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment