JordanStokes

4/17/16
AL493A
CriticalSummation

MuseumxCareer

Priortomyspring2016internshipwiththeMichiganStateUniversityMuseum,Ihad
neverconsideredchoosingmuseumpracticeasacareerpath.Ihavealwaysappreciated
museums,thestoriestheytell,andtheintegrationofhistory,art,culture,science,and
education.However,nowIhavedevelopedadeeperappreciationformuseumpractice,which
haspushedmetoconsideracareeratamuseuminthefuture.Asavisitor,Ionlygottosee
themuseuminitsfrontlines.Now,Ihavecapturedaglimpse,orratherataste,ofalltheextra
workmuseumsdothatIhadneverconsideredbefore.
Icurrentlyviewmyselfasadigitalandtechnicalcommunicatorthatis,Ihavetheskills
neededtocommunicateeffectivelyonavarietyofplatformsandchannels.Recently,Iread
AnneFrancesWysockisarticleWhatdoTechnicalCommunicatorsNeedtoKnowaboutNew
Media?fromthebook
SolvingProblemsinTechnicalCommunication.I
nherarticle,Wysocki
talksabouttherhetoricalconditionsthattechnicalcommunicatorsneedtoconsider,aswellas
theimportanceofunderstandingthetoolstheyareusingandhowusefultheyareforthe
organizationinwhichtheyareworkingfor.Duringmyinternshipatthemuseum,weconsidered
therhetoricalconditionsinvolvedwiththedifferentdepartments,andtailoredourpresentations
accordingly.Moreimportantly,inordertodevelopastrategicplannativetodigital,wehaveto
consideralloftheplatformsandchannelsthemuseumalreadyuses,orcanuse,toreach
visitorsaswellasunderstandhowusefulthesearetothemuseumanditsobjectives.

TheProfessionalWritingProgramatMSUhastaughtmehowtocommunicateto
audienceseffectively,andtoconsidertherhetoricalconditionsinvolvedinmywork.More
specifically,asImentioned,Ilikelyidentifymyselfasatechnicalcommunicator.Asatechnical
communicator,itismyjobtoaddvalueinmywork.Ithinkthisalignswiththestrategicdirection
ofthemuseumthemuseum,asawhole,usinganinclusiveframeworkthatcallsfornotonly
collectiveknowledge,butcollectiveaction,arecreatingthevalueintheirownwork(orinthis
case,strategy).
Frommyexperienceputtingtogetherthisdigitalstrategy,Ihavelearnedalotaboutthe
assetsandvaluestheMSUMuseumupholds.IhavealsolearnedaboutwhotheMSUMuseum
is,andwhattheydo,morespecifically.Fromadigitalhumanities(DH)standpoint,Ibelievethis
field,aswellasmypersonalDHstudiesdirectlycorrelatewithmuseumpractice.Digital
humanitiesliesattheintersectionofresearch,learning,teaching,technology,andthe
humanities.Thisisdirectlyproportionaltomuseumpracticeallofthesethingsbuiltintoone
organization,asIsawduringourstrategymeetings.So,whatbetterwaythantochannelmy
knackfordigitalhumanitiesthanatanorganizationlikeamuseum?
ThroughthisinternshipI
havelearnedhowtoimmersemyselfinanorganization(thatI
previouslyknewnothingabout),analyzeconcepts,andthinkstrategicallyinordertoassistand
outlinestepstoimprovetheirdigitalpresence.Ihavealsolearnedh
owtoschedulelargegroups
ofpeopleformeetingsandworkshops,howtoeffectively(oratleasttryto)getothersonboard
withanideabytailoringandtinkeringwithcontentaccordingtotheirinterests,howtoresearch
effectivelyanddisplaythatresearchtoanaudience,howtostrategicallyanalyzeresults,and
finally,howtostrategicallygroupresults.Theseareallthingsthathavetrulyenhancedmyskill
setinalloftheseareas.Mostimportantly,duringmyinternshipIlearnedaboutmuseumculture.
A
HuffingtonPost
articlestatesthatmuseumsare
chargedwithconserving,protectingand

displayingartifactsfromourpastandthuspreservingourrichheritagewhichmightotherwisebe
losttoprivatecollectorsortotimeitself,(Wages).

Frommyexperience,museumsarefullof
passionate,creative,articulate,caring,respectable,andmostofall,intelligentpeople,andthats
thetypeofcultureIhadalwayswantedtobeapartof.
Insummation,Ihadneverseenmyselfassomeonewhowouldbeworkinginamuseum,
however,thisinternshipallowedmetomakeconnectionsbetweenmyidentity,careergoals,
andmuseumpractice.Inamuseum,therearealotofdepartmentsandpeopleworkingtogether
foragreatergoodinthegrandschemeofthings,museumsandexhibitionsareconstructedfor
visitors.Asadigitalandtechnicalcommunicator,Ibelievesomebridgescanbebuiltaligning
mycareergoalswithamuseumsmedia,newmedia,andprogramandexhibitioncontent(or
context).Asmentionedpreviously,priortomyinternshipwiththeMSUMuseumIhadnever
consideredworkingatamuseum,buttheirpurposeandculturealwaysheldmyinterest.
Museumsprovideauniqueinteractiveexperienceofgettingupclosetothingspeopletypically
seeinbooks,newspapers,orthetelevision.Weareinadigitalera,thereforeIthinkitseven
moreinterestingthatinadditiontoatraditionalwalkingtour,museumscancreateaugmented
andvirtualrealityexperiencesfortheirvisitors,whichisontherise,accordingtomyresearchon
musuemtrendsforourframework.

References
Wages,Joan."WhyMuseumsAreImportant."
TheHuffingtonPost.
TheHuffingtonPost.com,18
Feb.2015.Web.25Apr.2016.