Guggenheim

I would say that the Sept. 11 Digital Archive is a perfect example of effective crowdsourcing. It’s fascinating to see how many people were engaged in it and how rich and succinct their narratives are. I could also see that there were headings or guidelines that people were asked to respond to, which gives those narratives/comments a semblance of a structure, but it doesn’t interfere with their voice in any way. Since I wasn’t aware of this before, I was wondering who was asked to participate and how were they contacted. I believe that more people would have participated if they had known. A few years ago I asked my students to write an essay on an event that had impacted them the most and I was surprised to see that one third of the class wrote about how they were affected by the terrorist attack on Sept. 11th. Had I known about this, I would have asked them to contribute to the archive. It’s important to be well-informed and, honestly, I don’t know how, with all the changes happening in the digital world, one can keep up. The digital world doesn’t follow the traditional route of print: there is no waiting period, no editing, no promotion, no reading/lecture. So, this raises a bigger question for me: how can one be in the loop? To come back to the archive, I was deeply impressed by the richness of the information and the feedback or comments people received. I think that’s important because it’s an opportunity for people to sound off and also find validation for their concerns. It also presents a low-stakes opportunity to share their experiences on one level and even grieve together on another. It builds an online community of people who were impacted in different ways and different degrees and that’s a way to build strength and I think it’s shifting the focus of writing/narration from style to the lived experience. This new genre of writing, even though it falls under autobiography, presents a different version from what we come to view as such. It presents itself through different media, it doesn’t have to ask or wait for the seal of approval from anyone and it’s not censored, or so I hope. In that sense it offers a much better definition to the freedom of speech. Another valuable contribution the archive makes lies in the writing of the history of the tragic event and the events that followed. All that collection is a biography writer’s or researcher’s dream. It expands the notion of research and also, on a certain scale, does away with the gap-filling that the biography genre suffers from. It’s like a diary with multiple voices, images, perspectives, insights, perceptions, representations. It’s so diverse and rich in color and nuance. This reminds me of the great value we place on books like Les Miserables or The Belly of Paris because of their chronicling of the social, economic and political conditions of France in the 19th century. Or, the historical/fictitious book on New York chronicling/building its history from the time of the Dutch settlement. I wonder if they have a similar project about collecting stories from people living in New York City in the 21st century and what those archives would mean for the generations to come. We would have real life stories—no need for making up stories based on pictures.

The difference between a single physical site of memory and the digital one is the quantity of stories and artifacts that can be gathered, retained and shared.  The physical museum obviously has its limitations in space and resources but in the case of the 9/11 Digital Archive the possibilities can expand and allow more than just a handful of stories. Additionally the public has been given rights to include their voice from where ever that may be. I say this because as a New Yorker my peers and I tend to focus first on the towers but there were stories from the Pentagon and from the surviving families of those in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.  Even little Suzy from small town Oklahoma can have her say on where she was when we were attacked, proving everyone’s voice counts. The additional value of this archive is hearing the voices of the often-silent participants who work as curators, historians, media specialist and technology professionals who cooperated on the design.

Especially touching were the voices of 9.11 here is New York link, watching these interviews taking place within the year following the event was hard to step away from and presented raw details.

The 9/11 archive project reminds me of an organization named the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience who constructs sites of memory for social justice. Most recognizable is the Lower East Side Tenement Museum but they are working on the Remembering Guantamo project where they hope to transform the old prison into a space of memory in Cuba.  About a year ago they were putting together an archive where narratives and photos would be used digitally not sure if it is complete yet. In this case going digital has its advantages because not many Americans would be able to make a trip to Cuba but I argue that a physical location is still necessary in many ways and won’t be dismissed anytime soon.  Additionally sites of memory are not only going digital for sharing information but for fundraising purposes in order to eventually produce a physical location with the narratives and artifacts collected.  I wonder if the archive was used to raise funds for the actual site in the case of 9/11?

Here is the link to the ICSOC http://www.sitesofconscience.org/categories/activities/guantanamo

Kathryn noted on her blog piece that she referred her teacher friend to use this as a tool for instruction with young people.  Using this resource could only enrich the routine classroom curriculum for young people far beyond the two-page dedication in a textbook.

After reading the two articles for this week and taking a look at the archives website I have a lot to say. First though I want to make a note that I have a very different perspective on the events of 9/11 and I do not mean to offend anyone with my comments. Please read this with an open mind and please respond with any comments or opinions.

When the Twin Towers were hit I was in 7th grade. I was in science class and my assistant principal came into the classroom and announced that the Twin Towers had been hit in NYC, it allegedly was a terrorist attack, and asked if anyone needed to make a phone call. We all looked around to see if anyone got up or raised their hand. When no one moved the assistant principal said that if anyone needed anything throughout the day to come see her in her office. After she left my teacher looked at the class, her facial expression hinted that she was trying to decide if she should continue with the lesson or stop to talk about the event. We continued with the lesson.

When I got home we turned on the television and watched the news for a half hour or so and then did our homework. In the following weeke we kept up to date about what was going on but it didn’t disrupt our lives at all, it was simply a current event. I think many people throughout the U.S. had a similar experience with 9/11. It was something that happened, it didn’t really have an affect on our daily lives until much later.

When I moved to New York 6 months ago I realized just how different of an experience I had. This event was something that truly shook the city. Looking at the Digital Archives helped me to see that. I wasn’t ever exposed and really had no concept of what people experience in New York and the surrounding areas. After reading the articles I called a history teacher from the high school I went to in Ohio and asked what their textbook said about 9/11. He told me that there is one page dedicated to 9/11. There are two pictures, one of the standing towers and one of the demolished towers. I told him about the Digital Archives website and he told me he had never visited it and wanted to look into it. I’m hoping that it is something he will use when he teaches 9/11. I think it is a fantastic way to gain perspective on the event.

Such a fantastic resource needs to be taken advantage of. I don’t think that the history teacher is naive for not knowing about the site. I think he really never thought of using such a thing because we all had SUCH a different and removed experience. Like I said it’s something that happened, it’s not something that seriously affected our everyday lives when the event occurred. So how to do expose teachers to such a wonderful resource? I wouldn’t have known about it if I hadn’t taken this course and I consider myself and educated individual and this website truly impacted my perspective on 9/11. How can we use D.H to promote and expand the viewership of such an amazing archive?