"Nobody can be so amusingly arrogant as a young man who has just
discovered an old idea and thinks it is his own."
- Sydney Harris
Granted, the Halloween season is not for another three solid months, but as any of my former high school students can attest to, finding just the right Halloween costume for the 2013 festivities is essential. What are my festive possibilities? A familiar party? (Quite possibly!) A long-term care facility fundraiser? (Not sure the carnival's date.) Re-vamp (tee-hee!) 2012's front-porch haunted house for the denizens of Hackleburg? (Of course!) A U.N.A. history organization bash? (Well, if it wasn't deader than the characters in "Twilight"...!) I'll just have to see. No matter though, my costumes always have to enhance the occasions, not blend with them. As the season of honoring our dead creeps in like an eerie mist, I question if there is a better way to honor my current reincarnation than choosing a "Steampunk"-inspired costume. What is "Steampunk" you ask!? My, my. Sit back, wiggle that bum for maximum comfort, and listen (well, look...) up!
From our friends at Wikipedia.org-
"'Steampunk': ... is a sub-genre of science fiction that typically features steam-powered machinery, especially in a setting inspired by industrialized Western civilization during the 19th century. Therefore, Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the 19th century's British Victorian era or American "Wild West", in a post-apocalyptic future during which steam power has regained mainstream use, or in a fantasy world that similarly employs steam power. Steampunk perhaps most recognizably features anachronistic technologies or retro-futuristic inventions as people in the 19th century might have envisioned them, and is likewise rooted in the era's perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style, and art. Such technology may include fictional machines like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or the modern authors Philip Pullman, Scott Westerfeld, Stephen Hunt and China Miéville. Other examples of Steampunk contain alternate history-style presentations of such technology as lighter-than-air airships, analog computers, or such digital mechanical computers as Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine."
A "Steampunk" Lap-Top! How SWEET is this!
An example of "Steampunk" dress. Goggles are a necessity!!!
Check out this diagram's home: www.thesteampunkbride.com
The "Steampunk" genre appeals to the historian (Victorian era), guy (technology), and writer (Romanticism; Escapism; Jules Verne!) in me. Wait! Why all of this pre-Autumnal babble? Because of my latest "Digital History" blog assignment.
In the Journal of Victorian Culture of Spring 2005, Patrick Leary had a piece entitled "Googling the Victorians". (Just think of the awesome symmetry between "Steampunk" and the article had the title been misspelled as "Goggling the Victorians"! Random thought there folks.) If interested, I recommend taking a few moments to read it here: http://victorianresearch.org/googling.pdf. Now, read the schizophrenia as I interview myself about personal experiences with our indelible internet and all of its blending of old and new... (remember that my research project is a website on Historical Landscaping)
1) "How has the internet influenced my research?" I really can not say that I use the internet equally to printed materials. Fortunately, I have a vast historical library (inherited, college, collected, and bought books) and am adding to it all the time. However, when I need supplemental information and materials, especially photographs, maps, videos, etc., the internet is usually the first choice. That is, unless I have something particular from a book in mind. If I am doing research for a major project and use the internet, I usually have to cross-reference several sources of information to make sure I'm accurate. This takes a while, but humans can be a bit goofy at times... even something as "simple" as copying a date wrong! As for my upcoming Public History website, a vast majority of my textual information is coming from printed materials and interviews with people who work in the botanical field. (tee-hee again!)
2) "Has the internet made sources available to me that might have otherwise been forgotten?" Other than botanical photographs, not really. When I plot out a project, I try to think of every angle and where my sources are for each of those angles. Yeah, just like plotting a book or short-story! Though the internet can offer the world on a platter for researchers, I am more rooted in printed materials this go-'round. I do have to mention however, when I submitted my website proposal, I used the internet heavily for bibliographical information. It is truly invaluable for that!
3) "Have I ever had a "Grotto" (see article) experience?" In reference to one discovery leading to the uncovering of something much bigger, I must reference my former understanding of the Halloween (Samhain) holiday and what I know it to be today. I went from hearing various tales of etymology to studying the subject for a research paper during my undergraduate stint at U.N.A. Embracing the Celtic roots of the holiday and the celebrations before and after casts a pure light onto its ancient meanings. As I peeled back each layer of the material, the focus became sharper and previous notions faded with enlightenment. Pre-Religion, it is. "Day of the Devil", it is not. Incidentally, the internet is a place to really become confused on the subject...
4) "What are the positives and negatives of the internet when it comes to my research?" The most positive aspects of the internet for me are accessibility, idea-stimulation, and cross-referencing opportunities. Truly, the only negative when it comes to my research is conflicting information (a.k.a. accuracy).
5) "Can the internet ever substitute for an actual archival experience?" Yes and no. As I note below, just visiting an archive is an experience in itself. All of that history at your finger-tips! Literally! Information can be found at both places, however the internet has some information that an archive does not and vice versa. Now, and in the foreseeable future, both are needed for the same reasons, yet different ones as well. Quite a paradox, huh.
6) "A personal archival experience?" and how the internet can't measure up!- As a Romantic at heart, not to mention a believer in tradition, this question-set must be answered like this: the five (and sometimes six!)-senses that are stimulated when walking into a secure area filled with preserved artifacts of information offer a surreal experience buffet. And, catching some three-hundred-year-old virus off of a porous piece of parchment! The internet can't offer that! Kidding folks.
Just as the concept of "Steampunk" is a blending of the romantic past and the innovative future, so too is the internet a blending of the archives of the past and the limitless possibilities of future preservation.
As always, thank you so very much for taking the time to read my humble blog. And, a big shout-out to my new visitors from the Netherlands and Portugal! Please leave "hellos", comments, thoughts, complaints, additions, and corrections... all are very much appreciated! Incidentally, if you had trouble seeing the connection between my possible Halloween costume and the discussion of internet research versus archival experience, you might want to try these:
Just as the concept of "Steampunk" is a blending of the romantic past and the innovative future, so too is the internet a blending of the archives of the past and the limitless possibilities of future preservation.
As always, thank you so very much for taking the time to read my humble blog. And, a big shout-out to my new visitors from the Netherlands and Portugal! Please leave "hellos", comments, thoughts, complaints, additions, and corrections... all are very much appreciated! Incidentally, if you had trouble seeing the connection between my possible Halloween costume and the discussion of internet research versus archival experience, you might want to try these:
NEXT TIME? The Grilling of American Public Education and History
I think that you have hit the proverbial nail on the head with your Steampunk analogy (I have some good Steampunk fiction if you are interested in borrowing any to read in your "spare time"). We are in an age when the old has been blended with the new in a pretty exciting way. However, we also need to remember to value to old - which clearly you and your classmates do. As historians, we should never hope and dream that archives shut their doors and digital archives take over - but we need to keep thinking of different ways to help the old and the new complement each other. Then, we can use the Internet and archives to their fullest potential.
ReplyDeleteLadies and gentlemen, "The Oracle" has spoken! Thank you very much for taking the time to respond to my blog-post Dr. Barske. Just like primary and secondary students, I appreciate an esteemed Professor taking the time for personal address. Now, may I just take a moment to remind you of your continued awesomeness- "Steampunk fiction"!!!! SWEETNESS! Of course, not only that and more importantly, the content of your comment. Certainly, as Public Historians, it should be our mission to build bridges between the old and the new, tradition and innovation. When we turn from the old, the tradition, then history becomes moot. And when history becomes moot, then, don't we as a society become moot? When we determine the best way to bind archives and the internet in a mutually-beneficial relationship, then I firmly believe that both will grow in function and importance. As with our discussions concerning museums placing additional experiences (i.e. virtual tours, educational lectures, etc.) on a website, archives can offer incentives to come through their front doors AND reasons to surf the web. As you have stated, it's going to depend heavily on getting the establishment see the benefits of- oh, I don't know- practicality!? Thank you again...
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