Pedagogical Tools / Teaching Resources:
Museum Queeries Paper
The framing and representation of 2S+LGBTTQ lives and issues in museums is significant for the way that museums contribute to public discourse on historical and contemporary issues. Drawing on key concepts and readings from the course, this assignment asks you to carry out a critical analysis of one exhibit (or more than one in conversation) on display at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) that deals with “queer content.” A class visit to the Museum for a guided “Pride Tour” will provide some context for your paper. This assignment will also serve as a jumping off point for the development of your Queering the Museum Audio Guide assignments.
Audio Guide Script
The objective of this assignment is to develop a short script towards a Queering the Museum (QtM) audio guide of your own making! An Audio Guide Basics and Script Writing workshop will be held in class on Wednesday, January 10 in preparation for this assignment. Informed by critiques raised in the course, your script will work to “queer” (homo)normative frames of interpretation in order to provide listeners/museum-goers with a critical commentary and alternative perspective on an existing museum exhibit or site specific installation. The Museum Queeries Paper also serves as preparation for this assignment.
Audio Guide Creation and Final Essay
This assignment is inspired by the popularization of Do-It-Yourself (DIY) or “unauthorized” audio guides as creative and critical responses to museums and cultural heritage sites. Your Museum Queeries Paper, QtM Audio Guide Script, and QtM Audio Guide Presentation serve as the “underpinnings” for this assignment. Ultimately you will produce your guide as a podcast, with training provided though workshops held in the Centre for Research in Cultural Studies (CRiCS) Knowledge Mobilization Lab on campus (further instructions re: technical requirements for the guide and criteria for the essay will be handed out and discussed in class). The Final Essay, as an accompaniment to your guide, will describe how the critiques raised in the course inform it. It is an opportunity for you to reflect and expand on the issue that you’ve researched to develop your audio guide.
Audio Guide Presentation
Each student in the course will present their QtM Audio Guide in class after the production and recording workshops during the weeks prior. The purpose of this presentation is to provide you with an opportunity to show your work in development, and receive constructive feedback from the class. Be prepared to play your audio file and describe how the critiques raised in the course inform your guide. In advance, please hand in a one-page outline (point form) of your presentation to the instructor.