Getting to experience the Special Collections archive at Mason was a really cool experience. I had no idea that archive existed and that our campus has access to such great historical resources. The significance and role of the archive for scholars is to assist them in research that they’re doing, along with helping them gain more knowledge along the way. Many scholars do projects, so these archives are the best way for them to retain that information. The general public’s significance with archives is that many people have a general interest in archives, or some people have archives of their own to give to scholars. Museums such as the Smithsonian provides those in the general public who have an interest in archives a place to go and see a lot of different archives.
Archivists make decisions on whether to digitize materials on not based on their significance. If a certain material is in high demand, digitizing it is a great idea because it makes it more accessible instead of having a lot of people having to travel to a certain location to see it. This affects our interaction with the materials by changing the way it might look. Digitizing doesn’t allow someone to see the same features that one might see by viewing it in person. I think seeing materials in person is a better way to really experience the materials because you can pick up on so many more details.
My understanding of the FTP changed after viewing the materials we saw in class by giving me a better understanding of the different plays that people on along with how normal it was to take a lot of pictures of the actors. 1 I didn’t expect there to be as many pictures of the actors, the set, and the audience than there was. It made me realize that it was really important for people in the FTP to be able to document their plays and the entire experience of it all. I also realized how pretty their costumes were that they wore. I’ve been to a fair amount of plays nowadays, and the costumes in the pictures I saw had a lot more character and beautiful design to them. The materials my table evaluated was from Macbeth in Harlem, or the Voodoo Macbeth 2 I remember learning about that play in class, so getting to see materials from it in person was really cool. The costumes that the people wore were absolutely beautiful. Getting to experience the materials from the FTP really brought what we learned to life and I appreciated it a lot.
Works Cited:
“Federal Theatre: Melodrama, Social Protest, and Genius : Articles and Essays : Federal Theatre Project, 1935 to 1939 : Digital Collections : Library of Congress.” The Library of Congress. Accessed November 12, 2019. https://www.loc.gov/collections/federal-theatre-project-1935-to-1939/articles-and-essays/federal-theatre-melodrama-social-protest-and-genius/.
“The Play That Electrified Harlem : Articles and Essays : Federal Theatre Project, 1935 to 1939 : Digital Collections : Library of Congress.” The Library of Congress. Accessed November 12, 2019. https://www.loc.gov/collections/federal-theatre-project-1935-to-1939/articles-and-essays/play-that-electrified-harlem/.
