Thread by @JayVanderVeen

Doing a 180 for a 200th Anniversary:
Using Social Media to Share a Bicentennial Exhibit When Social Distancing Isn’t Enough

@JayVanderVeen, Professor of Anthropology at @IUSouthBend, USA

#PATC5 /1

All campuses of @IndianaUniv, including @IUSouthBend, planned to celebrate 200 years of impact in the state and worldwide. Events included packing the @SBCubs stadium with alumni (@IUAA), a bus with @IUArtifacts sent on the road, & talks at the museum and elsewhere. #PATC5 /2

I got @IUBicentennial $ to hold a campus dig in 2018, training students in research design, excavation techniques. The public astopped by to talk to the students & share stories. This was pre-COVID 19 - we were very close to each other & everything was “high touch.”
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I traveled to the @IUBArchives & campus archives at @SchurzLibrary to find documents/artifacts to round out the 200 year story of the university. Faculty and staff loaned personal objects, and oral histories were collected from emeritus professors and area alumni.
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Writing the exhibit panels was a challenge. Like Twitter, I limited words on each panel. I also prioritized some stories so that all constituencies would get a voice. I made sure to show women, people of color, and those from other underrepresented groups...
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...Archival material tends to be collected by, created by, and present the history of straight white males without disabilities. #PATC5 /6

Artifacts were selected to demonstrate the impact of the @IUSouthBend in the area, from property use before the campus was constructed to the production of art and knowledge by current students and staff... #PATC5 /7

...The items showed the best aspects of the university but also shed light on the race and gender divisions that had existed in the past. #PATC5 /8

The exhibit was to straddle the official @IUBicentennial date of 20 January 2020. It opened at @historymuseumSB in November 2019 and was to close, after lectures and concerts and a visit by @IndianaUniv trustees, in April 2020. But we all know what happened instead… #PATC5 /9

@IUSouthBend and all @IndianaUniv campuses closed their collective doors to in-person activities. Faculty had to pivot to presenting info online, engaging with students who were now facing crises bigger than a missed homework assignment... #PATC5 /10

...The @IUBicentennial historical marker dedications and other events were also cancelled or postponed indefinitely. #PATC5 /11

@historymuseumSB was closed to the public based on recommendations from federal, state, and community officials. The #IU200 exhibit wasn't in front of the public. How could we commemorate this once-in-a-lifetime Bicentennial if everyone is sheltering in place?
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Just like @IUSouthBend faculty were engaging with students online, social media platforms could reach the public. I took to Twitter and Facebook, sharing more than my traditional posts about @Cubs, cats, & cooking. I'm no "influencer,” but the stories had traction. #PATC5 /13

Colleagues at @SchurzLibrary created a virtual version of the @IUBicentennial exhibit w/ images and info I collected. The online museum is at iusbarchives.omeka.net/exhibits/show/…... #PATC5 /14

...Because the pages are not limited by display case size or word counts on museum panels, we could make accessible even more research. #PATC5 /15

And I was no longer a gatekeeper, as we provided links for the public to explore their own interests. The virtual version is open 24/7 and has no entry fees. We think we have had far more visitors to the virtual exhibit, but we neglected to turn on the counter…
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Another advantage to the virtual exhibit and the use of social media is timeliness. I could post about things related to particular events happening "now", like past basketball games during #MarchMadness and historical coincidences like the Spanish flu epidemic.
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Thanx to @IUBArchives, @IUBicentennial, @SchurzLibrary, @historymuseumSB, @IndianaUniv and @IUSouthBend communities who provided stories & signal boosts. We could celebrate a 200 year anniversary when good news is needed. #PATC5 /18

The story of the university is not finished, although my presentation is. Want more information, have questions, or need to fill your noggin? Drop me a line. #PATC5 /19

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