I have a difficult decision ahead in regards to the family records and subject files for Warsop and Bull Savannah. Most of the material (interviews and census data) has names in it which may conflict with the general confidentiality of the survey. This part of the information could be blacked-out or censored so that anonymity remains, but I am not sure this would hold the same type of representation for the exhibit. The format of the records is a typed summary, done by whomever was responsible for the fieldwork in that quadrant, usually Edith Clark and assistant or the Obrebski’s. The narratives from a number of community members are a intriguing window into the lives being recorded by Obrebski – however much of these observations exist in the monographs themselves as well.
I believe that Rob would say that this is where I decide what kind of story I wish to tell with this material. From my reading the family narratives are an important voice to be heard if we are trying to know a more fill story about Obrebski’s study of the Jamaican village. The individual stories create a more cohesive understanding of the whole community. One specific example is the way the story of the bible seems to be underlying in much of the community relations. Obrebski notes in his monograph on religion that the bible is regarded as a part of the village history.
After looking a more of the subject files I considered that they would be best used as reinforcement for the monographs and more completed documentation – more to fill the gaps where the larger documents fall short of the story line. At this point I am restructuring my game plan a bit. First, I’ll go back and finish the letters box. Then go to the monographs and publications in boxes 20-23, and pick the most complete parts of the documentation. I can use these to understand the full scope of the available documentation in order to fill the gaps afterwards with supplementary data. There is a chance the breakdown of the monographs will lend themselves as categorization for the digital exhibit.
After a healthy “bring it home” chat with Coach Kovacs, I am invited to continue this internship into the spring semester so that I am not rushed with the story. I know that I could have completed this as an excerpt to be done by next week, however it seems that the collection will be best represented with a bit more time and effort. This makes sense looking at the way the project took a real loop when I was trying to discover how to get the right point of view for the story. I’m relieved and excited to continue my work (and the blog!) through next semester and my preparation for grad school. My hope is to have the Obrebski exhibit available for public viewing earlier in the Spring semester, even though I will continue to add to the digital collection.
