Preparing for the first online seminar
I read two articles on object-based learning (OBL) using special collections. It was inspired by my interest in special collections librarianship and experience I have in running zine and artists books sessions from when I worked at LCC Library. I am based at WCA Library now and thought that looking into OBL would give me an opportunity to get to know our special collections here, especially that it has just become available after being for months and months in the storage, while the library was undergoing a major renovation. Our special collection at Wimbledon is quite small in comparison to the other bigger UAL libraries’ collections and I am a bit concerned about how I can use it for my research on the PgCert. However, I would like to prepare at least one OBL session for my students while on the course using the WCA special collections. Not committing to anything yet but would like to explore the collection to see where it will take me.
Articles that I read for the workshop have provided me with some ideas on the session itself – how I could design the questions to make the session more inclusive and which key words I can use to provoke students’ engagement and response. I was especially drawn to what Lelkes wrote on formulating the questions that can make the OBL relevant to the participants’ lived experience. We can increase the session’s meaningfulness to students and their socio-cultural awareness by considering “what the objects says about gender expression, heteronormativity, racism, ableism, social class, faith, and LGBTQIA+ inclusion, homophobia, biphobia and transphobia.” (Lelkes, p. 80)
Articles I read on OBL for the first week workshop:
Lelkes, J. (2019) ‘How inclusive is object-based learning?’, Spark, 4(1), pp. 76-82. Available at: https://sparkjournal.arts.ac.uk/index.php/spark/article/view/110/196 (Accessed: 12 January 2023).
Winston-Silk, J. (2019) ‘Deaccessioning and reimagining: a novel approach to object-based learning’, Spark, 4(1), pp. 51-57. Available at: https://sparkjournal.arts.ac.uk/index.php/spark/article/view/130/211 (Accessed: 12 January 2023).