Thursday, 31 May 2012

7 Monday May Library Research.

8 Tuesday
Generic Skills Training Session Round Three.

9 Wednesday
Journey London and British Library Research.

10 Thursday
Renaissance ‘Workshop of Workshops’ British Museum Day One.

11 Friday
Renaissance ‘Workshop of Workshops’ British Museum Day Two.

12 Saturday ‘The Weekend’

13 Sunday Brunch with Colleagues

14 Monday
Marking Papers
Reading List and taking notes

15 Tuesday
Marking Papers
Reading List and taking notes

16 Wednesday
Brown Bag Seminar Steampunk Movement and Museums
Supervision with Sandra
SSCC Meeting
Producer’s Group Meeting at Phoenix

17 Thursday
Reading List and taking notes
APG Drafting

18 Friday
Reading List and taking notes
APG Drafting

19 Saturday Weekend
20 Sunday Amy Barnes Birthday

21 Monday
Reading List and taking notes
Dinner with Amy and Petrina then Being Elmo

22 Tuesday
Reading List and taking notes
APG Report and Research Week Intensives.


23 Wednesday
Blackboard Redesign Planning Session Ceri and Linda
Museum Studio Seminar
Reading List and taking notes

24 Thursday
APG Report and Research Week Intensives.

25 Friday
APG Report and Research Week Intensives.

26 Saturday Weekend
27 Sunday Clearing my Schedule for APG Report and Research Week Intensives.

28 Monday
APG Report and Research Week Intensives.
Scheduling with Virginia confirmed.

29 Tuesday
APG Report and Research Week Intensives.
Email Inquires Pertaining to Research sent.

30 Wednesday
APG Report and Research Week Intensives.
Drafted Diagrams.
Blackboard intros drafted and sent
Brown Bag Schedule Draft sent
Putting abstracts together.
Scheduling with Prof. Laura Peers confirmed.

31 Thursday
APG Report and Research Week Intensives sent.
Abstracts Draft sent
Update of Journals 1 and 2.
Update of Training log.


01 Friday June (Slight prognostication.)
Tacking and jibing the sails as necessary for the next bit of the journey . . .


Sunday, 6 May 2012

Monday 30 April – Sunday 6 May


30 Monday April: Updated footnotes for Viv’s forthcoming publication and sent update to Viv. Ordered books. Updated blogs. Asked Viv about ‘Mediascapes’ access.

01 Tuesday May: Viv emailed a recommendation that I ask Ross about ‘Mediascapes’. I emailed to Ross, who recommended both the geography department and Bob. I emailed Bob first, who responded with directions for how to access that application. Paid bills, ran errands. Re-read Ingold’s ideas about objects and agency.

02 Wednesday May: Placed all readings I intend to use of APG into the same file, researched for library texts needed, requested holds be placed on resources, made travel arrangements for London conservation training sessions. There is a film related to my work that I’m having trouble tracking down—will have to find out if our library can somehow obtain/borrow it.  Mom’s birthday, day one.

03 Thursday May: Sorting belongings; discovered old but useful resources in the process. Wrote thank you notes. Mom’s birthday, day two.

04 Friday May: Returned to consideration of ‘agency’. Though there is not directly applicable literature to my heuristic process, the question of ‘agency’ is at the heart of my research therefore, I will make a more thorough explication of that in my work.

05/06 May: Caught up on social media—which in many cases is a very important current resource in ‘research support’ . . . but not really in the case of this past weekend. Was quite important for general peace of mind and well-being so . . . okay, can be viewed, if not as direct ‘research support’, as at least ‘researcher support’.  :)

Monday, 30 April 2012

23-29 April 2012



23 Monday April: Supervision five with Sandra, Brown Bag Seminar planning with Viv.

24 Tuesday April: Wrote and sent report of supervision session five.

25 Wednesday April: Attended ‘Mapping Faith Workshop’.

26 Thursday April: Revisions to APG Report.

27 Friday April: Revisions to APG Report. Sent Revised APG Report Draft to Sandra

28/29 April Weekend.

Sunday, 22 April 2012

Spring Breaking.


‘Spring Break’ 09-15 April


09 Monday April: Informed by my mother that my paternal grandfather Eddie James died last Friday, 06 April. This means that in the past roughly one year, I have lost my father, my godmother, my paternal grandmother and now my paternal grandfather. Having trouble concentrating today.

10 Tuesday April: Re-read Myths to Live By. Made family phone calls.

11 Wednesday April: Family phone calls and arrangements; will not personally be in attendance of the funeral. Made preparations for tomorrow’s research day and the interview with Peter Barber.

12 Thursday April: Interview with Peter Barber, Maps Room, British Library, London.

13 Friday April: Raw transcription of interview with Peter Barber. Updated social media. Read article for next week’s seminar discussion of ‘Narrativity’.

14/15 April Weekend—did nothing in direct support of research. Please note: have learned that the university libraries in London (and surrounding) close for the week before and two weeks after the Easter Break. In response to this, students bereft of their familiar faculty, descend in force upon a beleaguered British Library. There were no open desks in ANY of the reading rooms . . . 

‘Spring Break’ 16-22 April

16 Monday April: Transcription of interview with Peter Barber and citing references. Read background articles for the interview. Taped BBC 4 broadcast discussion of Drake’s Circumnavigation Medal, part of “Shakespeare’s Restless World’ exhibition preparation.

17 Tuesday April: Reviewed and edited raw transcription. Answering emails.

18 Wednesday April: Cy’s seminar discussion of ‘Narrativity’.

19 Thursday April: Today my father would have been 70. Taking a day away from research for personal reasons. Also battling a cold.

20 Friday April: 'Disciplinarity' Symposium at Museum Studies, University of Leicester. Still miserable with cold and feeling incredibly tired, I left the seminar an hour early.

21/22 April Weekend—did nothing in direct support of research.

Wednesday, 11 April 2012

Weeks 12-14

Week 12 March

19-25 Monday March Devoted to readings and notes towards drafting the APG Report.

Week 13 March

26 Monday March Museum Utopias Conference –Pre-Conference Events.

27 Tuesday March Museum Utopias Conference

28 Wednesday March Museum Utopias Conference and Brown Bag Seminar: Dr Stephanie Pratt.

29 Thursday March APG Report—University Report and Departmental Version

30 Friday March APG Report—University Report and Departmental Version. Sent out request for Research Week Abstracts.

31/01 April Weekend APG Report—University Report and Departmental Version

Week 14 April

02 Monday April Reviewing Application Process for Arts Council Grants.

03 Tuesday April Revising AGP Reports.

04 Wednesday April Research at Nottingham Contemporary—made use of their reading room/library to revisit W.B. Arcades Project, and Baudrillard’s System of Objects, in terms of current research.

05 Thursday April Liverpool Research

06 Friday April Blackpool Research: Grundy Art Gallery, Blank Stir Exhibition.

07/08 April Weekend Returned from Blackpool, finished APG draft (to be sent to Sandra on Monday).

Saturday, 17 March 2012

Weeks 8-11

Week 8

20 Monday February Strategies for Introducing and Embedding a New Museum Ethics in the Museum Sector, Marstine and Dodd. 3-5PM

21 Tuesday Nominated to and accepted to Brown Bag Seminar Coordination for next year.

22 Wednesday Brown Bag Speaker: Chris Collins NHM Title: From Homer to Genocide Sponsors: Dave Unwin, Gudrun Whitehead -also- Museum Studio Reading Group: Seminar Leader: Cintia Velazquez

AND: Student Meeting SSCC.

MS and SSCC were moved from 29 to 22 due to Teatopia fundraiser conflict. I was not in attendance of 'Teatopia' due to previous arrangements for the 29th.

23 Thursday February London British Library Research and ‘Bingo’ Night at the Young Vic.

24 Friday Caught up on personal Journal work.

25/26 Weekend: Review of data for monitor readings. Email. Intensive work on ‘gift exchange’ research paper.

Week 9

27 Monday: Intensive work on ‘gift exchange’ research paper.

28 Tuesday: Intensive work on ‘gift exchange’ research paper.

29 Wednesday: Brown Bag Seminar Speaker: Mike Pickering, National Museums Australia Title: "Voices from the Wilderness: the Canning Stock Route" Sponsors: Janet Marstine, Elee Kirk--Also, today is Leap Day: I journeyed to London to review materials at the library, and then conduct 'field research' at The Lexington.

01 March Thursday: Intensive work on ‘gift exchange’ research paper.

02 Friday: Special Topics Seminar: Jan Ramirez, director of the under-construction 9/11 Museum.

03/04 Weekend: Intensive work on ‘gift exchange’ research paper. Sunday: Dinner Interview with Professor Susan Pearce and Dr. Vivian Golding.

Week 10 March

05 Monday: Raw transcription of last night's interview and drafted edit of the interview write-up for afterword of forthcoming publication.

06 Tuesday: Volunteered to gather abstracts for Research Week presentations. Sent paper on Museum Display as Gift Exchange to Sandra.

07 Wednesday: observed the MA research exercise at the Herbert, 7:45-17:00. Interesting discussion with Marcus Weisen.

08 Thursday: Continued personal research at the Herbert. (Leicester was quite full of people and security due to the Queen, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visitation)

09 Friday: Revisions to the forthcoming publication/interview working with Viv and Petrina. Scanned took notes etc. for book I needed to return to library, then returned book to library.

10/11 Weekend: I can’t believe the monitoring tasks are almost over. Worked on draft APG report. Caught up on emails and reviewed monitoring data.

Week 11 March

12 Monday: Worked on draft APG report.

13 Tuesday: London Research at Maps and went to talk given by friend at UCL Met with retiring librarian Geoff Armitage at the British Library Maps Room to discuss history of display of the maps collection and possible maps for case study (a very productive conversation). Was referred to head of department Peter Barber for further inquires. 6PM: Institute for Archaeology. Piotr Bienkowski (University of Manchester), speaking engagement with Council for British Research in the Levant (CBRL) for Crystal Bennett Memorial Lecture. Completed scheduling arrangements with Prof. Bienkowski for one of the Brown Bag sessions for 2013.

14 Wednesday MA Association meeting Museums Association Members Meeting 2012 at New Walk: Particularly rewarding discussions with Liz Johnson from the Arts Council (about the application process), with Steve LeMotte Executive Director of EMMS (recommended I have a chat with Graham Black), with Janet Ulph and with Maurice Davies (Ethics Workshop and Debrief Workshop). Brilliant opening and closing by Vanessa Travelyan (President MA) and words by Mark Taylor, Director of the MA.

-Also- in the midst of the MA meeting day I managed to attend a bit of Speaker: Dr. Jennifer Morgan, University of Manchester PhD Title: 'Change and Everyday Practice at the Museum: An Ethnographic Study' Richard Sandell, Mona Al Ali

End of the day: Museum Studio: Helen Wilkinson Presenting.

*NOTE: I was supposed to meet for a supervision with Sandra today but she is quite ill—has been since Monday. We will need to reschedule.

15 Thursday March Deinstallation support for RCP Exhibition and ‘finding brackets’ for display cases in anticipation of MA exhibitions.

Sandra has rescheduled our next supervision for 19 April, 11AM.

16 Friday: Caught up on reading, made interview appointments for article research and object case study research at British Library with Peter Barber head of Maps at the British Library: for 12 April 2PM.

17/18 weekend: Sent E-cards for Mothering Sunday.

Sunday, 19 February 2012

Week Seven Semester II

Monday 13 February: Supervision with Professor Dudley. Library research (particularly verifying Goody sources). Monitor readings administration.

The description for the curatorial sessions I attended last week:

Historical Manuscripts

Arnold Hunt, Curator of Modern Historical Manuscripts: This session provides an overview of the historical manuscript collections of the British Library. An introduction to the electronic and printed finding aids, and on using the manuscripts reading room, will be followed by a discussion of how these sources can be used for a diverse range of historical research, with examples from the collections, and particular emphasis upon manuscript maps.

Newspaper Collections: printed and online resources

Ed King, Head of Newspaper Collections: The talk and workshop will look at the background to the Library's enormous collection of newspapers. The introduction will cover the formation of the collection; how the Library has now 4 million pages online, available free in our reading rooms and in UK HE institutions, and also available on a pay-per-view basis; and what we plan to do in the future regarding more digitisation of newspapers. The range of UK newspapers now available online covers the period 1700-1900, and the titles digitised provide a huge research resource. The session will explain how the selection of C19 newspaper titles for online access has been carried out so far. It will include live interaction with the files, with questions and answers.

Tuesday 14 February: Monitor readings--we are trying out external as well as internal readings. Current theory is that the documents are drawing the moisture from the atmosphere. Valentine’s Day. Returned to modest social media exchanges.

Wednesday 15 February: Social media updates. Worked on revisions to recent paper. Journal updates. Alex Woodall at Museum Studio Seminar, article for discussion: Interpretation and the Hermeneutic Turn by Cheryl Meszaros. Our department is losing its staff to some sort of professional training ‘intervention’. They will be gone five hours a day for the next three months.

Thursday 16 February: Was awakened early by different set of neighbours. (One set out, new set in?) Since I was up anyway, walked up to the campus library to return a late book and check out additional materials.

Friday 17 February: Disruptive Differences Conference/Symposium all day. Dr. Amy Jane Barnes will be added to department staff during the three months of 'Office Intervention' which commence on Monday 20 February.

Weekend: My updates are a bit threadbare this week! Especially given how full of discussion that this past week has been. I am afraid been doing a bit too much ‘social media’ recently, not enough actual work! I will try to do a better reflection upon this past week, next week.