Abstract
Objects without a narrative are simply things. By contrast, an object with a story can be used as a vehicle for a museum to open dialogues with visitors about the people of that time period, how they lived their lives, and what social aspects influenced them. The story of an object, what makes it different from hundreds of others just like it, can change it from ordinary to extraordinary and be used as a powerful learning tool by helping the audience to create connections and make meaning of what they are seeing and experiencing. This thesis explores the relationships between objects and their hidden stories to show the importance of narrative and meaning making in museums, particularly living history museums. By examining, researching, and exploring ten objects from the collection of the Genesee Country Village & Museum (GCV&M), a 19th century living history village in Western New York, this thesis demonstrates the importance of using narrative in interpretation. The relationship between an object, its owner and their story, and the ideas or topics of conversation it can invoke, are explored. The key research methods include examination of primary and secondary documents and literature, and the creation of new primary sources. In addition, literature written by museum professionals is examined to gain insights into past and current practices and approaches around objects and storytelling, meaning making in museums, and the importance of those concepts in a historic house, site, or living history village. These two avenues of research become the basis for this project and show the extent to which storytelling in a museum or historic setting are key to successful visitor education and can be used to help tie them to the past while making meaning in their present. Shifting from research to application, this thesis culminates in an online exhibit for the GCV&M to see how the narratives created as part of this project can, in fact, reveal hidden histories that turn ordinary things into extraordinary objects that can bridge the gap between past and present and guide the audience into making meaningful connections.
Publication Date
4-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Student Type
Undergraduate
Degree Name
Museum Studies (BS)
College
College of Liberal Arts
Advisor
Juilee Decker
Advisor/Committee Member
Peter Wisbey
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Jill Poppenheimer, "FROM ORDINARY TO EXTRAORDINARY: USING STORYTELLING TO REVEAL THE HIDDEN HISTORIES OF OBJECTS AND ENHANCE MEANING MAKING IN A LIVING HISTORY VILLAGE" (2024). Thesis. Rochester Institute of Technology. Accessed from
https://repository.rit.edu/theses/12045
Campus
RIT – Main Campus
