Heading into the homestretch of my time as a Smithsonian intern, I am inundated with what we called “big feelings” in talking to our children. As a historian and currently working as part of the Smithsonian, I am bereft at the Executive Order that was signed out recently. My experience has transformed from learning how the public humanities work institutionally to wondering what constraints may be placed on our work in the near future. Interning at one of the museums called out and threatened with funding cuts in the past, the world looks a bit bleak.
Most of my adult life has been sent in increasing levels of leadership. and I am nothing short of impressed by the incredible professionalism shown by the Digital Initiatives team I am working with. In spite of the uncertainty faced by the federal workforce and the Foundation funded staff of the Smithsonian, they continue to move forward with their work and the organization’s vision for NMAL. Everyone at my internship shares a clear vision of where the museum’s digital presence should go in the future. I am sure there is churn behind the scenes, however the kindness and guidance I have been shown, especially as we balanced the projects assigned, the ever worsening news cycle and a family health crisis I had to take care of, has been far greater than I could have expected. I think the next two years, at least, will be in the balancing act we will all have to do, continuing rigorous scholarship in the federal sphere with the sword of Damocles in the corner of our eyes.
My new questions are how do we preserve the rich complexity of American history, good and bad. The desire to erase certain success stories and whitewash the story of the nation is alarming. Where do we balance national policy and intellectual honesty? And how do we save and preserve the existing projects that may draw negative attention. While I am a digital public historian, I am running up against my own technical limitations in what I can effect.
The first of the two projects I am working is complete, and by chance we had already reconsidered any language that might appear disparaging to the institution. The second project, developing maps to support the next exhibit, Puro Ritmo, is underway. Similar to the exhibit work, I was tasked with reviewing Smithsonian ArcGis projects and writing them up. It was an abbreviated report this time, recognizing where we are in the semester, but it offered a chance to delve into the ways that the Smithsonian uses mapping. Currently, I am looking at mapping the global origins and reach of salsa as well as thinking about how to use locations in song to build a story. I think that part will not work well, as most of the songs use location in the abstract — its hard to map unnamed places. We will see how it goes.
