This class was full of several moral pauses for me. On the one hand, we as a class had a job to do. As archivists it fell upon us to dive into the material that we had, and to uncover as much of the “truth” as possible. On the other hand, as a person, I often felt that I was snooping, and prying into the most private parts of a person’s life to which I was not truly invited into. With reading over the personal letters of Harry or his family members and friends I felt that I was gaining information that might not have been meant for outsiders. Letters from Harry's' father Melvin while he was away at war, or letters between Harry and Nancy (his wife) felt private in nature.
As a young women in the 21st century I did not grow up reading or writing cursive. Most of the material that I have read or "written" over my twenty-two years has been computer generated, thus as a result I found it very difficult to decipher the handwriting at times. My dad, on the other hand, seemed to have no trouble reading the information that the letters contained, which I chalk up to him growing up writing rather than typing.
My only wish would be that actual class period would have been longer. We met as a group three times a week for fifty minutes each session which was not nearly enough time to really get into the thick of this project. Perhaps structuring this course in the same way a studio course would be set up might make things easier, that way students already have a large chunk of time carved out for them that they have to work.
As a young women in the 21st century I did not grow up reading or writing cursive. Most of the material that I have read or "written" over my twenty-two years has been computer generated, thus as a result I found it very difficult to decipher the handwriting at times. My dad, on the other hand, seemed to have no trouble reading the information that the letters contained, which I chalk up to him growing up writing rather than typing.
My only wish would be that actual class period would have been longer. We met as a group three times a week for fifty minutes each session which was not nearly enough time to really get into the thick of this project. Perhaps structuring this course in the same way a studio course would be set up might make things easier, that way students already have a large chunk of time carved out for them that they have to work.