Reel American History: An Archive Built by Novices

Gallagher | Reel American History: An Archive Built by Novices Reel American History: An Archive Built by Novices by Edward J. Gallagher Lehigh University I'd like to describe a Lehigh University web site of potential interest to readers of Film & History and to invite not only use of it and feedback about it but especially and primarily contributions to it. Reel American History is a web site that provides resources created by students for the study offilms aboutAmerican history. One goal of the project is to stimulate high school, college, and graduate students to think critically about the ways movies construct our history. At present, this ever-in-progress site contains in-depth case studies on twenty-five films and a variety of research resources and pedagogical scaffolding (look below for more details, but, printed out, the material on the site now runs over 1500 pages). Our sound-bite slogan is that the purpose of the site is to sensitize students to how the "reel" makes the "real." Another goal of the project is to explore substantive uses of the new technology for pedagogical purposes. Randy Bass and Bret Eynon lay out three categories of "intriguing opportunities for meaningful learning" offered by electronic environments: inquiry-based learning utilizing primary sources now available on the web, increased interaction provided by discussion lists and chat programs, and publication of student work (40-41). I had worked in the first two categories and was eager to explore the third. Pedagogically, then, Reel American History most closely resembles what Bass and Eynon call a "Collaborative Shared Resource" (56). It aims at being a large, ongoing, cumulative, collaborative project that involves many students and many faculty from a variety oflocations — notjust Lehigh — over a long period of time (55). Bass has coined the phrase "novice in the archives" (46) to capture the experience of having students work on the web with hitherto unavailable primary resources. Another sound bite of ours puns meaningfully on Bass's coinage: Reel American History is "an archive built by novices." Let's say more about these two goals in turn. First, why study films about American history? I would guess that readers of Film & History will knock that question right out of the park. Suffice it to say that my shorthand answer takes the form of a syllogism: a history is one of the elements that constitutes a nation (without a history, we are not a "We"), but in the modern world films are the way many people internalize their history ("films write history with lightning"), and, therefore, it behooves us to study what kind of history films are constructing. Nations, to borrow from Benedict Anderson, are imagined communities; nations, to borrow from Timothy Brennan, depend for their existence on an apparatus of cultural fictions in which film plays a decisive role (49). One goal ofthe ReelAmerican History project, then, is to foster critical thinking about a matter of enduring cultural attention, especially where young people are concerned: the formation of our national identity, our national imaginary. In this regard, we have tried to arouse excitement for the value of the project through what one ofmy collaborators, Stephen Tompkins, calls the "manifesto" on our title page. Second, why use the web to achieve this goal? Bass and Eynon point out that "digital environments are ideal to facilitate the realization of constructionist approaches" and, quoting constructionist theorists, that "learners are particularly likely to make new ideas when they are actively engaged in making some type of external artifact . . . which they can reflect upon and share with others" (55). In short, I was intrigued by the potential for enhanced learning through a project in which individual students doing "authentic" work (55) were part of a community not limited by time or space and engaged in building a web site on an importantissue that would be ofvalue to people beyond the course and even beyond the campus—all the while gaining and demonstrating technical experience that would add a practical dimension to their resumes. And, from my own perspective, I felt that I needed a focal point if I were to grow in understanding of and facility with the new technology. Reel American...