Rethinking museums: Digital learning with historical objects
What initially appears to be a typically Swiss object reveals complex interconnections upon closer inspection: an Appenzell pipe evokes Alpine romanticism, but also tells of the tobacco trade with the Caribbean, colonial connections, and Switzerland’s “invented traditions.” But how can such hidden connections be made visible and tangible for students?
The research project “Histories for the Global Present” combined historical, didactic, curatorial, and design expertise to develop a new form of digital history education. The central method is “curatorial learning.” In a virtual museum, students can browse, view collection objects from all sides, try out bizarre analysis devices, discover formal connections, look up terms, or be surprised by talking plants. In doing so, they independently examine the collection objects, place them in new contexts, and learn about the global origins of the present.
Historical collection objects have a lot to tell about the global interconnections of our present. Often, however, they lack a contemporary translation. The project is developing a digital mediation platform that enables students to question the objects themselves and place them in new contexts.
“We cannot simply continue to work with the 19th-century view of history,” says Sophia Prinz, project manager and professor of design theory and history at ZHdK. The central question is: How can history lessons and museums be designed in such a way that global and transcultural relationships become visible and marginalized voices become audible? Through targeted clues and exciting tasks, students arrive at their own insights. The aim is not only to convey historical facts, but also to encourage a certain attitude toward history, to think in terms of relationships and contexts.