Performance in Pedagogy: The Interactional Forces Informing a Museum's Use of Virtual Interactive Survivor Testimony

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 17
  In Roundtable Session: Museums and Visitor Engagement

Abstract

This paper is a qualitative case study of the [institution redacted for blind review] use of an interactive 3D recorded Holocaust survivor testimony. We explore the impact of the initial implementation of VIST. We examine the research questions: what are the interactional forces shaping pedagogical decisions around the use of VIST in museums? Initial findings indicate three themes emerged across the data: (1) the role of survivors has changed from being actors in the spotlight to being actors behind a camera, altering the learning environment; (2) museum staff straddle the line between performing as compères and stage hands; and (3) students struggle as a constructed audience in meeting the expectations of the figured world.

Authors

• Ian McGregor, University of Connecticut - Storrs

• David Hicks, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

• Alan Marcus, University of Connecticut

• Simone Schweber, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Jeremy D. Stoddard, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Gary Mills, University of Nottingham