I think the most important thing I took away from reading these three articles was the idea of framing and how that will be important for our time in China. After reading the three articles, I came up with a number of questions that I will keep in mind during our residency in China.
Questions for Hufford:
- How are frames used on the ChinaVine.org website and how can these frames be adapted to provide authentic interpretation?
- What aspect of our documentation constitutes as performance as outlined by Hufford?
Questions for Pocius:
- How are cultural references to art and aesthetic featured in the interpretive material and narratives displayed by ChinaVine?
- Does the selection of cultural material/ highlighted location/ featured artist occur for ChinaVine and how does this relate to the biases of Western culture? Does this affect how material is represented on the site given that the mission is to educate Western audiences?
Questions for Baron:
- How can ChinaVine work with collaborating institutions as well as artists to shape the frames of representation for ChinaVine.org?
- As defined by Kurin, “cultural brokers study, understand, and represent someones’s culture (even sometimes their own) to non-specialized others through various means and media.” Given the nature of ChinaVine, how can our field team as cultural brokers, create a “cultural conversation” where artists and other members of Chinese society can represent themselves?
The questions you pose are ones we should keep in mind as we do our field work in China. I particularly appreciate those questions associated with “framing.” Such questions are very relevant to ChinaVine generally and will be particularly important to you and the others in the group as you conceptualize and post interpretive materials following the residency. Kurin’s conception of the “cultural broker” is a concept that resonates with me and one that I keep in mind when I am engaging in community based work.
“The Role of Culture Brokers in Intercultural Science Education: A Research Proposal” by Michael Michie, provides both a personal and theoretical orientation to the concept. The literature review is particularly useful to understanding the history of use of the term. In addition, the paper includes a model of cultural brokerage theory. Also useful is the discussion of the use of the concept across fields.
@lallierb Great questions around the theme/metahpor/trope of ‘framing’, and the work well in conjunction with the questions/thoughts posed by @gerhrke here