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GEORGE WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION: A VISUAL ARCHIVE



Abstract

During the Spring 1999 semester Professor Bruce Owens instructed me in the creation of a visual data archive and data base for the photos of the 101st George Washington's Birthday Celebration which I took during February 1998 in Laredo, Texas. These images will be used in my course on Latino Community. The intent is to use visual images for teaching about a unique cultural region -- and an even more unique cultural event in that region.

I have scanned some of the best slides of the photos I took during my observation of the George Washington's Birthday Celebration. After scanning, cropping, adjusting for color balance and resolution, and creating thumbnails, about 80 of these images will be archived in the main frame. I will continue to add to the collection as I acquire other images of the celebration in the future.



Pedagogical Goals

I will use these pictures in the form of a slide presentation in my class in Latino Community. In addition, the photographic data base will also be available through a server to my students for their perusal in preparing for exams and class discussions. The pictures also serve to fill a deficit by providing ethnographic images of Tex-Mex border culture that had previously been unavailable in the Wheaton archives -- that is, the Wallace Library, the Language Lab Library, and the Art Department.

Strategy

Now that I have acquired the skills for using Filemaker Pro and Adobe Photoshop, I will continue to collect other images of various aspects of Tex-Mex border culture -- e.g., curanderismo, international trade, family life, cemeteries, etc. -- that will eventually form a larger montage of that region and its people. Since Bruce was provided me with written instructions -- which he wrote for me -- I will be able to effectively repeat the process in future projects.

Assessment

Thanks to Bruce's superb guidance -- showing me how to scan slides, make thumbnails, and enter data -- I now have a small gallery of images for classroom instruction. Students often learn best by "seeing" a culture rather than just reading or being told about it. The entire project has great potential for future expansion.








Last updated on 12/1/00;
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