Focus Group

Focus Group

We'll treat the week as two focus group sessions.

Focus groups are the groups you present your work to in order to:

1. Receive feedback
2. Understand how a specific group of people might respond to your work
3. Make adjustments based on feedback
4. Test out the exhibit before it finally goes pubic (or receives a final grade)

For this group, I want you to listen to brief presentations on the exhibit. Then give yourselves a few minutes to browse the exhibit. Then answer the following questions:

1. How well does this exhibit exemplify the principles of the useless archive as we have considered them all semester?

2. What is the narrative of this exhibit? How does it differ from the grand or master narrative typically associated with the subject?

3. What is the overall effect of the exhibit's arrangement?

4. What thoughts are you left with when you finish browsing the exhibit?

5. What have you learned that you did not know previously?

6. Let's assume the exhibit is not complete. What is the useless archivist's next step in order to complete it (or extend the work already done so that a more desired effect is created)?

7. This project is a semester long project. Does the material in the exhibit reflect a semester's work? Is the exhibit too thin in material and commentary? Is there enough material to justify 16 weeks of work?

Dr. Rice