MUSEUM OF OXFORD AND THE BODLEIAN LIBRARIES Devika, St Antony’s College, First Year Masters, MPhil Modern South Asian Studies, Remote and In-Person Working Work Projects I worked with the Bodleian Library and the Museum of Oxford to explore race and diversity narratives. Of particular interest to the Libraries was to explore how these current and topical issues, including the recent public demonstrations seen in our city, relate to their existing collections, collection development and the interpretation and description of these collections. I explored the collections and resources with a view to curating a case of material for public display in the Weston Library. The output of the internship, as a possible exhibition is still being explored. I was supported by both the Museum and Library staff through training, regular calls, workshops and brain storming sessions. Daily Life Post introduction to the teams, I was trained in using the Bodleian Archives virtually and then in the libraries by Ms Lucy McCann (Bodleian Archives) who also introduced me to the Anti-Apartheid Archives, which I have primarily worked with. It was in the same week (Week 1) I was also trained by Mr David Juler (Museum of Oxford) on using Omeka/City Stories website. Much of week 1 and week 2 thus was spent researching different ideas and talking to different members of the museum and libraries team to understand their work, to check up and to share ideas. All of it was done virtually due to the pandemic. Here is where I bring in the wonderful race and diversity workshops I was allowed to be a part of, organised by Dr Mai Musi. These three workshops allowed me to understand ideas around race and diversity from new perspectives as it had people from different projects and backgrounds sharing their thoughts and opinions. Luckily, with the opening of the Bodleian libraries, I also had access to archives, which shaped many of the ideas I have worked with and tried to convey and reflect on below, which I hope will be useful for both the Museum of Oxford and the Bodleian. The third week, therefore, allowed me to access and work with the physical archives, rather than just the virtual ones.
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