This is my Yarn about the first workshop in a collaborative project being run by the Science Museum and the University of Leeds. We are going to explore how stories about disability and combat are presented in the exhibition 'Wounded: Conflict, Casualties and Care' and see how this inspires people to reflect on their own experiences.
A very traditional display at the Science Museum, from 1928. Digital technologies have had a dramatic effect on the face of the museum, and they continue to drive change.
Welcome to the project! It's fantastic to have you all involved, and we hope that you will find it stimulating and rewarding in all kinds of ways. For the past three years researchers at the University of Leeds have been exploring new ways of telling stories about the past using digital technologies. From interactive displays in museums to virtual reality simulations available online, we think that new digital tools can help to open up the past to new audiences and offer a way for everyone to tell their own stories.
By running this project and collaborating with people who have connections with museum displays and exhibitions we are hoping to create an online 'exhibition' of objects, images and stories relating to 'Wounded’. The project will involve a process of ‘co-production’, in which we all work together to produce these stories.
We will all take part in three events - one at the University of Leeds, another as part of a trip to visit the Science Museum to see the exhibition and comment on how it represents warfare, disability and medicine, and a final workshop to share and discuss our stories. Along the way we'll use Yarn to construct our stories, drawing on objects and themes presented in 'Wounded'.
When you use Yarn you have the ability to customise how public your stories are. We want you to be absolutely comfortable with your participation, and the consent forms are really to explain how we will keep your information safe and secure - we won't be using anything without your express permission and you will have complete control over everything you do, write and say.
We'd like to know a bit about you! The Wounded exhibition showcases objects related to the First World War and explores the medical and personal legacy of the conflict, as well as more recent experiences of veterans who are living with PTSD. What are your experiences of military service and the return to civilian life? How have these changed?
The Wounded exhibition commemorates the centenary of this momentous battle and the huge medical and human impact of wounding during and beyond the First World War. Beyond the battlefields, the exhibition also focuses on the longer-term impact of the war on the soldiers who were left physically and mentally affected, and shows how the medical lessons learnt still carry relevance today.
We're planning on going to London on 19 September to have a tour of the exhibition and then discuss some of the major themes and their relationship with your own experiences. How does the exhibition relate to your interests and your personal experiences? What impression does it give of combat and warfare? What perspectives are missing?
Thanks for joining us! Hopefully you're ready to start Yarning now, but we are more than happy to answer any questions you have about the project. Yarn is just getting started, with new communities joining all the time, so hopefully this will be the beginning of another important and close-knit set of discussions about a subject which for many people still remains hidden and taboo.