Material culture - Marvel EDU

Loading question...

You are in free guest mode. Timed Practice Revision List Attempt History Progress Tracking Create a free account to unlock these tools

Prev Next

Practice Listening: Highlight Correct Summary ID: #47324 Long Material culture

Instructions ›

You will hear a recording. Click on the paragraph that best relates to the recording.

Transcript:

So look, I'm gonna talk today really mostly about what I do as a curator here at the National Museum. But I wanna try and draw some kind of generalities from that in terms of how there's a series of curatorial practices, if you like, tools and techniques and methods that I think could be of interest to your students and of interest to you in developing extension history courses. I wanna talk about, so what I do as a curator, and then from that also talk a little bit about the kinds of history that I think museums are particularly good at creating and communicating. I think this is something I'd really like to discuss, because I think it's not necessarily very well understood that museums, as Dave insisted by putting up my quote at the beginning of the, in his slide, is that I think museums create a very particular kind of history. It's not the kind of history that gets created in books or indeed in films or in, I don't know, compositions. It's a very particular kind of history that grows out of the fact that museums are centrally interested and defined by their collections. I should say that's not an uncontested view of museums, but it's certainly my view of museums. So curators try to understand material culture as evidence of other people's lives as a means to try to understand other people, what they looked like, what they did, how they made a living, what they hoped for in their lives, how they tried to construct their world, and why they made particular choices. And one way in which curators differ from other historians is therefore in focus in terms of how we interrogate the past.

* Click on the correct answer

Material culture is evidence for people’s lives while most academic historians focus on words. Filmmakers and photographers concentrate on creating images of the world and arranging them in meaningful sequences. The museum is good at history and museums are centrally interested and defined by their collections. Curators try to understand material culture as evidence of other people’s lives and attend to objects and arrange objects in meaningful ways, called exhibitions. Museums try to understand material culture as evidence of other people’s lives as a means to try to understand other people - what they look like, what they did, how they made a living, what they hoped for in their lives, how they tried to construct their world and why they made particular choices. Historians look at objects and evidence of the past and try to arrange objects in meaningful ways, called exhibitions. However, Curators try to understand material culture as evidence of other people’s lives.

Result:

AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.

Option 2: "The museum is good at history and museums are centrally interested and defined by their collections. Curators try to understand material culture as evidence of other people’s lives and attend to objects and arrange objects in meaningful ways, called exhibitions."

Explanation: This option accurately summarizes the main ideas of the text. It highlights that museums are defined by their collections and that curators focus on understanding material culture as evidence of people's lives. The mention of arranging objects in meaningful ways, referred to as exhibitions, aligns perfectly with the author's emphasis on curatorial practices. This option encapsulates the essence of the text, making it the correct choice.

Option 1: "Material culture is evidence for people’s lives while most academic historians focus on words. Filmmakers and photographers concentrate on creating images of the world and arranging them in meaningful sequences."

Explanation: This option presents a partial view of the text, focusing on material culture and the distinction between curators and academic historians. However, it fails to capture the central theme of how museums are defined by their collections and the role of curators in arranging objects meaningfully. The mention of filmmakers and photographers, while relevant, does not encompass the broader discussion about museums and curatorial practices.

Option 3: "Museums try to understand material culture as evidence of other people’s lives as a means to try to understand other people - what they look like, what they did, how they made a living, what they hoped for in their lives, how they tried to construct their world and why they made particular choices."

Explanation: While this option contains accurate details about what museums aim to achieve, it is overly detailed and does not summarize the text effectively. It focuses too much on the specifics of understanding people's lives without addressing the broader context of how museums are defined by their collections and the role of curators in arranging exhibitions. Therefore, it lacks the comprehensive overview needed for a summary.

Option 4: "Historians look at objects and evidence of the past and try to arrange objects in meaningful ways, called exhibitions. However, Curators try to understand material culture as evidence of other people’s lives."

Explanation: This option incorrectly attributes the act of arranging objects in exhibitions to historians rather than curators, which misrepresents the text. It also fails to capture the central theme regarding the unique role of museums and how they are defined by their collections. The distinction between historians and curators is mentioned, but the overall message about the significance of curatorial practices is not effectively conveyed.

The rest of this explanation is for members. Sign in free to read why the other options are wrong, key words and tips.

With a free account: Retry and compare every attempt.

Saving...