Special Collections Presentations

Presentation for Special Collections WWII Letters

Learning Outcomes

  • Demonstrate ability to translate written work into oral presentation
  • Participate in transcription and metadata activities and understand how these practices are beneficial for analyzing letters. 
  • Demonstrate ability to gauge an audience’s needs and interests
  • Demonstrate ability to discern most important elements of a written project and summarize them in a brief presentation
  • Demonstrate ability to organize, practice, and deliver a professional oral presentation

Special Collection Librarian

Susan Falciani Maldonado, Special Collections and Archives Librarian

susanfalciani@muhlenberg.edu

Resources

Audience

Fellow FYS183 Classmates

Length of Presentation

Presentations must 10-12 minutes. Points will be deducted for presentations that are under 10 minutes as well as those that are over 12 minutes. Presentations should be on a cloud-based drive that can be accessed on the class computer or in the event we need to meet via Zoom. Each student must participate in the presentation. 

Prompt

Current students will work in groups to examine the correspondence from Muhlenberg students who served during World War II. We will examine 5 students from the WWII era. Provide an oral presentation on your student and letters from your given Special Collections folder. You will be working with primary resources, including letters, newspapers, and other resources. You will not only analyze the letter(s) but also examine the student for whose letters you are working with. Part of this exercise is that you will analyze the letter(s) but also get to know your student through other artifacts and resources. Your presentation should include background information, relevant related information, letters and correspondence, and your overall analysis in an oral presentation.

Presenting well involves writing in various formats. One aspect may be to write out your analysis of the letters. Another aspect may be in careful consideration of the online transcription source and metadata analysis. One aspect of the presentation is what material you will actually include in your presentation. The other aspect is what material you will be presenting orally. These will obviously overlap, but should not be the same throughout. 

You should include a brief biography or information of the author of your letter, including a historical, social, or cultural context that may be relevant to your presentation. Even if there is not a lot of additional information, part of your presentation can address working with primary documents and the challenges of research.

Your presentation should have a clear and concise central message, as well as supporting evidence. Examples of this include, explanations, illustrations, quotations, and other kinds of information or analysis that supports the principal ideas of the presentation.

The analysis you provide for your audience should represent the how and the why this central message/argument works or does not work. You may choose to analyze the rhetorical situation, the appeals, the warrants, and/or the style of the argument, the importance of letters to these individuals, the role of Muhlenberg in this, the tone of the correspondence, etc. You do not have to address all of these points, but these can serve as things to include. You can engage your audience as well by having them read any letters, answer or ask questions, or do other activities. 

You are encouraged to use note cards to aid in your delivery, but you should not read your presentation. You should also practice your presentation in the library using the one-button studio.  

Your presentations should be well organized and clear. Part of the grade for your presentation will include effective delivery, looking at such things as posture, hand gestures, eye contact, use of voice, etc.

Due Date

Presentations will take place in class on Tuesday, September 20th. Each group must submit the presentation file before class, no later than noon.

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