WUNDERTOPF EXPERIMENT: DISCUSSIONS OF WONDER IN RELATION TO CULTURE AND SOCIETY
"Defined as 'a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable,' wonder is what we must develop if we are to be sensitive analysts of our own world." (From ENG 362, "Experiment #1" Prompt)
As a condition of the "wundertopf" experiment, a jar is used to collect wonders that reflect the here and now of Oswego, New York, the United States, or the world. Additionally, the jar must have a role in the collection and the items (ones collected and ones that were left out) must be logged in a journal.
← Through participation in the wundertopf experiment, expansive discussion reflecting the ideas of society and culture arise as seen in these lecture notes.
This thumbnail represents each wundertopf from the students in ENG 362- Fall 2019 as belonging to a collective, though the complexity of the conversations that arise through this experiment are also represented by the template of the database, GENRE-HISTORY-THEORY (ENG 362 - FALL 2019). I made this database by photographing each student project and using the labelling information generated in our classroom exercises--entering all this using the "Dublin Core" standard and the Omeka web-client software package. Omeka draws upon this data, allowing the wundertopfs to be viewed in three ways.
First, as separate Items where they are displayed by description and tags on the same page as every item file that is uploaded to the Genre-History-Theory database. Organizing this by Tags allows a viewer to see connections between the wundertopfs.
Second, as a Collection where they are displayed by description and tags alongside each other.
Third, as part of a user-curated Exhibit where they are displayed first by image, and (after interaction/clicking) item data is shown.
Though displayed in three separate areas, the information (metadata) is attached to the item file no matter what category the viewer begins to examine it in. For all three settings, interaction with the item is necessary to open the information included in it's Dublin Core metadata element sets. (Title, Subject, Creator, Contributor, Date, Identifier, etc.)
The rigidity of the Dublin Core metadata element sets raised a number of questions regarding the information we don't have filing boxes for and the objects that don't fit into our wundertopfs. What work does this do when we understand society and culture as containers of finite space? What work does it do when we understand society and culture as being contained in finite spaces? This exploration can be viewed here → Dublin Core Wundertopf Filing Reflection