Consider your own "personal archive." This could be anything from your Spotify playlists, your social media feeds, your collection of books or movies, your TikTok algorithm to how you organize your notes for this class. Choose 2-3 of your personal curation practices to analyze. At least one of your choices must be a personal curation (cannot be an algorithm). If you’d like to use our weekly curations as one of your personal archives, that is also an option.
Address the following guiding questions in a 2 - 3 page essay (or a 7ish minute video diary/voice memo reflection):
Describe the systems you use to curate these particular aspects of your life. What are your criteria for inclusion or exclusion? Or, if it’s an algorithm that feeds you a curation, what does it include/exclude?
Analyze the motivations behind your curation. What values, biases, or beliefs are reflected in what you choose to keep, share, or organize?
Evaluate your system in light of the concepts we've discussed in class. When you look at this curation and compare it with the ones we’ve done in class, does your personal curation reinforce certain narratives? Does it create a more accurate or a more biased representation of your interests or identity? How does it compare to what you think professional curators address in their roles?
Looking ahead to the rest of the semester and beyond, what is one new principle or practice you want to adopt in your personal curation habits? Explain how this change could impact your relationship with the information, objects, or media you engage with.