Evidence and accuracy · 30%
Claims are sourced, assumptions are visible, calculations are reproducible and uncertainty is not hidden.
Academic-style open course · KECB-HER325
Documenting Community Music and Dance Spaces
Document the building, people, labor, music, dance and community memory of a living cultural venue using ethical, source-based preservation practice.
Measurable learning
Course outcomes
- Define a responsible documentation scope and research question.
- Build a source-labeled venue timeline and evidence inventory.
- Plan, conduct and document oral-history work with consent.
- Create photograph, architecture and digital-file records.
- Separate fact, memory, interpretation and unresolved claims.
- Deliver a preservation collection and public interpretation plan.
Assessment architecture
How learning is evaluated
| Assessment | Weight |
|---|---|
| Scope and ethics plan | 10% |
| Source and timeline dossier | 15% |
| Oral-history project | 20% |
| Photograph and place record | 15% |
| Digital preservation plan | 15% |
| Final documented venue collection | 25% |
Academic integrity
Evidence rules
- Label facts, sourced claims, observations, assumptions and unresolved questions separately.
- Do not invent venue data, biographies, financial records, safety facts or legal conclusions.
- Use real organizations only with permission or rely on clearly labeled simulations.
- Disclose assistance, templates and generative tools according to the instructor’s policy.
- Protect private guest, worker, artist and student information.
Weekly sequence
Read, apply and submit
Each week connects the free book library to a concrete tool or operating exercise. Instructors may substitute current peer-reviewed readings and local requirements.
Week 1Living heritage and research scopeDefine what is being documented, for whom and with what limits.
Read and review
Submit or demonstrate
Write a research question, scope boundary, stakeholder list and harm review.
Week 2Evidence, claims and source labelsDistinguish records, memories, interpretations and unresolved claims.
Submit or demonstrate
Create a claim log with source, date, confidence and follow-up need.
Week 3Venue timeline researchBuild chronology from multiple independent sources and record contradictions.
Read and review
Submit or demonstrate
Produce a ten-entry timeline with citations and contradiction notes.
Week 4Oral-history planning and consentDesign interviews that respect narrators, rights and future use.
Submit or demonstrate
Submit an interview plan, consent process and withdrawal procedure.
Week 5Interview practice and documentationAsk open questions, listen, preserve context and document limitations.
Read and review
Submit or demonstrate
Conduct or simulate one interview and produce a contextualized summary rather than an unsupported transcript extract.
Week 6Photographs, captions and rightsInventory images, identify ownership and write evidence-based captions.
Read and review
Submit or demonstrate
Catalog ten images or placeholders with source, rights status, date and description.
Week 7Building, room and material evidenceRecord architecture, signs, floor, stage, fixtures and change over time.
Read and review
Submit or demonstrate
Create a room-by-room observation record and identify claims requiring expert review.
Week 8Labor, music, dance and social useDocument people and practices, not only the building shell.
Read and review
Submit or demonstrate
Create a collection plan that includes workers, artists, dancers and community participants.
Week 9Metadata and digital preservationUse durable filenames, formats, backups and rights records.
Read and review
Submit or demonstrate
Build a folder, naming, metadata and backup plan for the collection.
Week 10Public interpretation and responsible storytellingCreate useful public work without flattening conflict or overstating certainty.
Read and review
Submit or demonstrate
Draft a 500-word interpretation with source notes and an explicit uncertainty statement.
Week 11Stewardship, emergency and successionPlan custody, access, continuity and future decision authority.
Read and review
Submit or demonstrate
Create a stewardship memorandum naming owners, custodians, access rules and next review.
Week 12Capstone collection and public presentationAssemble evidence, rights, metadata, interpretation and preservation plan.
Read and review
Submit or demonstrate
Deliver a documented venue collection and defend source choices, omissions, consent and uncertainty.
Common capstone rubric
What strong work must demonstrate
Operational usefulness · 25%
The work assigns owners, deadlines, resources, decisions and realistic next actions.
Stakeholder and ethical judgment · 20%
The plan considers workers, guests, artists, students, neighbors and community consequences.
Integration and reasoning · 15%
Recommendations connect across departments and explain tradeoffs rather than listing disconnected tactics.
Communication and defense · 10%
The final presentation is clear, concise and responsive to questions and contrary evidence.
Core source library
Required reading base
The assigned Keep ’Em Coming Back chapters and tools form the applied source base. Institutional instructors should add peer-reviewed scholarship and current official requirements.
Teach or adapt this course responsibly
Use the instructor resources for lesson planning, assessment blueprints, accessible delivery, bibliography records and capstone review.