Meet the Board:
Renée Wolcott
Renée is the Assistant Conservator for Library and Archival Materials at the American Philosophical Society.
Acknowledgements
I acknowledge that the American Philosophical Society stands on the ancestral land of the Lenni Lenape people, whose presence continues in Pennsylvania to this day. I honor the original stewards of this land, and I recognize the histories of land theft, violence, erasure, and oppression that have brought my institution and myself here. Second, I acknowledge that many of the founders of the APS—including Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Charles Willson Peale—enslaved Black people and other people of color. My institution was therefore built upon the suffering and exclusion of others, and today its collections and staff demographics still reflect this history. My work as a conservator often preserves the voices of those who oppressed and silenced others, and rarely amplifies the voices of those who were oppressed and silenced. We have a lot of work to do.
I acknowledge that the American Philosophical Society stands on the ancestral land of the Lenni Lenape people, whose presence continues in Pennsylvania to this day. I honor the original stewards of this land, and I recognize the histories of land theft, violence, erasure, and oppression that have brought my institution and myself here. Second, I acknowledge that many of the founders of the APS—including Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Charles Willson Peale—enslaved Black people and other people of color. My institution was therefore built upon the suffering and exclusion of others, and today its collections and staff demographics still reflect this history. My work as a conservator often preserves the voices of those who oppressed and silenced others, and rarely amplifies the voices of those who were oppressed and silenced. We have a lot of work to do.
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What do you like about being involved with the Society of Winterthur Fellows?
I am pleased to be part of an organization that has done so much to help further my education and my professional standing. I know I have benefited from the generosity of alumni who came before me, and I am glad to be able to give back to those who will follow me. And it is a treat to stay connected to Winterthur and all the dedicated people who work there. Give me a funny anecdote or memorable moment from your days as a Fellow. I was in the middle of my final presentation as a WUDPAC student--the last hurdle of my graduate career--when the 2011 DC earthquake hit. I noticed a sound like heavy trucks going by, and saw people in the audience getting up and milling around. When I turned to look at the screen, the image was jumping up and down. At first I thought shenanigans were afoot in the projection booth, but then someone in the audience said, "It's an earthquake." I was determined to finish my presentation, so I just shouted "I moved the world!!" and kept right on going. What class prepared you best for your career and why? Ironically, the class that best prepared me for both my careers was "Frosty" Murdock's high-school class in anatomy and physiology. He insisted that his senior-level students take copious notes, doing their best to transcribe his lectures. He pitted the two sections of the class against each other to see who could take notes the best. That ability to write fast, and to filter through the mass of words for the high points of each lecture, made me a much more engaged and analytical student. |
Renee bathes manuscript leaves in a calcium phytate solution.
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