ArchivesSpace at the University of Iowa

Scope and Contents This publication is edited by John Herschend and Will Rogan. Kota issue utilized the entire THING. It was our first issue in which the issue itself was the whole. Much of Kota's work has been about interpretation and modes of translation. And his contribution to THE THING was not an exception to this. His issue consisted of the standard THING box stamped in Cyrillic (Russian), a letter from the editor translated in to Mandarin, and a simple white cotton baseball cap with Arabic Text embroidered onto the front. Subscribers were only given a very small clue as to what the translation might be (a URL in English, buried in the Mandarin text). The result for many became a search for meaning and an interaction with a text that had symbolic feel but little relevance to their daily lives (unless they spoke the languages). Many subscribers took the letter to their local Chinese restaurant and asked for help, or they wore the hat around for days and weeks until someone told them what it...