This past fall the University Archives, the EAST and MAS programs, and the Museum Studies minor, received funding through the Summerlee Foundation for the Latimore Public Humanities Initiative.
The initiative is named for the late Dr. Carey Latimore, a professor of History and African American Studies who passed away July of 2022. Dr. Latimore’s work and legacy will be remembered for his contributions to Texas history and the initiative aims to continue this work by presenting narratives that contribute to the histories of Trinity’s underrepresented communities.
This summer, the initiative hosted a week-long workshop (August 19-23) focusing on building digital humanities skills in oral history and public history practice. Directors of the MAS and EAST programs identified eight students who have shown interest and dedication to documenting and preserving alumni and student experiences in the archives through oral history interviews and digital exhibit creation.
Students practice with oral history recording equipment.
Team mentors Dr. Dania Abreu-Torres, Dr. Jie Zhang, and University Archivist Abra Schnur began the week by sharing their goals for the initiative and work that has been done so far through the Conmemorando a la Comunidad: Latinx Experiences at Trinity project and oral histories conducted for the EAST program.
Students learned from Ms. Schnur about oral history and from Dr. Lauren Turek about public history. They received foundational archival research skills from Special Collections Librarian Colleen Hoelscher. Additionally they gained ideas on how to share their research and projects by Dr. Turek through the use of digital exhibits and Dr. Priscilla Martinez from UTSA with scholarly podcast creation.
The team also received a detailed overview from the Voices of SMU project by its faculty, staff, and current students who for the past six years have worked to create an ongoing interdisciplinary oral history program focused on alumni of the university from underrepresented communities.
Front Row: Cael Furland, Lee Denney, Ellie Devens, Maya Tsai, Selma Sanchez Back Row: Cat Huang, Jules Plewes, Orlando Ventura
Guided by the initiative mentor team and with the skills they learn in the workshop, students will be expected to work on interview gathering and digital exhibit creation throughout the academic year, receiving academic credit in the form of independent study, internship, or lab time. Students will also be awarded a stipend from the grant for their contributions.
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