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History Out of the Classroom :

Explore the journey of undergraduates conducting archival research, uncovering the significance, challenges, and impact of such experiences. Understand lessons learned by faculty, archivists, and students to enhance future engagements.

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History Out of the Classroom :

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  1. History Out of the Classroom: The Promise and Perils of Undergraduate Archival Research

  2. introductions • Erin Kempker, Assistant Professor of History, Mississippi University for Women • Derek Webb, University Archivist, Mississippi University for Women • Mona Vance, Archivist, Columbus-Lowndes Public Library • Miranda Vaughn and Whitney Russell, MUW seniors, history majors and archival interns

  3. Outline • Why do it? Why put undergrads in the archives? • The perils of undergrads in archives • The promise of undergrads in archives • Lessons learned by faculty, archivists and students • Conclusions and bibliography

  4. Why promote an archival experience for undergraduates? • Students get to see the personal nature of history—the lock of hair, diary, personal letter, etc., that fuels historical research • Encourages self-directed learning • Introduces students to public history and the archival profession • Promotes undergraduate research and conferencing Alicia Bowen with donor of women’s club collection.

  5. Important trends in undergraduate archival research • “Archives to Podium” ideal • Undergraduate research conference possibilities • Blogs about the archival experience • Websites to promote student research MUW students presenting research at the Margaret Walker Center, JSU, Spring 2012.

  6. The projects • HIS 499 Capstone (Fall 2009-2012): Senior students create an original research project using primary sources, usually archival, resulting in an article-length paper. • HIS 371 African American Experience (Spring 2012): Mix of majors/non-majors conducted oral interviews for the Columbus-Lowndes archives related to the local, postwar civil rights movement, resulted in audio files at local archives. • HIS 326 Women in America (Fall 2012): Mix of majors/non-majors find, research and analyze a single archival source, resulted in a paper and class presentation. • HIS 441 American Social History (Spring 2013): Research archival sources and create posters displayed at the Columbus-Lowndes Library as Sesquicentennial Civil War Exhibit. • HIS 365 America since 1940 (Spring 2013): Research primary source (many are archival) and create website explaining the sources.

  7. The perils of Undergraduate Research • Undergraduate skill deficiencies are numerous. Undergrads: • Do not have a real sense of what archival research looks like. • They expect intuitive technology—which is not what libraries or archives offer. • They are too ready to settle on researching the first thing they find. “All that glitters is not gold.” • They overwhelm archivists with emails asking/demanding the archivist find/give them a project. “Tell me what I should do.” • Fail to understand the difference between a primary and secondary source when things get complicated. • Historical significanceoften escapes them. Everything is important—no such thing as ephemera. • Accept at face value what they read/see. Fail to follow up on archival sources with more research, especially secondary research. • The “freak out” factor—nothing about this is intuitive and many are troubled by the open-ended nature of archival work.

  8. The Promise of Undergraduate Research • African American oral history project • Connect students with the community • Promotes trust on the part of the community and the archives • Preserves history that would otherwise be lost • Accomplishes work for the archives and creates publicity • Civil War Sesquicentennial exhibit, Columbus-Lowndes Public Library • Lesbian oral history project, MUW • Class website featuring sources from MUW Archives • Feeds interns into the archives • Encourages advanced study for students, including graduate work in public history Diane Hardy Thompson and Jaleesa Fileds

  9. Lessons Learned • Constant communication is a must. • Faculty need to clearly define roles of all the people involved and provide guidance and writing guides for all phases of the work. • Consider providing students a “tips for using primary sources” guide at the archives. • Classes go to the archives AND archivists go to the classroom. • “Just say no.” Know your role and your limits and don’t be afraid to tell those to students. • Consider a controlled set of archival sources.

  10. Public History At MUW • New Public History concentration available for MUW history major • Restoring the MUW Archives • Partnering with Derek Webb and Mona Vance to provide students experience researching and working in an archives. Archives intern Christian Friar hard at work.

  11. Bibliography • Keith A. Erekson, “From Archive to Awards Ceremony: An Approach for Engaging Students in Historical Research,” Arts and Humanities in Higher Education 10, no. 4 (October 2011): 388-400. • Doris Malkmus, “”Old Stuff’ for New Teaching Methods: Outreach to History Faculty Teaching with Primary Sources,” portal: Libraries and the Academy 10, no. 4 (October 2010): 413-35. • -------, “Primary Source Research and the Undergraduate: A Transforming Landscape,” Journal of Archival Organization 6, 1-2 (2008): 47-70. • Marian J. Matyn, “Getting Undergraduates to Seek Primary Sources in Archives,” The History Teacher 33, no. 3 (May 2000): 349-55.

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