HIST593 Gives Undergraduate Students Keys to Enter History's "Unvisited" Rooms - The Center for the Study of the American South

Students in Hooper Schultz's HI593 course in public history and oral history search through archived materials in Wilson Library. — Students in Hooper Schultz’s HIST593 course in public history and oral history search through archived materials in Wilson Library. Sarah Carrier, Research and Instruction Librarian at UNC’s Wilson Library leads the class through a archives search in Special Collections. Their finds will be used for the “Rooms Unvisited” history exhibition during the 30/50 Anniversary Symposium in April 2024.

Using Oral History and Public History, Ph.D. candidate Hooper Schultz teaches undergraduate students how to unravel and share history.

Ph.D. Candidate in History Hooper Schultz teaches HI593 at the Center for the Study of the American South, which runs the Southern Oral History Program at Love House.

The instructor of Record for HIST593, Schultz designed the Spring 2024 SOHP Internship Seminar: Oral and Public History. The course began with readings and discussions at Love House, home to the Center for the Study of the American South and one of its hallmark programs, the Southern Oral History Program. Guests lecturers included professional curator Brittany Hutchinson and oral historian Melody Hunter-Pillion, both Ph.D. Candidates in American Studies.

The course is designed for experiential learning. Students’ research will contribute to the April “Rooms Unvisited” exhibit which shares the history of the Center for the Study of the American South, the center’s peer-reviewed and award-winning journal Southern Cultures, and the Southern Oral History Program. While the 30/50 Symposium celebrates 30 years for the center and the journal and 50 years for SOHP, the exhbit also explores the long history and role of southern studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Photos by Sarah Boyd, Ph.D.