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The past is never dead. It's not even past

Not Even Past

History TAs on Learning to Teach

Even the most gifted teachers had to learn how to teach history and most of us needed a lot of help getting started. This month Not Even Past asked graduate students to reflect on their first teaching experiences as Teaching Assistants in History classes. They responded with insight, humor, and even a little hard won wisdom. Reflections here by Chloe Ireton, Cacee Hoyer, Jack Loveridge, Cameron McCoy, and Elizabeth O’Brien.

Chloe Ireton

As a graduate student in the History Department at the University of Texas at Austin, I have had valuable opportunities to learn how to teach history. Over the last three semesters I have worked as a Teaching Assistant in a lecture course on United States History since 1865. The 300+ students in the course listen to two hours of lecture a week and then participate in discussion sections of thirty-five students for one hour a week, taught by one of four TAs or Dr. Megan Seaholm who directs the course. The sections aim to create small learning environments for students to engage in sustained discussion and focus on important academic skills such as critical thinking, reading, writing, and discussion skills. Each seminar leader also creates a closed online social media group where students complete tasks, engage in graded online discussions about specific topics, and communicate with other students and the Teaching Assistant about the course.

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This US History course is the first large lecture courses in the History Department to carry an “Ethics and Leadership Flag.” All UT undergraduates are required to take at least one Ethics Flag course, which is intended to “expose students to ethical issues and to the process of applying ethical reasoning in real-life situations.” The Ethics Flag component of the course taught students to explore the ethical reasoning of historical actors and to interrogate contrasting moral values in different historical time periods. We focused on four key ethical themes: poverty in the late nineteenth century, eugenics and state-sanctioned forced sterilizations in the early twentieth century, the Targeting of Civilians during the Second World War and specifically the use of atomic bombing, and lastly Civil Disobedience in the second half of the twentieth century. In the seminars, students reflected on the ethical reasoning of historical actors through primary source analysis. What did each person see as the key ethical issue at stake? Who did they see as the key moral actor(s) responsible for solving this issue? Did they see any alternatives? Did they see a certain action as ethically required or permissible and why?

At the end of the course, feedback from many students referred to these discussions as hugely important in the development of their critical thinking skills and their understanding of others and of history in general. The majority of the students found it enlightening to engage in discussions with peers who approached the topics differently from themselves. As the discussion leader, I found that the ethical framework of these seminars encouraged a high level of student engagement and provided a space for students to learn important skills in primary source reading, critical thinking, argumentation, and discussion, but most importantly in developing a sense of historical differences. I was fortunate to collaborate in the process of planning and integrating of the Ethics and Leadership Flag into the course. The TAs, Dr. Megan Seaholm (History), Dr. Eric Busch (Sanger Learning Center), and Dr. Jess Miner (Center for the Core Curriculum) met every fortnight during three academic semesters to plan seminars and debate the most appropriate forms of assessment. In our fortnightly meetings, we took turns presenting seminar lesson plans, each of which we critiqued until deciding on the most appropriate format. This experience provided a crucial venue for professional development in discussing best teaching practices with experienced teachers.

In organizing discussion seminars for this course, I adhered to a pedagogical philosophy called “task-based learning.” It is broadly defined as student centered and often student led learning through students’ active engagement in relevant tasks, commonly in collaboration with their peers. Adherents of this pedagogy believe that when learners are actively engaged in a task they become invested in the outcome of their own learning and the skills that they acquire along the way. In task-based learning approaches, the educator acts as a guiding toolbox to aide students’ learning rather than as a vessel that carries knowledge and imparts it in a teacher centered learning environment. For one weekly seminar, I planned a task-based lesson on National Security and free speech in the United States during World War I, which aimed to elaborate on the theme of the lecture that week, develop students’ primary source reading and critical thinking skills, and abilities to analyze historical sources and themes. Students read The Espionage Act of 1917 and President Woodrow Wilson’s 1917 speech about the need to enter WWI in order to make a world “safe for democracy.” I provided guiding questions and divided students into small discussion groups, which identified a wide array of perspectives on what these sources signified and whether they could and should be read together. In these discussions, students engaged actively in the type of historical thinking skills that we wanted them to acquire. For example, since the class represented a variety of opinions about the significance of the readings when read together, students became aware of the importance of historiographical debate and the role of historians’ perceptions in their own interpretations. In the second half of the class, students read two court cases where individuals who publically spoke out against the draft during WWI were found guilty of charges under the Espionage Act. For example, students read excerpts from Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47 (1919), a United States Supreme Court decision, in which Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., concluded that those distributing leaflets that urged resistance to the draft could be convicted of an attempt to obstruct the draft (a criminal offense) because they posed a “clear and present danger.” This activity helped to contextualize the meaning and effect of the Espionage Act and prompted students to revisit the original question of whether we should read President Woodrow Wilson’s speech on the need to spread democracy across the world alongside the Espionage Act. For the post-seminar online discussion task, students reflected on the questions and documents that they found most interesting. They also read a news article about the Obama Administration’s use of the Espionage Act in order to engage in a discussion on the differences between the use and purpose of the Espionage Act in the early twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

This semester I am embarking on a new challenge as I am working as a Supplemental Instructor for a large US History Survey course. This means that I am offering two hourly discussion sections every week for students in this course. These seminars are designed to help students with course material and also to develop the skills that they need to become successful and autonomous learners. We will be covering diverse topics such as reading and note-taking skills, writing skills, preparation for specific assignments, discussion seminars, debating skills, historical thinking skills, and reading and analyzing primary sources, to name just a few. All of these sessions aim to support students’ progress in the class. The challenging aspect of these seminars is that they are voluntary. As the discussion leader, I have to be prepared for attendance to vary between a handful of students and hundreds. The Supplemental Instruction program (directed by the Sanger Learning Center) also provides continuing professional and pedagogical support through biweekly meetings with a supervisor and Supplemental Instructors from other departments within the College of Liberal Arts. These meetings aim to provide a forum to discuss teaching methods and our classroom experiences over the course of the semester.

Completing my PhD at the History Department at the University of Texas at Austin has provided an unrivalled venue for developing as a historian. Excellent support of my intellectual trajectory and research project (which I have not discussed in this post), combined with the opportunity to teach on exciting and innovative History courses make this a wonderful department in which to train as a historian.

***

Cameron D. McCoy

I would like to start this reflection with a quote from a friend. When asked to describe his undergraduate experience at the United States Naval Academy, he replied, “It was everything I thought it would be and a thousands things I never imagined.” As a UT History Teaching Assistant for the course in the Black Power Movement, my friend’s words found a suitable place to rest.

I am sure TAs do not even cross the mental radar of students until after the first exam. We morph into something a little more than a disembodied e-mail solicitor by the midterm, and then two weeks before the final the TA becomes the end-all-be-all. Prior to this—according to most students—the teaching assistant is the class scribe, sends pestering e-mails, listens and deals with complaints, and is supposed to know the syllabus verbatim at a moment’s notice. Of course this all falls under “… and a thousand things I never imagined.” Anything unfavorable is the Teaching Assistant’s fault and anything favorable is the professor’s doing. I can always count on the behavior of the students to hit the same currents throughout each semester, which brings the comfort of knowing it is “everything I thought it would be” and the familiar chaos of “a thousand things I never imagined.”

Surprisingly, I discovered that I never had to sell history to the students. Neither was I under fire in attempting to defend the discipline and virtues of history. The professor designed the course in such a way that the material was palatable and fairly easy to consume.

I did find when grading exams that the students’ interpretation of the material varied. Each student personalized the material, from ultra-conservative to highly polemic, from rigid to liberal, and from nonchalant to finely precise. I found this fascinating and the variety assisted me in better understanding how students communicated. I also enjoyed reading essays that expressed the student’s growth from learning the course material. Several students’ views drastically changed throughout the semester, specifically concerning how the black power movement connected directly to how universities function and how many social issues of 2014 are direct descendants of the 1960s.

***

Jack Loveridge

Teaching History at a major public university in the United States means stretching outside of your intellectual comfort zone on a regular basis. Teaching Assistants (TAs) are often assigned to courses somewhat beyond their principal fields of study. Many unwitting Latin Americanists, for instance, might find themselves cast before a crowd of inquisitive undergraduates, struggling to cough up the basics of the Missouri Compromise. A historian of Russia might be cornered in a hallway and asked where everyone was running during the Runaway Scrape or what was so abominable about the Tariff of Abominations. These are our occupational hazards.

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As a student of British imperial rule in South Asia in the twentieth century, I felt a nervous pang when I found myself TA-ing for Dr. James Vaughn’s course, entitled History of Britain: The Restoration to 1783. Though a bit closer to home for me than the assignments drawn by many of my colleagues, the long, gouty march of Stuarts and Hanoverians, punctuated by a decade of Cromwellian fun, is hardly my strong suit. Not only did the scope of the course predate my period of expertise, part of it also predated Britain itself. (England and Scotland did not tie the knot until the Act of Union in 1707. Incidentally, whether their marriage will endure the test of time shall be seen with a Scottish independence referendum this September.) Beyond that bit of Jeopardy trivia, what on earth did I know about the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries?

My initial hesitation notwithstanding, I plunged forth into my first teaching assignment. I read the requisite materials and then some, devoured half a dozen BBC documentaries, and memorized the English monarchs since William the Conqueror for an added parlor trick. As it turned out, this period of English history helped to explain a great deal about the evolving British Empire and, more surprisingly, the contemporary global economy. Most of all, engaging with an unfamiliar period of history proved humbling, but it also gave me an opportunity to approach the readings and lectures as a student and not a teacher. This, in turn, ultimately helped me to address students’ questions with a bit more empathy.

On occasion, one of my many bright students would ask a question for which I simply had no good answer. At first, these instances embarrassed me. How could I, the respected TA, wearer of fishbone-patterned blazers, and sipper of tiny coffees, ever fail to answer a student’s question? Gradually, though, I realized that even when I didn’t have the knowledge my students sought, I typically knew how to find it. Moreover, I could teach students how to find and interpret that knowledge themselves.

The point for teachers of History of all stripes, I think, is to find comfort in the discomfort of branching out into the unknown. All of us are learning right along with our students and that’s how it should be. After all, the objective of any school or university is to build an open society that asks questions, fosters lifelong learning, and enables the sharing of knowledge. That’s what we do here and doing it well is as much about not knowing everything as it is about knowing anything at all. To be effective teachers, we must feel free to honestly say, “I don’t know,” and follow it up with a spirited, “But let’s find out.”

***

Elizabeth O’Brien

This semester I am TAing for a course designed to introduce students to the history of U.S. relations with Latin America. About half of the students are freshmen and most have very little knowledge of Latin American history. During discussion, some students requested information regarding the colonial “caste” system, which was mentioned in the readings but not explained. After class I decided to look online for some further reading for them.

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It was very difficult to identify an accurate and academically rigorous article that was accessible for lower-division undergraduates. First, I looked at several websites, but I could not use them due to blatant historical inaccuracies. Then I skimmed a few full-length scholarly articles, but they were far too dense and lengthy for the students.

I realized that Not Even Past was a perfect source for the concise and accessible explanation that I needed. I found an article by Dr. Susan Deans-Smith, “Casta Paintings,” which clearly explained how seventeenth and eighteenth-century authorities sought to define, label, and categorize the offspring of Spaniards, Indigenous natives, and Africans. They developed an intricate “caste system,” which was represented in paintings that depicted mixed racial groups. Deans-Smith’s article was complete with images. For example, one painting showed a Spanish man, his Mestiza (Spanish and Indigenous) wife, and their “Castiza” daughter. Several students reported that they read the piece and emerged with a much better understanding of racial and social categories in the history of Latin America.

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Cacee Hoyer

Top Five Experiences as a TA

#5: A student wanted to meet to discuss her exam. During the almost half-hour long discussion, the student contradicted every comment I had made on her paper. I coolly tried to explain why she had lost points for this or that and she consistently insisted I was wrong. Eventually, she gave up her debate tactics and just blurted out “well are you going to give me any points back or not!” I just stared at her and explained how I generally didn’t do that unless there was a blatant mistake. At which she responded, “then why are we even supposed to meet with you!” As she stomped away, I was saddened as I realized she was an honor student because she could play the game and work the system, however, she failed to learn how to love learning.

#4 A student emailed me to explain he was not able to turn in his assignment on time because he had spent the night in jail. After I explained this wasn’t a University sanctioned excuse, he eventually turned in the assignment. A few weeks later he approached me in class, introducing himself as the guy who had emailed about spending the night in jail. I thought I should point out to him that perhaps using that tagline earns him points with his friends, but that it doesn’t quite work that way with his TA.

#3 I was leading a discussion in class, which quickly ran out of control when one student who persistently claimed he liked to be “provocative,” made racially inappropriate references that set off another girl quite vocally. At one point I was afraid we were going to have an all out brawl! My head was spinning, and so was the class…right out of control. That was definitely a learning experience for me!

#2 On final exams, several students still refer to Africa as a country.

#1 A student practically tackles me when she gets her exam back. She had struggled on the first exam and had been working very hard, coming to office hours and emailing me constantly. She was so excited she almost knocked me down! But in a good way.

More to read on innovations in teaching history

Banner Credits:

Les Grande Chroniques de France (via Wikimedia Commons)

Gene Youngblood lecturing at Rochester Institute of Technology, 1982 (via Wikimedia Commons)

 

Student Showcase – The Day the Gridiron Turned Pink

Seth Franco and Dylan Gill
Cedar Bayou Junior School
Junior Division
Group Exhibit

Read Seth and Dylan’s Process Paper

In 2014, female athletics are common in America’s high schools and colleges. But this was not always the case. Prior to the 1972 passage of the Title IX Education Amendment, all male teams received most, if not all, of the resources available for athletics. But in the following decades, female participation in high school and college athletics skyrocketed. In their Texas History Day exhibit, Seth Franco and Dylan Gill explored the history behind this monumental piece of legislation and considered how it changed America–and even their own school:

Indiana Senator Birch Bayh exercises with Title IX athletes at Purdue University, ca. 1970s (Birch Bayh Senate Office - Senatorial Papers of Birch Bayh, Indiana University)
Indiana Senator Birch Bayh exercises with Title IX athletes at Purdue University, ca. 1970s (Birch Bayh Senate Office – Senatorial Papers of Birch Bayh, Indiana University)

This year’s National History Day theme, Rights and Responsibilities, offered many great topics to consider, but we ended up selecting Title IX, which is the law that opened the door to equal access for girls and women across our nation. We chose this topic because we wanted a topic that would be unexpected for two boys. Also, we had a couple of girls that were on our football team this year so we were both wondering how girls were able to participate in a sport that is dominated by males. Before the History Fair this year, we didn’t even know that Title IX existed and even though it seems normal that girls play lots of different sports today, it has not always been that way.

Section from Seth and Dylan’s exhibit shows pink board with photos of women athletes
Section from Seth and Dylan’s exhibit

Our project related to the theme of Rights and Responsibilities because Title IX established the right of gender equity in education, jobs, and sports. Although we are focusing our project on sports because we feel that sports scholarships have offered women the opportunities to further themselves in the education and business world more than ever before, Title IX has made it possible for the door to be opened into many different areas that were previously closed. This historically significant legislation has changed the lives of girls and women across our nation.


A look back on recent Texas History Day projects:

One enslaved man’s attempt to revolt against American slavery

An early pioneer for free press in America

And a look at the brutal world of migrant work during the Great Depression

Student Showcase – A Riot for Rights: Gabriel Prosser’s Slave Revolt

Kristina Delagarza
Hector Garcia Middle School
Junior Division
Individual Website

In August of 1800, Gabriel Prosser, an enslaved blacksmith from a Virginia tobacco plantation, organized a group of about 25 slaves to violently rise up against their masters–and then build an army. But, as was the case with so many slave rebellions, Prosser was betrayed and ultimately put to death for his actions. The rebellion failed, yet Prosser’s legacy lives on. Kristina Delagarza created a Texas History Day website that tells the harrowing story of Gabriel’s revolt and evaluates its place in U.S. history:

A portion of the letter that Mosby Sheppard, Gabriel's white master, sent to Governor James Monroe to warn him about the revolt (The Library of Virginia)
A portion of the letter that Mosby Sheppard, Gabriel’s white master, sent to Governor James Monroe to warn him about the revolt (The Library of Virginia)

Gabriel’s strategy was well-organized. Scheduled for Saturday, August 30, 1800, the revolt would begin with Gabriel seeking revenge on Thomas Henry’s family by killing them. Next, Gabriel would meet the conspirators and head to Richmond for the massacre, making a point to spare groups who were friends of the cause such as African Americans, lower class whites, Quakers, and Methodists. Once in town, Gabriel planned to divide and conquer. One group would start a fire along the shore to create a diversion. Another group would overtake the treasury. The final group would capture the Richmond arsenal to collect more supplies. Once these tasks were completed, the insurgents would march around Richmond, forcing everyone either to agree to the slaves’ liberty or be jailed. Gabriel would carry a flag that read “Death or Liberty”, until the governor of Virginia agreed to their freedom.

Account of Gabriel's execution from the Virginia Argus, Oct. 14, 1800 (
Account of Gabriel’s execution from the Virginia Argus, Oct. 14, 1800

The night the conspirators returned home due to the storm, a slave named Pharaoh feared being caught. He confided in another slave, Tom, who was not involved with Gabriel’s rebellion. Together, the two men divulged Gabriel’s plans to their master, Mosby Sheppard. Sheppard sent a letter to Governor Monroe informing the governor of Gabriel’s insurrection. When the governor received this letter, he ordered the militia to protect the capitol in Richmond.

A woodcut illustrating the various stages of Nat Turner's 1831 slave rebellion, which was directly influenced by the actions of Gabriel Prosser (Wikipedia)
A woodcut illustrating Nat Turner’s slave rebellion in Virginia, which took place 31 years after Gabriel Prosser’s (Wikipedia)

When Gabriel discovered that the militia was pursuing him, he escaped toward Norfolk, Virginia.  He claimed to be a freedman from Norfolk and was allowed on a schooner named “Mary.” A slave named Billy, who was also aboard the “Mary,” knew that there was a $300 reward for Gabriel’s capture.  Hoping to buy his freedom, Billy told Sheriff John Moss about Gabriel’s whereabouts. However, since Billy was a slave, he was given less money than what was promised, so he did not have enough money to buy his liberty.  On September 23, Gabriel was captured and sent to the Richmond penitentiary. In October, while on trial, Gabriel refused to testify. However, Gabriel was convicted due to what others said in their trials. He was hanged on October 10, 1800 with around twenty-six other insurrectionists.


 

 

 

More great work from Texas middle and high school students:

An early pioneer for free press in America

A look at the brutal world of migrant work during the Great Depression

And how Treme became one of New Orleans’s most iconic neighborhoods

Student Showcase – Truth is a Defense: John Peter Zenger and Freedom of the Press

Jonathan M. Garcia
Ross S. Sterling High School
Senior Division
Individual Exhibit

Read Jonathan’s Process Paper

John Peter Zenger may not be a household name today, but he was a crucial figure in the history of free press in America. In 1734, authorities in New York City arrested the German immigrant for criticizing the colonial government in his newspaper, The New York Weekly Journal. However, no jury ever convicted Zenger, a major victory for Zenger and his right to print freely.

Jonathan M. Garcia designed an exhibit outlining this remarkable journalist and his contributions to American history. Jonathan talked about how he came to this topic in his process paper:

John Peter Zenger
John Peter Zenger

My topic, rights and responsibilities of the press, relates to this year’s theme, “Rights and Responsibilities in History” in many ways. Freedom of the press comes with rights and responsibilities. In the 1700s, American journalists did have the freedom that exists today. John Peter Zenger, a German immigrant, printed The New York Weekly Journal and was put on trial for libel because he published articles that questioned the government and its integrity. Zenger was found not guilty. This trial was an important step toward the freedom of the American press. However, freedom of the press was not truly known until the First Amendment was passed. Once the First Amendment was passed, publishers felt that they were able to express their views more freely. A democracy cannot exist in the modern world without free press.

Another section of Jonathan's exhibit
A section of Jonathan’s Texas History Day exhibit

The press is an essential weapon against a corrupt government who holds power. Newspapers and other forms of media allow for ideas, even those that voice opposition. However, with these rights does come responsibilities. Today, some people feel the press has too much freedom and question how much is too much information. Celebrities and politicians often fear the paparazzi and having their private lives exposed for everyone to see. The rights of journalists have increased since John Peter Zenger was a publisher and now the responsibilities of the press are even more important for keeping the public informed without overstepping rights to privacy.


More great work from Texas high school and middle school students:

The story of the “little lady who wrote the book that started this great war”

The harsh world of migrant work during the Great Depression

And the history behind one of New Orleans’s most iconic neighborhoods

 

Student Showcase – The Book that Started this Great War: Opening Eyes to Oppression One Page at a Time

Haley Miller
Waco High School
Individual Performance
Senior Division

Read Haley’s Process Paper

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin was far more than just a novel–it was a dramatic literary attack on the immorality of slave holding. Over 300,000 Americans bought a copy in 1852 alone, making it one of the most widely-read abolitionist texts in American history.

In order to explain the abolitionist message of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Haley Miller decided to assume the dramatic role of Harriet Beecher Stowe and let her tell the tale. Haley talked about the inspiration behind this unique project and the process of performing as one of America’s most famous writers.

First edition printing of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," 1952 (Wikipedia)
First edition printing of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” 1952 (Wikipedia)

Last year in my U.S. History class, I learned about Uncle Tom’s Cabin as a major event in the Abolitionist Movement. It shocked me that Lincoln described its author as “the little lady who wrote the book that started this great war!” I decided to read the novel over the summer to understand its impact on slavery. It truly touched me the same way it touched earlier readers upon its initial release.

Harriet Beecher Stowe, 1852 (Gurney & Sons - Bowdoin College Museum of Art)
Harriet Beecher Stowe, 1852 (Gurney & Sons – Bowdoin College Museum of Art)

I chose the individual performance category because I have enjoyed my past experiences in living history. The book’s author seemed to me the best person to tell its story. As I created my script, I decided to emphasize Stowe’s events that urged her to write Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the reaction of the public to the bestselling novel of the nineteenth century. My performance is set in the parlor of Stowe’s home on the 40th anniversary of the book’s publishing, as if Stowe were responding to questions from reporters. Many of the statements I incorporated are from her letters. Since Stowe’s actions were motivated by her Christian beliefs, I used many biblical references to explain her thoughts.

A slave trading business in Atlanta, 1864 (Wikipedia)
A slave trading business in Atlanta, 1864 (Wikipedia)

The publishing of Uncle Tom’s Cabin fits the theme, “Rights and Responsibilities in History,” because it equated slaves with whites and spoke out against the Southern system of labor. Stowe explained that, as the Lord’s children, blacks deserve to have united families and to be treated as humans. Stowe believed that God was speaking through her with Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and that it was her Christian responsibility to expose the cruelty of the South. After reading the novel, many felt an obligation to join the Abolitionist Movement to save “Uncle Toms” throughout the United States and to give slaves the right to avoid oppression. It called Christians to put morals over monetary values because, as Galatians 3:28 states, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, nor is there male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Uncle Tom’s Cabin reaffirmed what our founding fathers wrote, that all men are created equal.


Catch up on Texas History Day:

The harsh world of migrant work during the Great Depression

The history behind one of New Orleans’s most iconic neighborhoods

And the story of Douglas MacArthur, right down to his corn cob pipe

 

Student Showcase – The Impact of the Great Depression Towards Rights and Responsibilities of Migrant Workers

Korbin San Miguel
St. Matthew Catholic School
Junior Division
Individual Documentary

Read Korbin’s Process Paper

The Great Depression was a period of high unemployment and extreme poverty. But even those who managed to find work often found themselves underpaid and exploited. Korbin San Miguel created a Texas History Day documentary on migratory farm laborers during the Great Depression and the oppressive work conditions they often faced. In his process paper, Korbin discussed the inspirations behind this project, including a classic piece of fiction:

One of Dorothea Lange's iconic photographs of Florence Owens Thompson, a migrant worker, and her family during the Great Depression (Library of Congress)
One of Dorothea Lange’s iconic photographs of Florence Owens Thompson, a migrant worker, and her family during the Great Depression (Library of Congress)

In trying to determine a suitable topic for my research, I consider looking though my grandfather’s oil history books to get ideas. While looking through a stack of books, I found The Grapes of Wrath, a novel of historical fiction that takes place during the Great Depression. After reading the book’s depiction of migrant farmworkers and the harsh exploitation they faced, I knew that I could tie in “rights and responsibilities” with this profound yet compelling subject. I was sure that this was an interesting topic to pursue for my History Fair project.

Group of Florida migrants near Shawboro, North Carolina on their way to Cranbury, New Jersey, to pick potatoes (Library of Congress)
Group of Florida migrants near Shawboro, North Carolina on their way to Cranbury, New Jersey, to pick potatoes (Library of Congress)

My documentary connects to the theme because it significantly portrays the history of the plight of migrant workers. It expresses the history of the persistent exploitation of migrant farmer workers and their families. With no rights or laws to protect them from mistreatment, they were forced to accept demanding labor which brought hardship and agony. They were entitled to basic human rights but farm owners exploited the migrant workers and took no responsibility for their basic rights and humanity.


 

More Texas History projects on NEP:

The story behind one of New Orleans’s most iconic neighborhoods

The life of Douglas MacArthur, right down to his corn cob pipe

A project that captures the Orwellian reign of Joseph Stalin

Student Showcase – Faubourg Treme: Fighting for Civil Rights in 19th Century New Orleans

Ahnia Leary
Pin Oak Middle School
Junior Division
Individual Performance

Read Ahnia’s Process Paper

Treme is one of the most iconic neighborhoods in New Orleans. Its dynamic history, culture and music even inspired a critically acclaimed HBO drama. Ahnia Leary wanted to present the story of this vibrant section of the Big Easy for Texas History Day, particularly its long history of racial tension and black activism. Her performance uses jazz music to capture the diverse people, places and stories that make up Treme.

Residents of the Treme section of New Orleans (New Orleans Film Society)
Residents of the Treme section of New Orleans (New Orleans Film Society)

After viewing the documentary, Fauberg Treme: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans, I was both excited and intrigued by the fact that there were Free People of Color in New Orleans who in the 1800s, owned about 80% of the land in the Treme community. Under French and Spanish rule, slaves (primarily from Senegal and Senegambia) could also work to buy their freedom. This unique suburb also included Europeans from many Countries as well as free people from St. Dominigue (Haiti) . My curiosity peaked and I was inspired to find out more about Homer Plessy and the Comite des Citoyens (Citizens Committee) which included writers, business owners, newspaper editors and activists who fought to ensure their right to be free of Jim Crow laws. My interest in the topic increased as I wondered why this history is unknown, the reason for racial hatred and what can be done to get rid of it and heal the past.

Paul Poincy's "St. Claude and Dumaine Streets, Faubourg Tremé," 1895 (Louisiana State Museum)
Paul Poincy’s “St. Claude and Dumaine Streets, Faubourg Tremé,” 1895 (Louisiana State Museum)

The Performance category was chosen because it offers a creative way to present my research. My script was developed using primary source material (translations) and information from historians and interviews. I also prepared a short piano piece with the help of my piano teacher, Olga Marek, providing an example of Spanish influence to early jazz music inspiring Jelly Roll Morton, who lived in Treme.

Finally, the National History Day Theme is: Rights and Responsibilities in History. Free People of Color like Captain Arnold Bertonneau, Paul Trevigne, Homer Plessy and others exhibited extreme courage and personal responsibility in their fight for the rights of people of African descent, to participate fully in America as citizens, living its dream and demanding Color blind justice.


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Student Showcase – Equal in the Eyes of God: Civil Rights Activist Joan Trumpauer Mulholland

Alexis Speer
Nimitz High School
Senior Division
Individual Website

Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, John Lewis–these are all familiar names in the history of America’s Civil Rights Movement. But what about Joan Trumpauer Mulholland? A white woman raised in the Deep South, Mulholland became active in non-violent campaigns against racial segregation. In addition to participating in numerous sit-ins, Mulholland also rode with the iconic Freedom Riders registering African-Americans to vote across the South, for which she was incarcerated in Mississippi’s notorious Parchman Penitentiary at the age of 19.

Alexis Speer’s website, “Equal in the Eyes of God: Civil Rights Activist Joan Trumpauer Mulholland” tells the remarkable story of this remarkable woman. Her site explores Mulholland’s important contributions to the Civil Rights Movement and even includes an interview with the activist herself:

Mulholland participating in a sit-in in Northern Virginia. ("An Ordinary Hero," Dir. Loki Mulholland. Taylor Street Films, 2013)
Mulholland participating in a sit-in in Northern Virginia. (“An Ordinary Hero,” Dir. Loki Mulholland. Taylor Street Films, 2013)

Q: What inspired you or motivated you to become active in the Civil Rights Movement?

A: I think my church did. We had to memorize Bible verses of how to treat each other, like “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” and “Love thy neighbor as thy self.” When I got to high school, we had to memorize the Declaration of Independence, which says “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” The problem was that we didn’t practice what we were being taught. We had to do it. This is like saying “practice what you preach.” I felt that was the honest thing to do.

Q: Why did you feel it was your responsibility to help gain equal rights for all Americans?

A: I could see that we weren’t doing what we said we believed we should do. I felt I should of done my part to make it better for everyone, to be honest.

Fred Blackwell's photograph of the sit-in at the Woolworth's in Jackson, Mississippi. The woman with the back of her head facing the camera is Joan Mulholland
Fred Blackwell’s photograph of the sit-in at the Woolworth’s in Jackson, Mississippi. The woman with the back of her head facing the camera is Joan Mulholland

Q: How was your involvement in several nonviolent protests perceived by the public? What was the main argument against your involvement?

A: Well, for one we were breaking the law. Some people felt that according to religion God didn’t mean for us to mix, like cats and dogs don’t mix. People felt that the races should be kept separate, like how animals are kept separate. Also, people of the South, and other parts of the country, had grown up with society, the religions, and the law stating the races to be kept separate… With all that said, we were in fact breaking the law. People just felt that we weren’t meant to be that way, with people mixed together.

Mulholland's mugshot after her arrest. (Etheridge, Eric. Breach of Peace: Portraits of the 1961 Mississippi Freedom Riders. Atlas & Co., 2008)
Mulholland’s mugshot after her arrest. (Etheridge, Eric. Breach of Peace: Portraits of the 1961 Mississippi Freedom Riders. Atlas & Co., 2008)

Q: What was your experience like during your imprisonment at Parchman? Why were the Freedom Riders being transferred to Parchman?

A: Well, I think the idea was to intimidate us because Parchman was absolutely notorious. It was an awful, awful place. So, they were trying to frighten us so that no more Freedom Riders were trying to come. Another thing was that they had begun to run out of room in Jackson, the jail was starting to overflow. In the white women’s cell, there were 17 of us and we had less than 3 square feet of room space each, if you count under the bunk. It was pretty crowded… At Parchman the conditions were actually better, we had more room, better food, and it was a lot cleaner. But, you were really cut off from other people besides the lawyer that would come up once a week… So, you were completely isolated and at the mercy of the jailor. People have been tortured and killed before. The rabbi of Jackson came up every week… and prayed with us. He would tell us what was going on in the world and let our parent’s know that he had seen us and that we were okay.


More great work from Texas students:

The life of Douglas MacArthur, right down to his corn cob pipe

A project that captures the Orwellian reign of Joseph Stalin

And a website on the global influence of one man’s non-violent philosophy

 

Student Showcase – From the Ashes: MacArthur’s Responsibility for Rebuilding Japan

Jake Manlove
Rockport-Fulton Middle School
Junior Division
Individual Performance

Read Jake’s Process Paper

General Douglas MacArthur was a giant of the 20th-century world. After successfully leading Allied troops to victory in the Pacific, he oversaw the post-war occupation of Japan, a time of astonishing political, economic and social change across the country. But what kind of man was he? For Texas History Day, Jake Manlove researched the life and work of General MacArthur. But he also wanted to understand how this iconic American dressed and acted in daily life. Read about the work Jake did for his performance project:

Douglas MacArthur, 1945 (U.S. National Archives)

Douglas MacArthur, 1945 (U.S. National Archives)

I wanted to do a performance because I have done performances for the past two years and liked working with props and costumes. l decided to portray General Douglas MacArthur, since he was Supreme Commander of Allied Powers (SCAP) and was the center of reforms undertaken in post-war Japan. I wanted my props to be historically accurate. My research on MacArthur’s uniform led to reenactment pieces purchased on EBay including an accurate hat and pipe. I was inspired to use a slide projector after l found unpublished photos taken in Japan by MacArthur’s personal driver at the Texas Tech University Library. I feel that the photos represent key points of the rebuilding and provide a unique perspective to my performance.

MacArthur signs the Japanese surrender document aboard the USS Missouri (National Archives and Records Administration)

MacArthur signs the Japanese surrender document aboard the USS Missouri (National Archives and Records Administration)

MacArthur’s responsibility for rebuilding Japan fits the theme of Rights and Responsibilities in several aspects. President Truman accepted responsibility for dropping the atomic bombs on Japan. General MacArthur thought that violated the rights of Japanese women and children who were not soldiers, which addresses actions that are issues of morality. MacArthur also accepted responsibility for reconstructing Japan and created the new Japanese Constitution to guarantee the democratic rights of Japanese citizens after the occupation ended. MacArthur taking responsibility for Truman’s destruction of Japan helped them not only recover but prosper over the years.

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Catch up on more remarkable THD projects:

A performance on the Orwellian reign of Joseph Stalin

A website on the global influence of one man’s non-violent philosophy

The story of  “America’s Dirty Little Secret”

 

Student Showcase – An Orwellian Interpretation of Stalin’s Responsibilities to Restrict Russian Rights

Marcus Castillo, Viviana Lozano, Juan Martinez, Gissell Perez, Marla Zarate
Veterans Memorial High School
Group Performance
Senior Division

Read the Group’s Process Paper

There is a saying that fact is stranger than fiction. So when a group of students from Veterans Memorial High School wanted to do a Texas History Day project on the horrors of Joseph Stalin, they turned to one of the most famous anti-totalitarian novels, George Olwell’s Animal Farm. Using Olwell’s characters, the group performed a series of music and dance numbers to capture the truly “Orwellian” nature of Stalin’s reign. In their process paper, they described their creative and historical aims:

Joseph Stalin in Moscow, late 1920s (WIkimedia Commons)

Joseph Stalin in Moscow, late 1920s (WIkimedia Commons)

This year we were presented with the opportunity to participate in National History Day. When we learned this year’s topic was “Rights and Responsibilities” our group collaborated on many ideas. After several days of much consideration we stumbled upon an idea of the cruelties of Joseph Stalin in a novel we were reading in English class. Animal Farm by George Orwell was an anti-totalitarian novel based on the Russian Revolution and its aftermath. We all agreed it was a brilliant topic. yet we still needed to find the connection between our chosen topic and the theme for this year. As a group we conducted research on Orwell’s philosophy and his novel and we found how it was parallel to the real life events from Joseph Stalin. We decided to name our project “An Orwellian Interpretation of Stalin’s Responsibility to Secure Russian Rights”.

George Olwell (Wikipedia)

George Olwell (Wikipedia)

We are all dancers and performers and were interested in expressing our interpretation by dance and song. Also, being inspired by a novel had a great impact on our decision; after all, the characters in the novel were animals. We wanted to incorporate as much as possible from the novel into our project, including the symbolism between the animals and the people they were parallel to in history. We also wanted to voice our research in a way similar to the way George Orwell voiced it out in his book.

1950s dustcover for George Orwell’s 1945 novel, Animal Farm (Image courtesy of Michael Sporn Animation)

1950s dustcover for George Orwell’s 1945 novel, Animal Farm (Image courtesy of Michael Sporn Animation)

Our project, though inspired by a novel, is focused solely on the responsibilities Joseph Stalin had to restrict Russian rights. A leader’s responsibility may be to protect his citizens, but Stalin took it so far as to deprive them from any rights because of his paranoia and greed for power. Orwell’s interpretation throughout his novel was based on that philosophy, that one leader`s responsibilities may be corrupted because of his hunger for power, As a group we completely agreed with his philosophy.

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The latest Texas History Day projects on NEP:

A website on the global influence of one man’s non-violent philosophy

A website on “America’s Dirty Little Secret”

And a documentary on one man’s attempt to fight injustice in World War II America

 

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