- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock /news-archive/tag/department-of-history/ ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Mon, 19 Dec 2022 16:00:44 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Graduate Completes Thesis on Content in German-Language Newspaper During WWI /news-archive/2022/12/19/harrison-mitchell-graduation/ Mon, 19 Dec 2022 16:00:44 +0000 /news/?p=84114 ...]]> Little Rock native Harrison Mitchell earned his bachelor’s degree in news editorial journalism from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock in 2011. Now over a decade later, he graduated with a master’s degree in public history on Dec. 17. Mitchell’s thesis explores written content in , a German-language newspaper based in Little Rock during World War I. The Echo is the only surviving newspaper source about Arkansas’s German community, as well as the only insight into what the German press was printing during the war. Mitchell got his inspiration for the topic from the year he spent as a foreign exchange student in Vienna, Austria, in high school. “That experience really cemented the language for me,” Mitchell said. “Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to do this research at all, since most of it was in German.” Mitchell focused his research on the years between 1914 and 1918, comparing the tone and content before and after the United States entered the war to see how the newspaper handled the growing anti-German sentiment in the country during the shift. Research also came from, “Das Arkansas Echo: A Year in the Life of Germans in the Nineteenth-Century South” by Kathleen Condray, associate professor of German at the University of Arkansas. The book examines the topics covered during its inaugural year, including the newspaper’s crusade against prohibition, advocacy for German schools and language, and stance on immigration. “Overall, I’d say the program prepares you for the field really well, especially when it comes to research,” Mitchell said. “I even had a graduate assistantship for the Center for Arkansas History and Culture downtown to supplement my archival learning and give me hands-on experience.” He organized his information on a database, the idea of which he credits to Dr. Charles Romney, professor of history and graduate coordinator of the public history program. “I collected about 300 articles, so it was a lot to keep track of,” Mitchell said. “The database gave me key searchability, helped me identify common themes, and what was going on. Staying organized is one of the most important parts of a research process.”]]> Neel Awarded Inaugural Grant from Rutherford Endowment to Create Oral History of Ralph Bunch Community /news-archive/2022/07/22/grant-rutherford-endowment/ Fri, 22 Jul 2022 13:28:14 +0000 /news/?p=81800 ...]]> Brian Neel, a Pine Bluff native who is pursuing a master’s degree in history, will use his $1,000 grant to fund research on the Ralph Bunche community, a predominantly Black neighborhood in Benton. Funds will help pay for his equipment and travel for the oral history project, which will explore the impact of segregation and desegregation on the community. The Rutherford endowment was established last year to honor Rutherford and provide support to student leaders in the University of Arkansas System. “It was a very competitive pool in the award’s inaugural year with over 100 applications from 9 campuses across the ��Vlog��ý system,” said Eric Wilson, chairman of the James L. “Skip” Rutherford III Endowment Committee. “We were impressed by the overall need and interest. I think Dean Rutherford would be pleased with the diversity and quality of the applicants and recipients. These four recipients were exactly the kind of people we envisioned helping when we had the idea to create this program.” The Ralph Bunche community is one of the oldest historically African-American neighborhoods in Saline County. Originally called Gravel Hill and later Southside Community, the community was renamed in 2002 in honor of Ralph Bunche, the first African American to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, according to the . “It’s an incredibly long-standing community with history going back to the late 1800s,” Neel said. “During the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, we went through such a time of change in America. A lot of the members of the Ralph Bunche community who witnessed these events are part of an aging community. We are running out of time to preserve the memories of those who have experienced these great changes.” Neel is interested in preserving the history of the Ralph Bunche community because he spent time there as a child. His great-grandparents and grandmother owned a home on Neeley Street, which serves as the community’s eastern boundary. “I have a connection to the community, and my grandmother talked about it often since she lived on a street that is directly adjacent to the community,” Neel said. “If I am really lucky and the project goes well, this could be the start of more oral history projects of other formerly segregated communities in Arkansas,” he said. “I think it would be valuable to put together a really good oral history of segregated communities in Arkansas.” Neel is interested in speaking with current and former residents who lived in the Ralph Bunche community from 1950-1979. Anyone who is interested in participating in the oral history project may contact Neel at bgneel@ualr.edu.]]> ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Alumnus Named AMA Public History Graduate Student of the Year /news-archive/2022/06/01/public-history-graduate-student-year/ Wed, 01 Jun 2022 19:40:47 +0000 /news/?p=81637 ...]]> The award is granted to a graduate student in the area of museum, public history, archival management, or a related field who has shown academic excellence with a minimum GPA of 3.0 and has a minimum of 12 hours completed in the program. The successful nominee demonstrates initiative and leadership skills, has shown a willingness to collaborate with faculty, staff, and other graduate students, and is committed to working in the museum, public history, archival management, or related field. A native of Graham, Washington, Shuman joined ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s public history graduate program in January 2020, just one day after leaving service in the U.S. Air Force. He graduated at the end of the fall 2021 semester, after completing his thesis on the ways that presidential funerals reflect the lives and values of American presidents. He now works as the museum experience coordinator at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas. The museum preserves and exhibits the material history of the war in the Pacific and Indo-China during World War II. “Earning this award was a really pleasant surprise,” Shuman said. “Settling into my new job has shown all types of challenges to me, especially in converting theory to practice with historical interpretation. When my former supervisor asked if I wanted to come down, it was not only a chance to reflect on my successes in school and my internship, but also a wonderful chance to look at how far I’ve come in establishing myself with a history career.” Shuman completed two summer internships during 2020 and 2021 at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History. During his first internship, Shuman’s work was focused on completing a photographic inventory of the museum’s collection. After completing an audit of the existing state of the inventory, he photographed or scanned nearly 1,500 items and moved the files into the collection database. When he had completed this main project, Shuman worked to standardize the file naming protocols for the 24,000 items in the database in order to improve search capabilities. During his second internship, Shuman’s work focused on uploading nearly 5,000 World War II photographs from the museum’s Allison Collection to a digital web exhibit. These photographs, accompanied by their original captions, are now stored where the public can easily access them for viewing and research. “Aaron’s two internships provided experience in collections management, exhibit development and installation, as well as educational programming, which has already served him well in his work at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas,” said Stephan McAteer, executive director of the MacArthur Museum. “Aaron’s work at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History was stellar. His attention to detail and cooperative spirit made him a valuable addition. He was an outstanding intern and worked well with both staff and museum visitors.” Beyond his main project, Shuman augmented full-time museum staff at numerous education outreach events with local schools as part of the City of Little Rock’s Summer Playground Program and took over front desk duties when staff was called away for off-location events. In the exhibit space, he removed and stowed an exhibit before providing assistance in the installation of “Undaunted Courage,” an exhibit examining the contributions of Japanese Americans in WWII. “What I learned there has been invaluable to me in my new job,” Shuman said. “It instilled in me a confidence that I could perform at this level in this field.”]]> ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Historians Win Lucille Westbrook Award from Arkansas Historical Association /news-archive/2022/04/18/lucille-westbrook-award/ Mon, 18 Apr 2022 13:02:09 +0000 /news/?p=81291 ...]]> Dr. John Kirk, George W. Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History, co-wrote the paper with his students in the Seminar in Public History class, a capstone course that focuses on collaborative research for students who are earning a Master of Arts in public history at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. The authors will receive their award, which includes a $1,000 prize and a framed certificate, at the annual meeting of the Arkansas Historical Association on April 22. Along with Kirk, the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock student authors include Kathleen Burell, Brittany Fugate, Christiane Hendricks, Ellis Eugene Thompson, Michael White, and Logan Yancey. The article, “Criminal Justice in the Age of Segregation: Race, Law, and Politics in the Arkansas Cases of Robert Bell and Grady Swain, 1927-1935,” will be published in the Arkansas Historical Quarterly. “It’s amazing to see the work we did last semester pay off,” Fugate said. “We developed this project through every step and now our work is about to be published. It’s a great feeling that I still can’t wrap my head around. The Public History program is one of a kind, and I’m so thankful to the opportunities I’ve had because of this program.” The piece examines the criminal cases of Robert Bell and Grady Swain, two African American teenagers who were convicted of the first-degree murder of Julius McCollum and sentenced to death. Bell and Swain confessed to the crime, but later said their confessions were forced. The Arkansas Supreme Court overturned their conviction, concluding that there was not sufficient evidence to show that McCollum was murdered. “This is a complicated case,” Kirk said. “They were two African American youths who were implicated in the death of a young white boy in 1927 in Greasy Corner, Arkansas. They survived a lynch mob only to be taken into custody where they were whipped to force a confession. The whole episode takes us step-by-step through the criminal justice system in the age of segregation.” Bell’s and Swain’s cases continued with many twists and turns. Both were retried after the original conviction was overturned. They both received legal assistance from local attorneys and the NAACP. They eventually took a plea deal with a lighter sentence and the promise of early release through parole, a deal that was subsequently not recognized by the parole board. They were finally released after spending seven years in prison when Gov. Junius Futrell granted them clemency. “Surviving the lynch mob was just the first hurdle,” Kirk said. “What we see with Bell and Swain is two young people who managed to surmount many of the obstacles in Arkansas’s criminal justice system and, against all odds, gain release. It illustrates just how difficult it was for African Americans to escape that system once they were trapped in it.”]]> ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Selects Silverstein, Siraj, Kirk as 2022 Faculty Excellence Award Winners /news-archive/2022/04/07/faculty-excellence-2022/ Fri, 08 Apr 2022 00:19:22 +0000 /news/?p=81305 ...]]> Faculty Excellence Awards. Silverstein, a professor at the William H. Bowen School of Law, has won the Faculty Excellence Award in Teaching. He has gained a reputation among students and colleagues as a stellar educator who goes to great lengths to ensure the success of his students. Siraj, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry, has received the Faculty Excellence Award in Research and Creative Endeavors. With her research being cited more than 700 times since 2016, Siraj is a well-respected researcher in the development of nanomaterials for biomedical applications and solar cell applications. Kirk, George W. Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History, has been awarded the Faculty Excellence Award in Public Service. Ever since Kirk arrived at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock 11 years ago, his extensive service and research has been dedicated to unveiling the history of the Arkansas fight for civil rights against the brutality of racial injustice. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock annually celebrates the achievements of the top professors of the year who are making a difference in the community through their contributions in teaching, research and creative works, and public service. This is the highest honor ��Vlog��ý Little Rock awards its faculty members. “Our faculty excellence winners represent the university’s commitment to superb instruction, outstanding research, and community service,” Provost Ann Bain said. “Each of the winners has made immeasurable contributions to the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock community and to the lives of their students and colleagues. We thank them for their service.” Created in 1989, the Faculty Excellence Awards has provided a way to recognize the great work of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock faculty for the past 33 years and is made possible through the valued contributions of the Office of the Chancellor, the Office of the Provost, the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Chancellor’s Circle, and the Bailey Foundation. The ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Board of Visitors selected the university-wide winners from the 12 faculty members who were selected as the top faculty members for the 2021-22 academic year in each of the three categories in their respective colleges and the William H. Bowen School of Law.

Faculty Excellence Award in Teaching

Silverstein’s students and colleagues describe him as a stellar educator with a wealth of knowledge and genuine interest in guiding students effectively throughout their studies. Tori Percifield, a former student, described Silverstein as “quite simply the best teacher I have ever had.” His strengths as a teacher include “immeasurable enthusiasm, meticulous organization, limitless knowledge, and genuine compassion for the students.” Those traits are repeated in former students’ letters of endorsement. They discuss Silverstein’s passion for teaching, his engaging presentation of complex topics, and his commitment to ensuring they fully comprehend the material, including his extensive use of visual aids. Michael Hunter Schwartz, former dean of the William H. Bowen School of Law, described Silverstein’s student evaluations as “the highest I have ever seen for any Bowen faculty member.” In 2021, Silverstein was chosen by Bowen students as the first law school recipient of the We HEART Faculty Award. This is the second time he has been recognized for excellence in teaching. Silverstein received a J.D. from the New York University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York.

Faculty Excellence Award in Research and Creative Endeavors

Siraj has developed a reputation as a prolific researcher in the development of nanomaterials for biomedical applications and solar cell applications. In the past five years, she has received more than $570,000 in funding from federal, state, and local agencies, including a nearly $190,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for the “Synthesis, Characterization, and Application of FRET based Ionic Materials.” Over the past five years, Siraj has published 34 peer-reviewed papers, given 59 conference presentations, mentored six Ph.D. students and 18 undergraduate students, and served on eight Ph.D. committees. Her research has been cited more than 700 times since 2016. In order to promote STEM education, Siraj begins mentoring students in middle school, at a time when some students, especially girls, begin to lose interest in the sciences. She has hosted 19 middle and high school students for their science fair projects. In 2018, Meghana Bollimpalli, one of Siraj’s mentees from Central High School, earned more than $58,000 in scholarships for her science fair project at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Meanwhile, Stuti Chaterjee, who worked in Siraj’s lab, won the 2021 Whitbeck Memorial Award, the highest award granted to a graduating student from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “Dr. Siraj is an outstanding scientist and one of the best researchers on our campus,” said Dr. Brian Berry, vice provost for research and dean of the Graduate School. “Dr. Siraj has leveraged her expertise in frozen ionic liquids to develop a very active research group. The work of this group is nationally and internationally known. Out of all the faculty members that I have observed since joining ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, she is one of the most promising.” She earned a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Karachi in Pakistan. Siraj earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from the Graz University of Technology in Austria and completed postdoctoral research at Louisiana State University.

Faculty Excellence Award in Public Service

A scholar of the civil rights movement, Kirk has previously served five years as chair of the Department of History and four years as the director of the former Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity, where he helped develop the award-winning Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail. Kirk helped a dedicated Arkansan, Leatrice Russ-Glenns, gain recognition for the life of her brother, Carnell Russ, who was killed by the police in Star City, Arkansas, in 1971. Kirk researched and wrote articles about Russ in the Arkansas Times and Arkansas Historic Quarterly and helped establish the Carnell Russ Day Community Unity Festival in Star City, which offers a series of events to bring together the Black and white residents of the community. Kirk has also hosted “Arkansas Moments,” a show on K��Vlog��ýR, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s National Public Radio affiliate, for 10 years. He has researched and written more than 100 radio segments that provide lessons on civil rights and Black history. Since 2004, Kirk has served on the editorial board of the Arkansas Historical Quarterly, the premier journal for historical studies in the state. “John has been one of the finest and most prolific scholars in the fields of Arkansas and U.S. civil rights history,” said Patrick Williams, editor of Arkansas Historical Quarterly. “Over the past quarter-century, he has been among the most frequently published authors in the Arkansas Historical Quarterly, offering deeply researched and skillfully crafted studies on such topics as the desegregation of the state’s schools and public facilities, race and urban development in Little Rock, the Black Power movement, and policing and the African American community. His books and essays have repeatedly been honored for excellence, winning four of the Arkansas Historical Association’s top prizes.” Kirk’s newest book, “Winthrop Rockefeller: From New Yorker to Arkansawyer, 1912-1956,” examines the first 44 years of former Arkansas governor Winthrop Rockefeller’s life. It also looks into the history of Rockefeller’s work with civil rights and race relations. It began in New York, where he served on the executive board of the National Urban League, a leading organization in the civil rights movement. Rockefeller took an active and enthusiastic interest in its affairs and made a donation to pay for the Urban League’s new national headquarters just before he moved to Arkansas. Before joining ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Kirk earned the rank of a full professor at the University of London. He received a bachelor’s degree in American studies from the University of Nottingham and a Ph.D. in American history from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.]]> Kirk Releases New Biography Covering Winthrop Rockefeller’s New York Life /news-archive/2022/04/07/john-kirk-winthrop-rockefeller-book/ Thu, 07 Apr 2022 16:59:21 +0000 /news/?p=81283 ...]]> The book, “,” was published by the University of Arkansas Press and is available online and at in Little Rock, which will host a book signing by Kirk at 6:30 p.m. April 12. Kirk’s book represents the culmination of 12 years of research. It investigates why Rockefeller, scion of one of the most powerful families in American history, left New York to move to an Arkansas mountaintop in the 1950s. The book covers Rockefeller’s childhood and education, his rise in the oil industry, his military service during World War II, his marriage to and divorce from Barbara “Bobo” Sears, and the birth of his only child, future Arkansas lieutenant governor Win Paul Rockefeller. Kirk ties Rockefeller’s New York life to his later work in his adopted state, where his legacy continues to be felt more than half a century after his governorship. “Winthrop Rockefeller has a long and lasting legacy in Arkansas,” Kirk said. “His name has been imprinted on the state more than any other governor, except for perhaps Bill Clinton. When he came to the state, Rockefeller had already accumulated a wide range of experiences and developed a wide range of expertise. That is not reflected in the current literature, which portrays him largely as the outcast black sheep of the Rockefeller family. Then, when he came to Arkansas, the myth is that he became a totally reformed character. That is a gross misrepresentation and clumsy caricature of the man. In fact, what Rockefeller accomplished in Arkansas was very much based upon the blueprints drawn up during his earlier life in New York.” After a highly contentious and well publicized divorce from Sears, Rockefeller looked to start a new chapter in his life in a place where he could make a fresh start. “He went through a costly divorce that hit all the headlines in the popular press at the time,” Kirk said. “The Rockefeller family had quite an aversion to that kind of publicity. The tempestuous divorce proceedings pushed Rockefeller away from New York.” What pulled Rockefeller to Arkansas was the recommendation of Frank Newell, an insurance agent in Little Rock who served with Rockefeller during World War II. “Frank Newell became one of Winthrop’s best friends and spoke about his love of Arkansas and what a great state it was,” Kirk said. “Newell said you should come down here. It was Newell who took Winthrop to Petit Jean Mountain. Winthrop decided to set up a model cattle farm there. Now part of that land is home to the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, which is part of the University of Arkansas System.” The first Republican governor of Arkansas since Reconstruction, Rockefeller developed a reputation as a progressive politician who fought for civil rights. This was demonstrated in 1968, when Rockefeller became the only Southern governor to participate in a public ceremony of mourning for the death of Martin Luther King Jr. Rockefeller’s work with civil rights and race relations began in New York, where he served on the executive board of the National Urban League, a leading organization in the civil rights movement. He took an active and enthusiastic interest in its affairs. “Just before he moved to Arkansas, Rockefeller donated what would today be the equivalent of $1 million to pay for the Urban League’s new national headquarters,” Kirk said. “That’s a story which hasn’t been told before, but it provides an illuminating example of how deeply he was already engaged with civil rights when he came to Arkansas.” Kirk said this is one of many examples in the book of how Rockefeller’s early New York life is profoundly tied to his later activities in Arkansas.]]> ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Professor Creates Digital History Project Examining Enslaved People Sold as National Property During the French Revolution /news-archive/2022/02/17/enslaved-by-church/ Thu, 17 Feb 2022 14:36:57 +0000 /news/?p=81031 ...]]> Dr. Nathan Marvin, assistant professor of history at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, created the website, “,” to tell the story of what happened to the enslaved people that were owned by the Roman Catholic Church in the French colonies. During the French Revolution in 1789, France’s newly formed National Assembly seized the property and assets belonging to the Catholic Church. Much of the church’s property was sold to raise money for the French government, including hundreds of enslaved people living on church properties in France’s colony of Reunion Island. “This digital storytelling project allows a wide range of users to discover a long buried episode of slavery,” Marvin said. “I wanted this website to show what happens when you center the project around the experiences of the enslaved, rather than the voices of priests and politicians that show up most often in the records. Enslaved people were not the priority of priests’ and politicians’ record keeping. Recording their experiences requires looking in some unexpected resources and looking between the lines to find clues on their experiences.” The website highlights the lives behind the numbers and highlights where acts of resistance are legible even in archives designed to control, surveil, and commodify. The website contains a global map with points representing sites of enslavement by corporate entities of the Catholic Church in the 17th and 18th centuries across French, British, Spanish, and Portuguese empires. By the mid-18th century, more than 40,000 people lived on properties owned or managed by corporate entities of the Catholic Church. The website also examines two very different cases of what happened to enslaved people in the colonial French empire. In Saint-Domingue, which is now known as Haiti, the people of this Caribbean island held a prolonged uprising that resulted in independence. On the other side of the world, in the French colony of Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean, hundreds of men, women, and children were declared “national property” and sold at public auctions. The website contains a transcript of the auctions where 358 people were sold. During the auction, 266 were purchased by private buyers, 28 people were purchased by priests, and 28 people were allowed to remain on parish property to serve the priests or help maintain church buildings. Reunion Island would not be free of slavery until 1848, when France re-abolished slavery in its colonies. France first abolished slavery in 1794, but Napoleon Bonaparte revoked that degree in 1802 and reinstituted slavery in the French colonies. Within these “haunting documents” that provide “horrendous, matter-of-fact statements of sale,” Marvin said you can still find examples of humanity and resistance. “There is a mentality that this is just how things were back then, but that’s absolutely not true,” Marvin said. “Some of the priests and politicians involved in the sale of these enslaved people admitted it was morally wrong, but did it anyway. Enslaved people themselves are constantly resisting. You can see examples of resistance all the time in the records.” One example involves Pierre Louis, an 11-year-old from Ste. Marie parish on Reunion Island. Municipal officers were instructed that only married slaves and their children under the age of seven should be sold together in the same lot. Pierre’s name was listed next to his parents, and a municipal officer intended to separate him from his family had his mother and father not intervened. Another example found involves a free woman of color named Agathe. She purchased four enslaved people named Jean Marie, Julie, Pétronille, and Marc. Marvin suspects that Agathe may have been a former slave who was looking to save her friends and family who were put up for auction. “It was not unusual for free people of color to purchase their own relatives and then apply for manumission papers from the colonial government,” he said. Not listed for sale was 90-year-old Amand, who was supposed to “retire” and stay with the priests on the estate where he spent his entire life. During the auction, it was announced that Amand wished to remain with his two adult children, Denis and Pauline, who were up for auction. The family remained together and were purchased by Citizen Deshommes. Marvin’s digital history project is shining light on an unknown chapter in slavery at a time when many religious institutions are recognizing their roles in slavery and participating in reconciliation, remembrance, and restitution projects. The most well-known of these is Georgetown University. Maryland’s Jesuit priests sold 272 enslaved people in 1838 to raise money for the construction of the university. Marvin said that most of his students are surprised to learn about this period in history. It can be tough to guide students who are questioning how to move forward in reconciling the crimes of the past with the present. He recalled a particularly memorable conversation with a student who lived on Mauritius, another former French colonial island near Reunion Island. “In 2015, a student from the University of Mauritius asked me what she was supposed to do as both a descendant of enslaved people and as a Catholic,” Marvin said. “I think now, some within the church itself have a good answer. These are places [Mauritius Island] where the church once tried to keep its records closed. They feared opening these records could cause social tension. The stance among many in the church now, including the Jesuits, is to recognize the wrongs of the past and seek redress for descendant communities. If the churches in Reunion and Mauritius take that stance, it will go a long way.” Marvin’s next research project for the website involves researching the descendants of the enslaved people on Reunion Island. He is hoping to create a family tree that connects the enslaved people who were sold at the 1793 auction on Reunion Island to their modern descendants.]]> ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Public History Graduate Spotlight on Acadia Roher /news-archive/2021/12/17/acadia-roher-commencement/ Fri, 17 Dec 2021 14:30:26 +0000 /news/?p=80578 ...]]> Why did you choose to study at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock? I chose to study at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock because I didn’t want to move out of Little Rock. It was really important for my community work that I stayed here. There also aren’t that many programs in Arkansas available to get a master’s degree in public history. Dr. Barclay Key, a friend and neighbor who is a professor in the history department, encouraged me to apply. This was a really good option. What is the topic of your thesis? My thesis is titled, “Urban Renewal in Little Rock’s Dunbar Historic Neighborhood: A Walking Tour.” I decided to do a project thesis. When working as a graduate assistant for the Center for Arkansas History and Culture (CAHC), the project I was most involved in was mapping renewal. We digitized and analyzed all of the materials that ��Vlog��ý Little Rock has about mapping renewal in Little Rock and its impact on the city. I have been really interested in all the forces that shape our city, particularly in relation to segregation. The Dunbar neighborhood was the first urban renewal project in Little Rock that set the stage in Little Rock, so it felt like the best place to start. Who was your favorite professor or mentor? Dr. Marta Cieslak, from Poland, taught an incredible women’s history class. In all of our readings and discussions with her, the way that she brought out everyone in the classroom was absolutely incredible. What are some of the highlights from your college career? My graduate assistantship/internship at CAHC was the highlight from September of 2018 until September 2021. I got to do so many cool projects there, and they really saw it as an extension of our learning process. All of the GAs had meetings every week to grow and learn together academically. I feel like I walked away knowing what an archivist does and basically how to do every step that we would need to know. Were you involved in any community work or have a job? I was involved in a lot of community work, with the main one being public education. I think having democratic control of our schools is really important. The LRSD was under state control for five years starting in 2015, so I was a part of a group that was holding the state accountable for what was happening within the school district. We were pushing for them to hand over control back to the community. I also was a nonprofit consultant with contract work doing anything from facilitated meetings to a strategic planning process. What are you looking forward to after graduation? I will be making a big move to Maryland. I got a job at the Montgomery County planning department to be a historical research associate. We will be looking into racial covenants. Racial covenants were created when a subdivision developer would require that only white Americans could buy or rent certain properties. It still has a huge impact on our landscape today and how they continue to develop. Montgomery County is looking at this history to undo and repair some of the harm that was done. I’m looking forward to being in a new place, and this research is really important to me. I think this is the kind of work that needs to be happening all over the country. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? One of the reasons I’m moving to Maryland is because my sister just had a baby, and I really want to be close to her. So hopefully, I will have a 10-year-old nephew that I will be close to. I also want to get involved in housing justice work in Maryland, being there for my family, and making a living wage. Doing research or working as an archivist is something that matters and is meaningful to me. What is the best advice you were given or would like to give to new college students? If you have to write a paper that involves any kind of historic research, ask archivists and librarians. Don’t be afraid to ask the reference desk. What I’ve learned from being at CAHC, people who work there know all these treasures that are waiting for students to find them. They’re difficult to come by on your own, but if you speak with an archivist, they’ll be ecstatic that you’re interested and will want to help you.]]> ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Public History Graduate Spotlight on Christy Hendricks /news-archive/2021/12/16/christy-hendricks-commencement/ Thu, 16 Dec 2021 14:45:43 +0000 /news/?p=80580 ...]]> For her thesis, Hendricks made a comprehensive interpretation analysis of the Quapaw Native Americans and created fact sheets for the Arkansas Post National Memorial Visitors Center that would further the knowledge of Native American history in the area of Arkansas Post. The Quapaw were agricultural people who lived near the confluence of the Arkansas and Mississippi rivers. When the French arrived, they set up a trading post near a few Quapaw villages in the same area. The French and Quapaw had mutually beneficial alliances allowing the two cultures to coexist. “When I began my educational journey, I was a single mother with a young child,” Hendricks said. “I didn’t have to relocate to attend class. Luckily, I worked for people who supported me in my education and allowed me to have a flexible work schedule, which meant I was able to attend day classes, put in hours at work, and still be home with my child in the evenings.” The graduate student began her master’s program in 2019 and has enjoyed meeting people of various ages with similar interests as well as proving to herself that she can achieve her life goals. “As an older, non-traditional student, I had a lot of insecurities throughout my journey, but when I began the master’s program, I realized I’m not the only non-traditional student and that my goals were within reach,” said Hendricks. While pursuing her master’s degree, she worked two jobs. She spent 20 years as the creative director of The Leader newspaper and held graduate assistantships at the Clinton Presidential Library and the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. Hendricks was particularly interested in research methods, as well as a general understanding of archeological and anthropological approaches, which helped her prepare for her job position. “Dr. Krista Lewis, Dr. Kristin Dutcher-Mann, and Dr. Andrew Beaupre all played a part in guiding me through my education – particularly in the past couple of years,” said Hendricks. “I really enjoyed all my classes and teachers throughout my journey.” Hendricks will begin her new career as an archeologist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service following graduation. On a normal day, she and her colleagues visit a project site to assess whether there are any cultural resources that may be impacted by the project and write reports. Hendricks intends to spend as much time as she can with her daughter, Teagan, who will graduate from high school in May. Teagan, like her mother, intends to continue her study and obtain a Ph.D. in the future.]]> ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Student is Coordinating Living History Program at National Museum of the Pacific War /news-archive/2021/12/01/aaron-shuman-pacific-war-museum/ Wed, 01 Dec 2021 14:25:26 +0000 /news/?p=79719 ...]]> Aaron Shuman, a native of Graham, Washington, recently moved to Fredericksburg, Texas, to start his new job as the museum experience coordinator at the museum, which preserves and exhibits the material history of the war in the Pacific and Indo-China during World War II. “The public history program worked out really well for me,” Shuman said. “I have a graduate assistantship at the Clinton Presidential Library, and my supervisor introduced me to my summer internship at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History. The skills I picked up at both of those locations were critical to getting this job.” The National Museum of the Pacific War’s Living History programs, housed in the Pacific Combat Zone, includes “Pride of the Pacific,” a live battlefield program, and “The Outposts,” an in-depth presentation featuring staff and volunteers in World War II uniforms or period clothing use artifacts and items from the museum’s collection. “Pride of the Pacific” is a live-action performance featuring landing crafts, explosives, and flamethrowers as members of the museum’s own Company K. “The Outposts” includes discussions on weapons of war, Navy fighter planes, and communications during World War II. “One of the museum’s buildings is the birthplace of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, who led U.S. naval forces in the Pacific during World War II,” Shuman said. “The museum is a Smithsonian affiliate, and it’s comparable in size to the Clinton Presidential Library. The Pacific Combat Zone is very unique, and a lot of facilities don’t have a separate building for living history programs. You see tanks driving around and programs that use real flamethrowers. It’s not every day that you see these things that are 75+ years old and being used the way they were originally meant to be.” Shuman’s new position is giving him a real living history experience. Not only does he get to use machines and weaponry from World War II, he has been temporarily lodged at the Ruff Haus, a building that has over 100 years of history and was built by the town’s original German settlers. An Air Force veteran, Shuman started in ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s public history graduate program in January 2020, just one day after leaving military service. “I was in the Air Force, and I realized that I didn’t want to be an aircraft mechanic forever,” Shuman said. “As a kid, I played war board games with my dad and got very interested in the Second World War. I was stationed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa and then I went to Little Rock Air Force Base. I looked for a public history program in Arkansas, and low and behold this very rare public history program was down the street.” Shuman will graduate in December and is writing his thesis on the ways that presidential funerals reflect the lives and values of American Presidents. As he nears the completion of his master’s degree, Shuman is still surprised by how much his life has changed since joining ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “Two years ago, I was changing tires on a C-1301, and now I’m running a public history program at a national museum in Texas,” Shuman said. “It’s crazy how fast things have changed. If ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s program didn’t have all these work opportunities to fill my resume, I don’t think this opportunity would have happened. I went from a mechanic to an academic in less than two years. I didn’t expect to get it done this quickly.”]]>