Experiential Learning (Theme: Oral Histories of the Arboretum) (HIST*3560)

Code and section: HIST*3560*01

Term: Summer 2022

Instructor: Kim Martin

Details

HIST*3560 Summer 2022

Instructor: Kim Martin

Wednesdays 11:30 am - 2:20 pm (on campus)

Prerequisite(s): 7.50 credits  

Are you interested in a career in public history? Would you enjoy learning about the past through community inquiry?

This course will connect students with members of the Guelph community to learn about their experiences in the Arboretum, a nature-filled wonderland that encompasses 400 acres directly adjacent to campus. These stories will be collected, edited, and linked to both physical signage in the Arboretum and a website, as part of the growing Hear, Here collection of oral history projects. For an example of what a completed project looks like, see https://www.hearherelondon.org/.

In the first of two courses*, students will learn about methods for conducting oral histories and the role they play in conveying local historical knowledge. Each student will conduct an oral history interview with participants at the Arboretum in the space where the memory they want to share took place (wherever possible). Students will then learn to edit the audio files to focus on a single story and its importance to place and space within the Arboretum, will conduct archival research to supplement their stories, and will prepare both audio and text files for the web. 

No prior technological knowledge is needed, as you’ll receive training wherever necessary. 

*HIST 4170 will be offered in the near future, but there is no need for students to take part in both of these courses.

**Please note:  This is a preliminary web course description only.  The department reserves the right to change without notice any information in this description.  The final, binding course outline will be distributed in the first class of the semester.**