Black Belt Oral History Project

Students enrolled in a special studies English course this semester have been working to record area residents telling their own stories from the Civil Rights era. After collecting these oral histories, students used the recordings to write their own graded pieces of literary journalism.  This course gave students a valuable opportunity to interact with community members on a one-on-one basis. Recordings of their interviews will be housed in the Bowling Library for future researchers.

“In this course, students will develop valuable interpersonal, research, and writing skills. They will have to comport themselves in a professional manner to their interview subjects, carefully construct a logical line of questioning, through traditional, online, and interpersonal methods investigate the historical context in which these stories took place, familiarize themselves with recording and editing technologies, and write compelling, clear, and ethical profiles of the people they interview. I view writing, particularly this kind of writing, as a very interdisciplinary enterprise that will force students to synthesize elements of critical thinking, literature, academic and field research, psychology, sociology, history, cultural studies, media studies, and more.”
-Jason Tucker, ENG 411 Professor

“As someone who is not from Alabama, I learned a great deal about the history of the state and the history of the Black Belt in particular. Through my research and interviews, I began to see how much of the poverty and social division that I’ve observed through other service learning projects relates to the history of this area. I believe that in order for us to work together to improve the future of Perry County, we need to try to understand the area’s past.”
-Ashley Wigley, ENG 411 Student