The following Teaching Highlight was originally created for the DH@MSU Newsletter and was featured in the May 9, 2023 issue. Subscribe to the Newsletter here.
Chicano/Latino Studies Oral Histories in LEADR (CLS492)
Staff members of the Lab for Education in & Advancement of Digital Research (LEADR) work with History and Anthropology faculty to bring digital tools and methods into their classrooms. This semester (Spring 2023) they helped students create an oral history of Chicano/Latino Studies at MSU. Students were tasked with collecting and interpreting the past, present, and future of the program as a capstone project. Collaborators included Delia Fernandez-Jones (History Professor and Chicano/Latino Studies Core Faculty Member), Alice Lynn McMichael (Director, LEADR), Dani Willcutt (PhD Candidate History and LEADR Graduate Assistant), and 21 students in CLS 492, the Chicano/Latino Studies Capstone. By the end of the project students will have made a significant contribution to sharing the story of MSU’s Chicano/Latino Studies Program as it celebrates twenty-five years on campus.
Students came to LEADR for a series of workshops covering aspects of project management ranging from planning to implementation to post-production. Dani drew on her own research experience of conducting oral history interviews when leading the workshops. Discussions included methods (such as Oral Histories versus Interviews), best practice in interviews, writing release forms, choosing camera angles and optimum lighting; types of cameras, camcorders, and microphones based on setting. In addition to the pre-interview process and tips on production, Dani taught students how to use iMovie to edit and create a documentary from the footage they captured.
Students worked in groups, each with a specific set of tasks. Interviewers focused on composing questions that would lead to rich conversation. Others worked behind the scenes to ensure the camera angles, sound, and lighting were perfect for capturing in-person interviews.. With a variety of skills, students were able to choose tasks based on their own strengths and specialized knowledge. Working with the LEADR tutorials, the post-production team will finish compiling the interviews. The finished projects will be made publicly available along with a resource guide for students at MSU and a short documentary about the future of CLS.