Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Three themes for Digital Histories

1) Campus Life, life off campus: What sort of activities did the university have for students on campus? What was dorm life like? What sort of activities did students do in Houston off campus? College life is not just about classes of course. Finding out what sort of activities students did on and off campus would give a fuller sense of what life was like for students throughout the university's history. It would show how campus life, and activities pursued off campus, have changed for students throughout the university's history.
2) Alumni involvement: How have alumni remained connected and continued to support the university? We will find alumni who have maintained varying degrees of involvement with the university since they graduated, from casual members of the alumni association, to alumni who regularly attend events around campus, to active leaders of the alumni association, to alumni who came back to teach at U of H or work here in some other way. This will give a sense of what the university means to the alumni, and show how alumni of all degrees of involvement show their appreciation for the university.
3) Financial Background: Throughout the university's history, students from many different economic backgrounds have attended. There have been students from poor families who were the first in their family to attend college and worked multiple jobs while going to school to pay for their education, students from more privileged families whose parents paid for their education, and students in between those categories. One may see how the economic backgrounds of students changed throughout the university's history. Questions about economic background would give a sense of the diversity of students, how the economic background of students may have changed through the years, and show how education at the university helped those from poorer backgrounds. One may also see how financial aid the university offered changed as the university grew, and as government support of education changed.