By Hope Sandusky/nw news editor
Students can see how the Civil War is remembered by modern society through a seven-day bus trip June 25-July 1.
Students will visit historical sites and memorials of the Civil War from the Vicksburg National Military Park to the Alabama State Capitol. The focus will be on seeing how the war is presented and remembered by modern society, exploring how, when a memorial is created after a conflict, it influences the public’s thinking.
One of the instructors for the trip, history and government professor Laura Wood, said the idea for the trip came from an online database she created of memorials from around the world.
“These sites of memory are created by societies to tell their history in a particular manner,” she said. “Understanding sites of memory is important to how we see ourselves and our world.”
Through discussions with criminal justice associate professor Jason Clark-Miller, the instructors thought of memorials in terms of history and sociology and their uses as primary sources for teaching.
“We started thinking about how to combine the sociological and historical concepts into an experimental learning experience for students,” she said.
They first tested the idea on exploring memorials in the Fort Worth area and found it successful. They decided they wanted to expand the trip.
“We hope to visit the Western Front in northern France in the next few years as a part of the remembrance of World War I but decided to start with one closer to home,” Wood said. “This first trip across the South will examine how societies ‘create’ their own history with a particular emphasis on how the South developed its own version of the Civil War and why.”
Students can receive credit in HIST 1302 or SOCI 1301, depending on which course they sign up for, with most classwork done online prior to the trip. The trip will include a group visual project and journals to be presented after students return to campus.
“On our trip to Fort Worth, we had students take pictures of the memorials and describe what they did see and what they didn’t see, so it will fall along the lines of that for this trip as well,” Wood said.
Students can also take the trip for noncredit. Wood and Clark-Miller hope to make the course an annual event.
“This topic offers a variety of places to visit,” Wood said. “We probably will offer the same itinerary next year and then maybe northern France in 2017.”
The deadline to register is May 7. For information and registration, email SocialMemory@tccd.edu or contact Wood at laura.wood@tccd.edu.
