Local History Project Proposal for Belmont University

8/4/2019 Local History Project Proposal for Belmont University

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Community History Proposal August 18, 2011

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Community History Project

at Belmont University

To engage with local neighborhoods to teach,

preserve, and share our community history and culture

History cannot give us a program for the future, but it can give us

a fuller understanding of ourselves, and of our common humanity,

so that we can better face the future.

Robert Penn Warren

A proposal by Angela J. Smith, Ph.D.

August 18, 2011


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Introduction

With the broad objectives of education, outreach, partnership, research and documentation,the Belmont Community History Project can bring together distinct historic resources and

disciplines. Cultural information and community stories are contained in individuals, families,

businesses, churches, schools and in personal memories and old boxes that all of them have

tucked away. Te Community History Project is a methodical, interdisciplinary approach in which

students track down and explore these resources to advance their own academic goals and to add

to the legacy of local history.

Tis project is designed to begin at the university and extend step by step into the immediate

neighborhoods and then beyond. Students will learn to use established historical methods to do

the research and data collection; to interpret it through their own and others examination; and to

preserve and document their nds so that they will later be widely accessible to the public.

Research and documentation are both the process and the product of such a project, but

partnership is essential to achieve them. Connecting the project and participants will allow us

to share existing resources and jointly pursue grant opportunities and other support where it is

appropriate. Beyond material and nancial partnership and even education and outreach, the

Community History Project can be one more of the increasing ways that Belmont is recognized

and can serve well beyond its boundaries.


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Implementation

1. Angela Smith, whose CV begins on page 12, earned a doctorate in Public Historyat Middle ennessee State University in May 2011. Tis project proposes that she

teach two sections of Historical Documentary Filmmaking (Junior Cornerstone)

and one honors course in Spring 2012, and concurrently she will begin to develop

local history initiatives.

2. As a full-time employee, she will initially:

a. teach 3/3 load of local history-based courses with a 3-hour course

equivalent to administer the initiatives and build, then manage the

web component tof the project.

b. plan, coordinate, and develop projects and establish outcomes.

c. network with local history professionals, educators, and interested

members of the community.

d. build an accessible website to share research results with the publicand provide a platform for student historical documentary projects.

3. Initial projects

a. Block History Initiative

Tis is a long-term project where students in disciplines such as

history, health sciences, sociology, education, and religion will

conduct methodical, block by block research of the city of Nashville.

Te information will be catalogued and translated into a searchable

geographical information system (GIS) database that provides a

visual framework of change over time. Initial conversations have

taken place with several people involved with Vanderbilt Medical

School and the geo-science GIS department at MSU, and there is

interest in further exploring possibilities.


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b. Student Historical Documentary Film Festival

odays high school and college students have unprecedented

technological savvy that can be coupled with academic studies.Several lm festivals and local theaters around the country show

quality documentary lms created by students. Tis initiative

is aimed at giving students a venue for competition and a larger

public audience. It could link not only with the various disciplines,

but also with such things as the annual campus theme Wealth

and Poverty in 2011-12 as well as the ongoing theme, Ways of

Knowing. Te Metro Public Library is open to partnerships in this

endeavor.

c. Local Church History Initiative

Tis initiative can take various forms. For example, students in

an independent study or Community of Scholars project could

conduct research on a particular churchs history, teach members

how to digitize church historical records, and conduct oral histories

of longtime church members. Tis project could be tied to courses

in religion or history. Partnerships might include interfaith

organizations and religious publishing houses.

d. Edgehill Oral History Project

With the growth of Belmont University, the physical and sociological

landscape continues to change. Te Edgehill Oral History Project

would focus on methodically capturing the perspectives of residents

who have seen the area morph into its present form with the

attendant physical and sociological changes. Tere are potential

partnerships on Music Row.


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Project Objectives

Educate BU students and the community about the land and place that have been common toboth, as well as the unique histories that have followed.

Reach out in an eort to create a historical record of our neighbors experiences, stories and

artifacts.

Partner with classes and student groups, churches, civic groups, and libraries to expand

opportunities for outreach and service.

Research the communities that surround Belmont in an eort to discover and record our

history Belmont and Beyond in university classrooms as well as church and community

forums.

Document and catalog the work of the project in a publicly accessible venues such as the

Community History Projects website and public lectures and presentations on and o campus.


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Objective: Education

each BU history courses that focus on local historical research such as the Junior Cornerstone,Historical Documentary Filmmaking. Model can extend across disciplines in both classroom and

service learning.

o begin, focus on the areas where Belmont, Edgehill and Music Row have intersected through

their respective histories:

land use change over time

demographics

cultural landscape studies

histories of Belmont and neighborhoods

history of the music industry in Nashville

Objective: Structured Outreach in the Community Oer opportunities for local residents to learn about preservation and digitization. In the

process we capture the stories in oral and video histories; we digitize their photographs

and identify them (and, of course, return them.) Ultimately, there will be a place that the

neighborhood and the broader public can come to study and add to the collected records.

Oer community classes and workshops for little or no cost to participants. Design some to

be intergenerational children and their grandparents and others to be student or adult

learning.

Partner with local schools to share our discoveries with the next generation. At Belmont, the

initiative could work with sociology, journalism, history, political science, and music business

professors to develop course projects anchored in the local community.


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Oer educational opportunities and exhibits within the community Easley Project, school

auditoriums, church fellowship halls, Edgehill Branch Library, high-rise apartments and clinic.

Develop history-related entrepreneurial opportunities for area residents and students. Ideas

such as helping create a small publishing company to publish short run books and pamphlets

could oer ways to develop practical skill sets and bring the project back to the community

in a concrete form.

Belmont art and photography students can create works using vintage and contemporary

Edgehill photos. Te proposed Community History Project can hang exhibits where people pass

by and stop, look and talk about what they see. Tey share their stories: I remember ...

Public Relations students can plan events for opening receptions and can use Community

History Project materials to create brochures or keepsakes to pass out.

Education students can work with teachers at Rose Park and Carter-Lawrence on lesson plans

that incorporate material that Belmonts Community History Project has gathered.

Sports administration students and athletes can create an exhibit and nd speakers for an event

related to the Negro Leagues.

Community Health Research

Objective: Community Partnerships

Tere are many partnership opportunities for the Community History Project. Te project

can approach local libraries, schools, and churches with a goal of learning and preserving the

communitys history: oer the community a chance to create their own historical narrative rather

than have others create it for them; and partner with classes and student groups, churches, civicgroups, and libraries to expand opportunities for outreach and service. Initially partnerships could

include geo-sciences lab at MSU, Vanderbilt Health Sciences, Meharry Medical Center, Belmont

Mansion, Metro Public Schools, ennessee State Library and Archives, Metro Public Library, and

Metro Archives.


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Objective: Research and Documentation

Te Community History Project is a vehicle to research the communities that surroundBelmont in an eort to discover and record our common history and culture Belmont and

Beyond in university classrooms as well as church and community forums. Systematic research

projects will build a collaborative community history. Many times research is conducted in a

vacuum where individuals are unaware of what others are doing. A primary goal is to create and

coordinate a central repository that ensures that the research of Belmont classes, public schools,

and the community becomes part of the record that exists and also expands upon it.

Te work of the project will be documented and catalogued in publicly accessible venues such

as an interactive website as well as public lectures and presentations on and o campus.

In the beginning, that does not require that the university create a dedicated space to house it.

A replicable academic model will be documented and ultimately shared.


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Funding

I believe there are grants available for this project. Initial conversations suggest this mightbe a t for an NEH digital initiative grant, as well as science foundation grants for health-based

community research. I have spoken to a contact at Vanderbilt who is interested in discussing a

partnership based in community health research. Tere is value in studying economic, ethnic,

social, and cultural changes in a community over time. Te areas of change are important not only

for the history, but also for matching donor objectives.


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Community History Project DRAFT Detailed Budget

Tis assumes a federal grant (not a private donor) whereby the sponsor funds Direct costs plusIndirect costs at the full negotiated rate of 38%. Its important to note that not all of our existing

federal contracts have won the full 38% rate. If this is funded by a private sponsor, then what and

how much the organization will fund varies.

Category Grant Year 1 Grant Year 2

Personnel Compensation

$50,000 (100% FTE on

10-month contract)

$52,000 (100% FTE on

10-month contract) assumes

4% pay increase

Equipment and Supplies

$45,000 (9 media

kits@$5,000 per kit) +

$3,250 (computer, Web, &

design software for PI) =

$48,250 $0

Other Costs $250 (annual Web hosting) $250 (annual Web hosting)

Total Direct Costs $95,250 $52,250

Indirect Costs or F&A (full

federal rate is 38% of DirectCosts) $36,195 $19,855

Grand Total $131,445 $72,105


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Angela J. Smith131 Holly Forest

Nashville, Tennessee 37221

hm: 615.673.6447 cell: 615.513.6324 [email protected]

Portfolio site - http://newmediahistory.com/portfolio/

[most material listed below is displayed in the digital portolio]

Education

Ph.D.

Public HistoryMiddle Tennessee State UniversityMay 2011GPA: 4.0Dissertation: John Beecher: An Activist Poet Chronicles an American CenturyDissertation website: http://newmediahistory.com/johnbeecher/

M.A.

HistoryMiddle Tennessee State UniversitySpring 2007GPA: 3.96Thesis: Highlander Folk School and its Adversaries, 1932-1942

B.A.

Belmont UniversityDecember 1984Communication Arts and English

Teaching Experience

HIS 3015, Historical Documentary Filmmaking

Belmont UniversityConceptualized, developed and taught a Problem-Based Learning Junior Cornerstone course; course oered by the HistoryDepartment to non-history majors as part o the universitys General Education requirement; class objectives included localhistory research, group collaboration, and public presentation; fnal flm product or each o the three student groups waspresented to a public audience at the end o the semester.2009-2010 (3 semesters)

Multimedia Storytelling

Belmont UniversityTaught journalism students the mechanics and crat o digital storytelling. The course ocused on the undamentals ovideo, audio, still photography, and standard web delivery systems.

Spring 2011

History 2020, Survey of American History, 1877-present

Middle Tennessee State UniversitySpring 2010

History 2010, Survey of American History through Reconstruction

Middle Tennessee State UniversityAs GTA, assisted Dr. Jan Leone by planning and presenting primary source exercises once a week.Fall 2009

CURRICULUM VITAE


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Changing Media: US and UK

Cooperative Center or Study Abroad Summer ProgramAssisted Linda Quigley, a Media Studies instructor at Belmont University, in a study abroad course in London or fveweeks. Worked with her to develop activities, lectures, feld trips to introduce students to dierences between British andAmerican media in print, web and multimedia.Summer 2007

Visual Journalism

Belmont University

Developed and taught a class that ocused on blending narrative, graphics, and technology to tell stories in new ways.Spring 2007, 2009

Historical Documentary Independent Study

Belmont UniversityFour students have taken the course since 2004, with each producing a documentary on a dierent topics: the lunchcounter sit-ins in Nashville during the 1960s; the early history o the antebellum Belmont Estate; the history o RCA StudioB; and Nashvilles Park Center, a nonproft that serves clients with chronic mental illnesses.2004-2008

Introduction to Media Technology

Belmont UniversityTaught web section o this course, which was designed to introduce the varied technologies used in todays media world to

reshman public relations and journalism students.Fall 2004-2006

Journalism Practicum 2

Belmont UniversityAssisted in developing curriculum or inaugural hands-on course or students to learn online online journalism by practicingthe discipline; fnal product was a hyperlocal website to cover the university and its surrounding neighborhood; co-taughtwith Dr. Sybril Bennett.Spring 2005

Community of Scholars Course in Historical Documentary Filmmaking

Belmont UniversityDeveloped and taught summer intensive that ocused on telling the story o the ounding o Belmont College as a womens

school in 1890 and its history or the next 60 years; our students met or class three hours a day or fve weeks and, aterresearching archives and conducting and flming oral histories, students produced two documentary flms that were shownto a public audience at the end o the course.Summer 2005

Publications/Work Products

Myles Horton, Highlander Folk School and the Wilder Strike of 1932

Published on Highlanders websitehttp://www.highlandercenter.org/links.asp

1946 Columbia Race Riot

Produced and designed websitehttp://www.mtsu.edu/~tnriot46/

The History of Murfreesboro Electric Department

Worked with the Center or Historic Preservation at MTSU to produce a documentary about the history o MurreesboroElectric Department.

Refuse to Fold

For academic documentary, partnered with Brian Dempsey to document the changing narrative o the blues in theMississippi Delta; conducted interviews, shot ootage and photos; responsible or production and editing o flm publishedas part o Brians Ph.D. dissertation.


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Genesco Archive Project

As contract employee, evaluated, catalogued, and rehoused company papers or Genesco, an 85-year-old Nashville,Tennessee, shoe retailer that currently owns Journeys, Johnston&Murphy, Underground Station, Dockers, and Lids stores.

CRM Project: Land ownership along Van Cleve Lane

A cultural landscape project that examined land ownership history on a section o Stones River National Battlefeld inMurreesboro, Tennessee.

Oaklands Plantation Exhibit: Beyond the PlantationAssisted director by designing, printing and acilitating the installation o the frst exhibit to interpret Arican-Americanpresence and legacy at the Oaklands Plantation in Murreesboro, Tennessee.

Landmarks of American History Website: War of Invasion, War of Liberation

Designed website or Landmarks o American History grant or Dr. Robert Hunt.

Material Culture Resource Project

Created a content management site (Drupal) or a class collaboration or Dr. Bren Martin; created the inrastructure anddesign and students added instructional material on the preservation o material culture or the general public.

Conference Presentations

March 3, 2009Panelist: History to Storyline: Media and Mediating the Message

George Wright Society Biennial Conerence on Parks, Protected Areas, and Cultural SitesPortland, Oregon

April 13, 2007Panelist: Visual Media and History: Using Technologies to Teach and Learn History

Annual Meeting o the National Council o Public HistorySanta F, New Mexico

November 12, 2005Thesis research presentation on Highlander Folk School

Education or Social Change: The Story o the Highlander Folk School rom 1932 to the Present.Symposium sponsored by Nashville Public LibraryNashville, Tennessee

September 29, 2006Visual Media and History: Using New Technologies to Teach and Learn History

Tennessee Conerence o HistoriansNashville, Tennessee

Feb. 9, 2005They Marched

Instructed and supervised student Tamara Tatars production o documentary on civil rights events in mid-1960s inNashville; presented fnished work at Arican-American History Conerence, Tennessee State University.Nashville, Tennessee

May 2004The Holland Farm

Researched, flmed and produced documentary on one o Tennessees Century Farms; presented to the board o the LandTrust or Tennessee.Nashville, Tennessee


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Grants and Grant Proposals

2010Digital Commons Proposal

Belmont UniversityDesigned and specd a lending library that would be called a learning commons to create a central place or students toreceive training and then check out digital equipment or use in classwork throughout the university; the proposal is underconsideration by the Ofce o Provost.

2008Moving History Grant Proposal

First Annual Digital Media and Learning CompetitionSponsored by the MacArthur Foundation, Duke University, and HASTACProposed a mobile history initiative to partner with Dr. Chad Berry and the Center or Appalachian Studies at Berea Collegein Kentucky; goal o initiative was to raise the level o digital literacy among citizens in under-served rural populations innon-traditional and non-threatening learning environment; proposal did not win, the idea remains relevant i proper undingwere available.

2007-2008

Digital History StudioTechnology Access Fund GrantMiddle Tennessee State UniversityDesigned, specd, and purchased equipment with a $117,000 grant or a digital history studio in the History Department.Purchased 20 Macintosh laptops, laptop storage cart, server, RAID, proessional video cameras, proessional lighting,proessional digital still cameras, and accompanying sotware.

Work Experience

January 2004 to presentBelmont University

Part-time sta; adjunct instructorGraphics and web adviser to Belmont Vision, student newspaper o Belmont University; responsibilities include layoutand design o newspaper and website, teaching and acilitating student learning o design process and equipment use inproduction environment. Also designed Connect Magazine or Media Studies Department Spring 2006-2010; in additionto layout, design, and advising; also responsible or hardware and sotware purchases and upkeep in student mediaofce; purchased and maintained computers and digital equipment such as still and video cameras, microphones, audiorecorders. Additionally, rom 2007-present, served as adjunct instructor in the Media Studies Department teaching mediatechnology and multimedia courses, and in the History Department teaching Historical Documentary Filmmaking.

April 2008 to presentFreedom Forum Diversity Institute

Adjunct Multimedia FacultyAssist in teaching multimedia workshops or minority students and practicing journalists in early years o careers; in thiscapacity, work as contract employee or Diversity Institute o the Freedom Forum, based in Nashville.

1998-presentFreelance designer

Worked with a variety o clients in Nashville to produce web and print projects.


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1985-2002Graphic Design

Prepress Production

Web Design and Production

Employed by several print and graphic design companies over a 20-year period; worked at a national color separationhouse as the digital specialist in Nashville during the transition rom analog to digital technology in late 1980s; capitalizedon that knowledge and moved to San Francisco Bay area to manage prepress department o a large oset printer in the

East Bay; three years later, moved to Salem, Oregon, or similar opportunity. Chose to return to Nashville 12-years ago towork in design business and to enter graduate school.

Jackson Design, Nashville, TennesseeThird Power Imaging, Nashville, TennesseeK/P Graphics, Salem, OregonGehre Graphics, Concord, CaliorniaNEC Corp, Nashville, TennesseeAW Vidmer & Company, Brentwood, Tennessee

Technical Skills

Profcient in design or print, web, and flmmaking; thorough knowledge o design, web, and digital flmmaking sotwaresuch as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Quark Xpress, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Flash, HTML, CSS, WordPress,Drupal, Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, LiveType, Soundtrack Pro, and AterEects as well as in-depth knowledge oscanning, photography, proessional lighting, sound, and proessional video cameras; worked with Macintosh computersor most o career and have experience providing in-depth technical support and instruction in their use; also have workingknowledge o Microsot Windows.

Honor Societies

Phi Kappa Phi, inducted spring 2006

Scholarships

Bart McCash Memorial Scholarship, MTSU, 2006 and 2008

Design Awards

2011 Southeast Journalism Conerence, 1st, Best Magazine, or Connect Magazine; 1st, Best Website, orbelmontvision.com

2010 Southeast Journalism Conerence, 1st, Best Magazine, or Connect Magazine2009 Southeast Journalism Conerence, 1st, Best Magazine, or Connect Magazine2008 Southeast Journalism Conerence, 2nd, Best Website, or belmontvision.com; Honorable Mention, Best

Newspaper, Belmont Vision; Honorable Mention, Best Magazine, or Connect Magazine2007 Southeast Journalism Conerence, 1st, Best Magazine or Connect Magazine2006 Southeastern Journalism Conerence, 1st, Best Website, belmontvision.com

2003 Local and national Addy or Vanderbilt School or Medicine Promotional package2001 Local and national Addy or packaging design o CD booklet, O Brother, Where Art Thou?2001 Local and national Addy or design o book, I Hope You Dance1990 Local Addy or best letterhead design

Professional Memberships

American Association o History and ComputingAmerican Historical AssociationNational Council on Public HistoryOrganization o American HistoriansSouthern Historical Association

Local History Project Proposal for Belmont University

Documents

Transcript of Local History Project Proposal for Belmont University