Major Requirement: History of the United States
Memphis is one of the most fascinating cities in the United States, with a rich and complex history that has not yet been fully explored. In this class, students have an opportunity to help tell that story by conducting oral histories with community members and using them as the foundation for an extended research paper. Additionally, students will gain a more general familiarity with the oral history process. How and why do historians conduct them? What makes them good or bad? How can we effectively use oral histories in our scholarship? By examining these questions (and others) in a Memphis-specific context, students will both enrich their understanding of the historian’s process and significantly add to the historical record of Rhodes’ home city.
Prerequisite: Sophomore Standing