Project Proposal
Yes, this is the same proposal as on Linda’s blog….
Priya Chhaya & Linda Neylon
History in the Digital Age
Final Project Description
Our intention in this final project is to develop a collection site for American University which displays text and images relating to student life and the history of the university. The primary audience is the AU community—which includes students former, current, or perspective, faculty and staff while secondary audiences depending on the collections developed can include researchers on local history and university campus life. To some extent the intent of the site is to provide a place of reflection and to get primary source information about the role of American University in local and student life.
Organizationally, the site will be modeled after the North Carolina State College of Engineering Collecting site [http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/news/memories/index.html] with two separate sections to view and share memories. The view memory section will be divided up based on years, while the share memories will include an e-mail address/web space where text and/or image files can be sent. We shall use a combination of Dreamweaver and Photoshop to build this website using principles described in the Digital History text to make sure that it is both visually appealing and easy to navigate. In terms of design, the intention is to have a core main page which is simple, and has a sample of the collection within while the subsidiary sections provide other examples as well as easy to follow instructions for submissions. In addition, we are thinking about attaching a survey for visitors to tell us why they visited the site including citation information to encourage researchers to use to cite for academic information. Images of AU’s history will also be integrated in order to aid in survey collections as a memory prompt for visitors to the site.
The way this site will impact our personal and professional goals is two fold. On one hand it is a practice in Public History—impacting and serving a unique audience in a particular way. On the other hand it allows for the development of a local history archive, especially many of the American University students went to work and participated in a variety of events in and around the city. At present, there isn’t a distinct argument regarding the site, but perhaps we can say that through the resource we hope to collect we will show the importance and variety of ways in which AU impacted individuals, the city and maybe even the nation.