UW-Whitewater history department recognized with national award
June 01, 2020
Written by Craig Schreiner
A traveling oral history exhibit and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Department of History have been recognized by a leading national organization for excellence in public and community-based history. The exhibit 2018-19, “ The Lands We Share,” is one of the 2020 Award of Excellence winners from the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) in Nashville, Tennessee.
The exhibit was produced by the Wisconsin Farms Oral History Project in collaboration with students and faculty from UW System campuses at Whitewater, Oshkosh, Milwaukee and Madison. The project is based at UW-Whitewater and created by Associate Professor James Levy.
The project involved some 50 students from the four campuses who did extensive archival research as well as fieldwork that involved interviewing and photographing families from six farms reflecting the Oneida Nation, urban Milwaukee, the Hmong tradition of growing and rural Wisconsin dairy farms. The resulting exhibit, which started in Oshkosh and ended in Madison — with stops that included Milwaukee, Ripon, Whitewater, Fort Atkinson, Johnson Creek and the Oneida Nation — opened a window for people to use food and farming to discuss culture, race, ethnicity and history, with public “Community Conversations” held at each stop along the way.
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Cheu Vang of Vang C & C Farm in Jefferson, who owns the first Hmong farm to be certified organic in the state, was featured in the award-winning exhibit. (Photo credit/The Lands We Share) |
Levy said the project will bear fruit in many ways for a very long time.
“It’s been a good launching pad,” said Levy. “Students who have worked on this have gone on to get jobs and go to graduate school with this as a key feature of their personal statements and letters of application.”
Levy said students who participated in the project have been accepted into graduate or Ph.D. programs at top universities including Stanford University’s doctoral history program, the historic preservation program at Cornell University, and the public history master’s programs at UW-Milwaukee and UW-Eau Claire.
Ken Virden, a public relations major from Marshall, Wisconsin, who oversaw social media and communications for the project, went on to work in public relations after graduating in 2017.
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James Levy, left, working on the project with UW-Whitewater student Ken Virden. (UW-Whitewater photo/Craig Schreiner) |
Others overcame self-doubt and made lasting friendships.
“We had a student who has gone on to historical society work,” said Levy. “He was terrified of oral history because of his social anxiety and he didn’t think he could do it. But he was brave and took the risk. Now he’s a convert. He loves oral history and he’s really good at it.”
The University of Wisconsin Press approached Levy about the possibility of publishing a book based on the exhibit research and is now working with Levy and his close ally, UW-Oshkosh history professor Stephen Kercher, on the manuscript. In addition, the exhibit received the 2020 Public Program Award from the Wisconsin Historical Society Board of Curators.
Named on the AASLH award along with “The Lands We Share Traveling Exhibition and Public Dialogue Tour” is the UW-Whitewater Department of History.
“Our department faculty are known for bringing history to the public, and this takes place in many forms,” said Professor Jennifer Thibodeaux, chairperson. “We currently have a second project ongoing, Dr. Anthony Gulig’s Quetico Project, which involves students working with a Canadian park to digitize oral histories.”
Thibodeaux also praised other history faculty outreach efforts, including a popular “ Beer Matters” course, free public lectures across the region, and helping with state and local National History Day competitions.
For more information on “The Land We Share” project and exhibit, contact James Levy, associate professor of history, at levyj@uww.edu or 262-472-5154.