HIS 6942 Week 4 (September 12 - September 18)

 

This week was a rollercoaster of emotions for me as I experienced some difficulties that could have set me back. Tuesday saw my computer crash and jeopardize my documents and attendance in classes. Thankfully, this issue was rectified when I both recovered my computer and saved the documents. The whole process instilled how vital a computer is and showed how to recover documents saved on a drive that was dying. My computer is fully operational as it was reset to factory settings. For the internship, the computer fiasco only affected my emails which I may have lost some students emailing me on Tuesday.

The students seem to be growing out of their shell this week in classes as they discussed several historical debates that historians continue to grapple with. Dr. Murphree and I facilitated a discussion regarding apologies for historical events which propelled students to communicate more on their opinions on the matter. Some students believed that apologies did not matter as they were ineffective in addressing current day issues and only distracting from solving injustices. Others insisted that apologies may be useful in returning lost property or money. A common example was reparations for the effects of slavery and Jim Crow/segregation on African Americans. In addition, other debates such as history’s link to religion and how we approach history was prevalent in Tuesday’s class.

I am glad to see students beginning to discuss more of these historical debates as other history classes refrain from addressing them. History courses at the University of Central Florida stick to the content of the class’s topic except for History and Historians. These discussions are vital in how we conduct research and present historical knowledge. The internship reminds me of these important questions concerning our field and it will help me develop my thesis further.

Office hours have been effective in reaching out to students. Some students have come in to ask me about certain discussions in class and checking on what they are supposed to be doing. One question was directed towards the interview process for the COVID collection. Regarding the COVID collection, students seem to be procrastinating the interviews. I believe that this is due to how fast these interviews can be. My interview experience seemed to spend a great deal on the transcription process versus the real interviews. Practice makes perfect which I try and encourage students to interview more than just one even if it is not a requirement.

The class debates really affected how I look at the graduate discussions we have which are similar in nature. The internship encourages me to bring my own perspective on topics such as the ones we discuss in class through the graduate eye. I believe in the upcoming weeks; more student activity will foster due to them breaking the ice with these debates. Some students seem to have insightful commentary that mirrors my graduate classmates. Next week, students will be discussing Public History and its importance in the field. I will be adding my own perspective as someone interested in the track of Public History.