Oral History of East Tampa: Engaging Students in Documenting the Social Capital of a Community
Barbara J. Shircliffe, Education, and Patty McHatton, Special Education working with Shayla Sumara, teacher at Middleton High School and Dennis Holt, Supervisor of Secondary Education in Hillsborough County.
Description:
This project will involve high school students, who are enrolled or who have taken the African American history course at Middleton High School, in collecting oral histories from residents of East Tampa in order to generate knowledge on the changing social capital within the community. Oral history interviews will be conducted at Middleton by high school students, Barbara Shircliffe and Patty McHatton.
Students, under the supervision of Shayla Sumara, will produce a monograph and a documentary that links these interviews to the broader historical context. The documentary and monograph will be presented at a community forum. Potential collaborators for this forum include East Tampa Community Revitalization Project (ETCRP) and the Middleton Alumni Association. The four goals are:
1.To create new knowledge by collecting new data on the history of East Tampa and comparing this oral history to archival research to document changes in social capital, 2.Academic engagement through the students collecting and recording community history and the importance of social capital, 3.To increase social capital by building relationships between young people and adults in the community, and 4.Community engagement by providing a community forum for student and resident presentations along with research results.
Contact Person: Barbara J. Shircliffe
Funding for Academic Year: 2005-06