Themes for Digital Histories

Since I am not originally from Texas, there are themes about UH and Houston in general that jump out at me as being special and worthy of study. A few that I have chosen are not as unique to the school per se and are present in many areas of the United States, but I feel have a special impact on UH. 




Themes:


1. Race - I know very little about the restructuring of UH's student body in the 1950s and 1960s apart from the bare minimum, but this is a school that was at the heart of this issue. There were gatherings, protests, and other forms of action to both facilitate and discourage the integration of UH. Currently UH is one of the most racially and ethnically diverse campuses in the nation--that is a vast change from 50-60 years ago and a theme worthy of study.


2. Gender - My own studies deal with the study of gender and since women in higher education is (much like an interracial student body) only decades old at UH, this is intriguing. As a woman in academia--and with over 50% of college students women these days--this is also a major shift worthy of study for digital history.


3. Hurricanes/Weather - Since I am a native of New York, I have instilled in me the fear of hurricanes as something unnatural and unknown. I check the National Hurricane Center almost every day to ensure that I won't be stuck in one. I studied the 1900 Galveston hurricane in an undergraduate class in New York and never thought I'd be down here where those things were a possibility. The role of hurricanes in UH's history is, therefore, an interesting and new topic for me. I think it would be interesting to see student's reactions to these disasters. Maybe they won't be too profound, but I am still very intrigued.