Marin Escalera

The University of North Texas has a long history and has gone through many events since its founding in 1890. The history of what the United States went through during these events is well known both in their political and economical aspects but what about the life of the common people getting their education in college? This project will explore how the university was structured during the 60s in relation to the heighten tensions between countries due to the Cold War. Themes and stories that will be looked at are the thoughts of students and staff whose day to day life surrounded living in this situation. Alongside this the history of the buildings will also be looked at since during this time Denton was home to many bomb shelters many of which were and still are on campus. With the overlying message of connecting events that are well renowned to common people who use to walk the street we currently know. To make this historical event feel real instead of just a lesson in a book.

            Since this topic covers a wide range of concepts the sources which will be used will vary from oral histories from former students and staff, and local newspapers from the university and the city of Denton such as “the Campus Chat” and “the Denton Record Chronicle” in order to gain an insight of how the common day would go for locals. Also since the format of this story is going to be a story map I will also use maps that show the location of the shelters today and back then. These sources bring the material to life since the audience will be able to see familiar places in a different light. Also by hearing what actual students who also went through the same educational system makes the content more relatable. Others sources I will include are images of campus during the 60s and images of the bunkers as well. Overall these sources will bring a visual aid to the audience to accompany in the information from the oral histories and newspaper articles.

            The format of this project will be a story map on GIS StoryMap. This will allow me to use the maps that lay out the various points of campus and mark down different points with an accompanied story. In these different points I can use the images of the locations and add the information that goes with the image. The layout of map will make the experience interactive since it will allow audiences to look around and explore. Overall giving the audience the opportunity to see the information with their own eyes in the order they would want. This is something that couldn’t be done in other formats because both the visuals and the text are crucial to give the audience the full experience.

The project as a whole is for the community and all who are interested but I hope this project will also reach people who question why history is important and always ask what does it have to do with them. Since in my experience working as a high school teacher I would often hear students complain that they don’t see why it’s important to learn the material or that they don’t care about things that happen to rich people in a place they’ve never been. Though the moment I connect history to something they’re more familiar with I would see a spark of interest light up in their eyes. So by showing the people the history and what the everyday occurrences were on the grounds they walk it may spark that same interest in them. Using the story map it will provide a visual for visitors and with the stories connected to markers of different locations on campus will bring it all together. Overall giving the audience an interactive experience to learn more about the place we’ve come to know as the University of North Texas.