125th Anniversary Curriculum Integration

Students in Cecile Madonna's ART 209 Typography and Text Design explore zines in the Hess Archives.

The Archivist regularly works with faculty in a variety of disciplines to incorporate primary sources into their teaching. Examples of lesson plans that have incorporated College history and/or other primary sources include:

• FYS students read, compare, and present on DEB topics that appear in the student newspapers.
• History students read and analyze WWII correspondence written by Etown students and alumni.
• Students created a website featuring our Teachers for West Africa Program Collection and interviewed program participants.
• OT students describe a concept, trend, or practice in occupational therapy across the past 120 years and make a prediction about how the trend will evolve in the next 20 years by reading and analyzing primary sources on the history of OT.
• Technical writing students write biographies and enhanced descriptions of materials in the Hess Archives.

The Archivist can also facilitate internships, HID projects, independent studies, and digital humanities projects centered on archival materials.

Teaching with primary sources can have a number of benefits to student learning including promotion of critical thinking and research skills; preparation for upper level and graduate work; and increased student confidence, interest, and motivation. Below are further resources to consider.