Project Lead: Libby Cave (Digital Humanities & Instruction Librarian)
Vivero Fellow (Spring 2025): Chika Inoue
Grinnell College, with its social justice focus, has historically been an incubator for activists and experienced several waves of social movements and protest that are emblematic of the social movements that affected the rest of the country. Today, it is more important than ever to highlight our history of student activism to inspire and empower modern student activists. One way we can do this is by creating a digital exhibit of digitized archival material from different instances of student activism in the college’s history. This project would utilize both items that have already been digitized and prioritize digitizing other materials that are important to the social movements of Grinnell students. By providing commentary and context, the archival material will be more informative and useful for students.
The project will include a mapping element to show both the wide range and impact of student activism. Ideally, we will map areas in town or on campus that we then can incorporate into a physical Story Walk. The Story Walk involves making temporary signs that display items from the exhibit at their relevant location, informing pedestrians of the area’s history and where to find more information. For example, the photo of Vietnam War protestors fasting at Herrick Hall would be placed on a sign with some context and directing people to the exhibit or other signs to continue learning. This Story Walk will pique the interest of casual passersby and serve as outreach for the exhibit, the archives and the library.
