English 105 Online Curriculum Module: Documenting Student Activism at UNC: Home
Lesson Context
Overview
The Documenting Student Activism unit sequence uses special collections materials to introduce students to the basics of primary and secondary source research, ethnographic research, and scholarly writing in the social sciences. The unit begins with a feeder assignment based on a selection of archival materials from Wilson Special Collections Library that reveal activism on campus throughout different periods of UNC's history. It continues with a second feeder assignment where students contextualize their primary sources by developing an annotated bibliography with additional related primary and secondary sources. Finally, the sequence concludes with a unit project where students apply what they have learned by writing an ethnography paper that incorporates the primary and secondary sources from their bibliographies, as well as original social sciences research methods like surveys or interviews.
Unit Summary
| Genre | Purpose | Audience | Author | Rhetorical Situation |
| Archival history and analysis. |
To practice working with archives and writing about archival material in a social sciences genre. | People who study UNC history and campus culture and people who are interested in knowing what the archives hold. |
Ethnographer |
You will be taking on the role of a researcher in the UNC archives by choosing an event in campus history and connecting it with UNC’s contemporary culture. |
Expectations for Unit Project
All of your work in this assignment sequence will build toward the final project, a short ethnography paper that synthesizes primary and secondary sources, as well as original social sciences research. Your paper should investigate an event or time period in UNC’s history of campus activism and consider how it connects with the present day campus culture and debates, as well as broader historical patterns.
Learning Objectives
By working on the feeder assignments and unit project, you will develop the following skills:
- locate primary and secondary sources using the library website, catalog, and finding aids;
- analyze and synthesize primary and secondary source materials;
- think critically about these sources and develop your own interpretation of campus history;
- identify historical patterns and connect those patterns with contemporary campus culture; and
- connect social science and archival research methods.
Additional Resources
LibGuides, Websites, and Other Research Supplements
- A Guide to Researching Campus Monuments and BuildingsThis guide is designed for researchers interested in the origins and controversy surrounding monuments on UNC's campus. Resources related to the Silent Sam Confederate Memorial, the two Caldwell Monuments, The Student Body Statue, and the Unsung Founders Memorial are listed in this guide. These resources include books, articles, photographs, and archival resources from the collections in Wilson Special Collections Library. In addition to the four major monuments, the final tab lists resources on the history of UNC and its campus.
- A Guide to Resources About UNC's Confederate MonumentThis guide from UNC's University Archives provides an introduction to materials at UNC about the planning and dedication of Silent Sam and the discussion surrounding the monument in the years since. Many of the resources listed in this guide have been digitized and are available for easy access online. Others are accessible in Wilson Special Collections Library. In addition to a wealth of primary sources, the guide contains a timeline and photo gallery.
- Student Protest Movements at the University of North Carolina at Chapel HillThis guide compiles resources from Wilson Special Collections Library related to student activism at UNC over many decades. In the 1960s and 1970s, students at UNC became increasingly vocal in their protests of local and national events. At UNC, the controversy over North Carolina's Speaker Ban Law, civil rights demonstrations, Food Workers' Strike, and anti-Vietnam protests provoked the largest reactions from students and the media. Additionally, this guide provides information about anti-war protests that took place on campus in the 1930s and activism in the 1980s and 1990s, when UNC students engaged with activism related to the Apartheid and the university's renewed contract with Nike.
- Researching Confederate Monuments in North CarolinaThis guide is designed for researchers interested in information about Confederate monuments and memorials in the state of North Carolina. North Carolina has over 200 public monuments and memorials commemorating the Civil War, outnumbering the amount in the state dedicated to any other subject. These resources include books, articles, photographs, and archival resources from the collections in Wilson Special Collections Library. Tips for locating additional resources beyond Wilson are also provided.
- The Carolina Story: A Virtual Museum of University HistoryThis virtual museum retells the history of UNC, the nation's oldest state university, in the same way as a physical museum might do. Texts and images are arranged in a series of roughly chronological exhibits. Several exhibits may provide information relevant to students' research topics for this assignment, including "African Americans and Integration," "African Americans and Segregation," "Reconstruction," "Slavery and the University," "Student Life at Carolina, 1890-1960," "Student Organizations," and "The Black Student Movement at Carolina."
- University Archives Web Archives - Confederate Monument ProtestsThe University Archives at UNC has created an archive that compiles websites documenting protests related to Silent Sam.
Feeder One
Overview
For Feeder One, each student will select a primary source from the galleries included in this guide, which are arranged chronologically and address different themes in the history of activism on UNC's campus. Using the bibliography provided with each item, as well as other library resources like the catalog and Articles +, students will find and analyze information about the historical context of their chosen primary source. They will then use this information to write a Primary Source Summary, which provides a brief introduction to the history of their item, including when it was created, who it was created by, who it was created for, and why they think it was created. At the end of the summary, students will also state their intended focus in researching this primary source for the next two assignments.
Instructional Material
Feeder Two
Overview
For Feeder Two, each student will create an Annotated Bibliography that compiles and describes all of the sources they plan to use in the unit project. For this assignment, students will focus specifically on conducting archival research related to their topics, really digging into what each items says and what histories it tells. Additionally, students will start to plan their ethnographic research by pitching an idea for an interview or survey that would contribute to their research topic.
Instructional Material
Unit Project
Overview
In the Unit Project, students will first develop their social science research skills by conducting an interview or distributing a survey. In this phase of their research, students will seek new perspectives and ideas to supplement what they have learned about their topics in the first two feeder assignments. Next, students will write an Ethnography Paper that examines an issue in the history of activism on UNC’s campus from the perspective of the key players involved. In this assignment, students will describe the impact their issue has had on students or other members of the UNC campus community in as much detail as possible. These papers should consider both the historical impact of an issue on UNC’s campus and the role it plays in contemporary campus culture.
Instructional Material
Authors
Sarah Carrier
North Carolina Research and Instruction Librarian, Wilson Special Collections
Hannah Skjellum
Ph.D. Student and Teaching Fellow, Department of English and Comparative Literature
Cait Kennedy
2018-2020 Carolina Academic Library Associate
Discipline Areas
This online curriculum module is designed for use in the social sciences unit of English 105 or for English 105i: Writing in the Social Sciences; however, it could also be adapted for the humanities unit of English 105 or for English 105i: Writing in the Humanities or Writing in the Digital Humanities.
English 105 Requirements
This unit sequence meets the following English 105 requirements:
- Information Literacy;
- Primary Source Literacy;
- Quantitative Research Methods; and
- Qualitative Research Methods.
Possible Adaptations
This unit sequence could be adapted to use a variety of other special collections materials in Wilson Special Collections Library, depending on your research interests, desired learning outcomes, and other instructional goals. Contact the Special Collections to discuss other possible adaptations for your English 105 section.
Instruction
Schedule an Instruction Session
If you would like your class to visit Wilson Special Collections Library, request a special collections instruction session.
Teach with Special Collections
If you have questions about teaching with special collections, contact Sarah Carrier.
Need Help?
Visit the Special Collections Research Room or contact the special collections.
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Start a Conversation
To start a conversation about how future online curriculum modules can support your English 105 instruction, contact Jason Tomberlin, Head of Research and Instructional Services.
Research & Instructional Services
(919) 962-3765