History and Anthropology
Rebekah Barton, adjunct faculty in the History and Anthropology Department received a CCHA grant in April 2007 supported by the NEH to do research in Washigton D.C on the topic of "American Cities and Public Spaces." This topic came out of her Master's Thesis which addressed the new amusements of the Progressive Era, and how these amusements drew people to public spaces that extended beyond the traditional parental/neighbor/religious congregation sphere of influence.
The grant sent her to Washington D.C. on three separate occasions, two weeks in June 2007, six days in January 2008, and five days in June 2008. She had the opportunity to attend focused conferences and do research at the Library of Congress. Rebekah says that she would love to go back and spend six months researching there and expand her thesis and article into a book!
Being a new teacher at the time on the first trip to D.C. Rebekah felt it was wonderful to be able to talk to the other participants about not only their research subjects, but also their classroom experience and their contributions to and experiences with their colleges. She says, "It broadened my understanding of roles teachers can play outside of the classroom, and also made me aware that while many of us share the same concerns and frustrations in the classroom, most of us primarily teach at the community college level because we want to contribute to our communities in a meaningful way."
Rebekah would like to thank John Fritz, David Berry and Ned Wilson for their support.
Attached is the CCHA article.