Home > Highlighting Inequity and Identity in History

Highlighting Inequity and Identity in History

Welcome to Highlighting Inequity and Identity in History!

The mission of these exhibits is to highlight a small portion of the battles for social equity and the exploration of marginalized identities that are hidden in our on-campus archives. Events that played pivotal roles in social and political movements have been well-documented in the archives and libraries located at the University of Texas at Austin. For many reasons, many of these conflicts have been hidden from the public eye. We have set out to shine a spotlight on these social inequities within the university's archival collections to tell some stories about these previously underrepresented narratives.

About This Project

This online digital archive was created by the 2019 students of Dr. Elon Lang's LAH/HMN350 course, Treasure Hunt in Campus Archives: Giving Voice to Hidden Histories. In this class, students engaged in direct archival research with collections related to social justice at the University of Texas at Austin's Harry Ransom Center, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, and LLILAS Benson Latin American Collection. Students learned about the theoretical approaches to archiving, as well as the role of archives as active cultural heritage institutions. The interrelated Omeka exhibits are part of the students' collaborative capstone projects, which in 2019 also included revamping and building upon the work of the previous year's class. This site aims to showcase some of the University's lesser-known archival holdings and to contextualize the archival material with research the students conducted in the University's libraries.