Investigating the Old 7th Ward
- Amy Hillier
- College of Arts & Sciences
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First-Year Seminar Grant
The great scholar and civil rights leader, W.E.B. Du Bois, came to Philadelphia in 1896 to research the Black population of the Seventh Ward. The University of Pennsylvania published his study in 1899 as The Philadelphia Negro. Together, we will study the impact of Du Bois’ work and the relevance to understanding racism, violence, and inequity in Philadelphia today. Taking inspiration from Du Bois’ mixture of research methods and data sources, the course will focus on a range of historical research and digital humanities methods, including oral history, geographic information systems mapping, podcasts, and video. Students will develop new materials for teaching about Du Bois and the Old Seventh Ward and support Philadelphia public school teachers developing and implementing related lessons in K-12 schools.