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Faculty Guide: Integrating Archival Sources into the Curriculum

This Faculty LibGuide is designed to assist faculty in incorporating archival materials and primary sources into their curriculum.

ABOUT ARCHIVES

 

                                        

Members of the Southern University Commercial Education Department visited The People’s Life Insurance Company during their annual tour of businesses in New Orleans, Louisiana, in May 1940.  Accompanying the students are [beginning fourth from the left on the second row] Mr. H. H. Christophe, Secretary-Treasurer of the Company; Miss Samuella V. Totty, Director of the Commercial Department, Southern University; Mr. James Lewis, President of the Company; Miss H. E. Baranco, Instructor of English, Southern University; (first name missing) Laws, Executive Secretary of the New Orleans Urban League; and Mr. G. O., Instructor in the Commercial Department, Southern University.

 

ABOUT

The Southern University Archive, Manuscripts, and Rare Books Department offers faculty unique opportunities to bring history to life within the classroom. By utilizing primary sources—such as letters, photographs, yearbooks, newspapers, rare books, and oral histories—educators can enhance their teaching, promote critical thinking, and connect students to the lived experiences of Southern University and the broader African American community. This LibGuide serves as a comprehensive resource for faculty interested in incorporating archival materials into their curriculum. By integrating these primary sources, diaries, and official documents, instructors can enrich their courses and foster a deeper understanding of historical contexts.

KEY FEATURES

 

  1. Accessing Materials:
  • Explore various pathways to discover and utilize archival collections relevant to your course objectives.
  • Evaluate how effectively students integrate archival evidence into their arguments and analyses.
  1. Assignment Design:
  • Create projects that require students to analyze letters, photographs, manuscripts, or institutional records to support arguments or explore historical contexts.
  • Encourage reflective or comparative exercises, such as connecting archival materials to contemporary issues or course readings.
  1. Classroom Activities:
  • Use digitized collections for in-class analysis or group discussions.
  • Develop “document-based questions” to foster critical thinking and interpretive skills.
  • Incorporate archival case studies as problem-solving exercises.
  1. Collaborative Opportunities:
  • Foster partnerships with archives and special collections to encourage class visits and collaborative projects that engage students with original materials.
  • Develop course content that aligns with learning objectives and promotes scholarly research.
  • Collaborate with archival staff to offer guided tours or hands-on workshops.
  • Additionally, facilitate group projects where students can curate mini-exhibits or digital collections utilizing archival materials.
  1. Research Skills Development:
  • Teach students how to use finding aids, request archival material, and cite properly.
  • Help students identify bias, silences, and gaps in archival collections.
  • Assign students to create mini finding aids or exhibit proposals.
  1. Thematic Integration:
  • Civil Rights & Social Movements – Explore Southern University’s role in local and national struggles.
  • Cultural Heritage & Literature – Pair manuscripts and rare books with literature and history courses.
  • STEM & Industrial Education – Use vocational and agricultural education records in STEM courses.