Angelo State history students to display academic posters at Railway Museum
History will be shown in a new way at the Railway Museum of San Angelo.
Students from Angelo State University have created academic posters of the US Reconstruction period from the end of the Civil War in 1865 until 1877. Their work will be revealed Saturday, Dec. 4 at 1 p.m. in the museum at 703 S. Chadbourne.
Dr. Michael Powers, Assistant Professor of History in ASU’s Dr. Arnoldo de León Department of History, assigned the research to upper-level students who chose an event, development, theme, individual or group that interested them. They wrote research papers based on primary sources such as diaries, newspapers and other documents from the past and secondary sources including books and articles produced by academic historians. They used the research paper to create an academic poster that conveys their work in an intriguing way to the wider public.
Dr. Powers said, “The purpose of this assignment is important in several ways. One, it allows students to take charge of their own learning, which is not only more rewarding and memorable, but demonstrates a fuller understanding of their topics. It allows them to become an expert on it. But the purpose of the assignment goes beyond teaching content. It also teaches skills, such as evaluating and comparing sources. This level of critical thinking will be valuable to students in whatever careers they choose after graduation. The assignment also hones written and visual communication skills. Finally, crafting a professional poster is increasingly common in a wide variety of professions and careers.”
Students did research on their projects by partnering with Angelo State’s West Texas Collection with Shannon Sturm, head of special collections and programs. Students had a library research day where Strum demonstrated how to search digital historical databases from the Library of Congress to various Texas institutions.
“Student posters have central questions that form the crux of their research argument and narrative,” Dr. Powers said. “They also contain historical context that grounds their topic in wider developments within the United States and the world. In addition to including their findings, their posters also have engaging pictures, images, and maps to illustrate their research.”
The topics reflect the wide range of seminal events and transformations that occur in the years following the Civil War. From Chinese laborers on the transcontinental railroad, Native American conflicts, and contentious presidential elections, campaigns for civil rights and the white backlash that followed to the ways early professional baseball were part of the changes of industrial capitalism.
The public is invited to the opening of the exhibit at no charge. The exhibit will stay up through February. Dr. Powers plans to have students follow this project with presentations representing the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. The Railway Museum is open every Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission is $3-5, but admission to this opening is made complimentary by a grant from the San Angelo Cultural Affairs Council for the museum’s “Art Aboard” project.
This article originally appeared on San Angelo Standard-Times: Angelo State students to display academic posters at Railway Museum
