Project Description
"Whose Land?" is a podcast and public dialogue project that explores the histories of farming, land and migration between New York and Wisconsin, with an emphasis on land loss and dispossession. Working in collaborative community-scholar-student teams, the project aims to frame discussions around how land practices affect Indigenous, Black, white and Latinx communities today. The goal is to raise consciousness around issues of spatial justice and the racial dimensions of social belonging, facilitating dialogue across the “rural-urban divide,” and envisioning models of reconciliation. Our initial research phases have led to the development of a digital map identifying and telling stories of important sites of BIPOC history and dispossession in Milwaukee. This coming Spring we will continue this work, examining these sites in more depth, collecting land records, exploring the genealogies of historic residents, conducting oral history research, and connecting with past and current community organizations. Four regionally-based field teams are currently working on this project: New York City, Rural New York (Central New York Finger Lakes region), Milwaukee, and Rural Wisconsin (southwestern and central eastern portions of the state). UWM hosts the Milwaukee team.
Tasks and Responsibilites
“Whose Land?” offers many different opportunities for students to gain valuable research experience, including:
*Field work and collaboration with local thought-leaders and community-based organizations doing front line work for racial and social equity.
*Field research in a wide range of possible endeavors including: Oral history, documentary audio and video, family interviews and genealogy, collaborative community-based historical research with local organizations.
*Archival historical research, deep dives into histories of places (including building, land records and deeds investigations)
*Podcast and audio production work.
*Other media production work in video, web design and digital humanities.
Desired Qualifications
None Listed.