Philadelphia Immigration
phillyimmigration.nunncenter.net
Philadelphia Immigration is a collaboration between students in West Chester University’s spring 2018 HIS 480: Digital History, HON 451: Immigration and Digital Storytelling, Professors Janneken Smucker and Charles Hardy, archival partner Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History at the University of Kentucky Libraries, and numerous regional institutions who have generously supported the project.
During an era in which immigration is at the forefront of political and public policy discussions, history is a valuable lens through which we can consider contemporary experiences. This course, which provided opportunities for students to work closely with archival oral history interviews conducted with individuals who immigrated to Philadelphia during the dramatic wave of immigration occurring at the turn of the twentieth century, enabled participants to consider what it means to be an American, the motivations that compel emigrants to leave their home countries, and the ways in which American society has welcomed and rejected immigrants in our midst. Through detailed crafting of interview indexes, curation of exhibits, and production of experimental digital storytelling projects, students examined the experiences of immigrants from 100 years ago, in order to better contemplate the realities facing today’s immigrants.
Note: The above descriptive information came from the organization's About page.
In The News
- New Audio Archive Gives Voice To Philly Immigration History, Hidden City Philadelphia, September 26, 2018.