History Students at Student Showcase

The 2022 Celebration of Student Academic Excellence Poster Presentations was held on April 27, 2022 at the Alumni Arena. Two History students presented their Honors Theses:

Russel Bassarath

"THE BACKBONE OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT: THE CONTRIBUTIONS AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE WOMEN'S POLITICAL COUNCIL OF MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA, THROUGHOUT THE 1950s"

My project is centered around the Women's Political Council of Montgomery, Alabama and their contributions to the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s. Historians often cover the Civil Rights movement predominately through the life work of African American men, such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. The Women's Political Council of Montgomery challenged this ideology, as this organization of African American women remained vital to the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955-1956. The material that I focus on identifies experiences that are unique to black women in the 1950s, as they dealt with gender, class, and race based discrimination. My project traces how the powerful black women of the Women's Political Council of Montgomery came to influence societal change and orchestrate the Montgomery Bus Boycott. These women sacrificed personal glory and media coverage to ensure the longevity and success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott movement. 

Danielle Redfield

"A HEARING PERSPECTIVE ON THE DEAF WORLD: EFFECTS OF ORALISM & ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL"

A historical analysis of Alexander Graham Bell and the practice of oralism in North America. Oralism seeks to minimize the use of sign language in Deaf education and instead focuses on articulation and lip reading. Looking from the late nineteenth century throughout the twentieth century, studying how oralism has effected generations of Deaf people, most chiefly through language deprivation. Deaf education was dominated by oralism for nearly one hundred years, having lasting impacts on the Deaf community still felt today.