by Megan Fogarty, MUDEC student
Students in 'World History Since 1945' (HST296) had the unique opportunity to read through past MUDEC archives to learn more about those who have come before them. Housed in the upstairs Student Mezzanine, these archives include past field trip itineraries, receipts, tickets, photographs, letters and more. Some of these documents date back to 1972.
History professor Dr. Elena Albarrán organized these archives by category and date, and then set up a database for her students to use for projects. Students can review varying types of documents such as old newsletter copies, past scholarship records, student-written reflections, itineraries and receipts.
HST296 students used these documents for their final paper, which was an analysis of past travellers. The archives provide insight into the activities of previous MUDEC students. Even though records were from 30-50 years ago, many students found hints of their own experiences sprinkled throughout.
The archives also offered interesting historical information. For example, many of the archives included records of the Berlin Wall. Students could read first hand accounts of the division, fall, and unification of the Wall, as well as looking through past yearbooks for photographs of these events.
These archives will continue to grow as Dr. Albarrán works on digitizing and organizing additional records. She is even adding her own paper receipts, photographs and itineraries from her HST296 class field trip to Schengen a few weeks ago.
