"Memories of Publics, Publicness of Memory"

Communication Studies scholars, among others, differentiate between history and memory. As scholar Kendall Phillips (2004) puts it:

"History, with its apparent claims to accuracy and objectivity is 
viewed as implying a singular and authentic account of the past. 
 Memory, on the other hand, is conceived in terms of multiple, diverse, mutable, 
and competing accounts of past events." 

This line of scholarship encourages us to think about how, especially at key sites or in moments like anniversary years, we remember together, as a public, and how each of our individual memories contributes to an overall narrative of a shared past. Rather than claiming a "right" or "wrong" memory, public memory studies collects all these accounts, despite differences in detail or inflection, to better grasp the meaning of past events. 

With these thoughts in mind, seniors in the Department of Communication Studies during 2013 used their Capstone Projects to investigate the events leading to the successful desegregation of The University of Alabama. Their projects, shared here, address a wide array of topics related to race at UA, from the day Autherine Lucy stepped on campus in 1956, to the student activism of 2013 to integrate sororities. It was a thrill to guide these projects over the course of class.

Beginning with this slideshow of key images of UA's desegregation, enjoy your "tour" of this vital case of public memory! 

- Dr. Meredith M. Bagley

Images of the Schoolhouse