Town 'n Gown Living History Project
Submitted by:
Diane G. Smathers, Ed.D.
Description:
In 2005, the Emeritus College received seed money from The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi to conduct a Town 'n Gown Living History Project. The project involves twenty-one Dixon Fellows conducting oral history interviews with over 100 retired faculty and retired community leaders. The final report (.doc) is available here. The purpose is to showcase the concomitant growth, development and interface of a university and a community through written and oral presentation.
This Creative Inquiry proposal is submitted to fund Phases II & III of the Town 'n Gown Living History Project. Specifically, Phase II (2006-2007) will be a content analysis of the transcribed tapes with emphasis on quantifying answers to the interview questions. Are there trends which can be readily identified? Is there a profile of a typical Clemson retiree? How does this profile compare to national norms?
Part III (2007-2008) will be to conduct interviews using the same set of interview questions with Clemson's new hires. Comparisons will then be made and, if appropriate, statistical tests will be run to determine significant differences. Findings will be shared through written and oral presentation. It is expected that the findings can be used in recruitment and in helping to establish a mentoring program for new faculty through the Emeritus College.
Recruitment Procedures:
Students currently involved in the Town 'n Gown project will be given first right of refusal for participation. Students in the project range from freshmen to seniors; therefore, it is expected that project requirements of class participation can be easily met. Many of the students have expressed an interest in continuing the project.
Course Credit:
Currently, the students are enrolled in HIST 200-2 (Fort Hill Internship) on a Pass/Fail basis. This course may be repeated for a maximum of three credits. This project proposes to continue this option unless a student has maxed out the credits, in which case SOC 498 Independent Study would be suggested.
Student Activities:
Phase II -- Students would review over 100 hours of transcribed tapes for the purpose of content analysis. Prior to reviewing the tapes, a two hour session on coding would be conducted to ensure reliability. A coding form would be constructed. If necessary, random tape sampling will be done. Tabulation and reporting would likely use univariate measures although some cross-tabulation with regard to demographic data may be useful.
Phase III -- Students will interview 25-30 new faculty hires (hires within the past 1-2 years) utilizing the same set of interview questions from Phase I. The questions will be posed in the present tense. The interviews will be taped to be transcribed at a later date (Phase IV??). Using their notes, students will write a 5-7 page summary of the interviews and compare and contrast the answers to the questions to the data found through the content analysis in Phase II.
Learning Outcomes:
Students will:
- Learn how to do content analysis
- Utilize appropriate statistical measurements for data analysis
- Hone their interview and writing skills
- Garner an appreciation of research
- Gain a better understanding of age differences and value orientations
- Develop intergenerational relationships
- Contribute to the documentation and preservation of Clemson's history as well as to the success of new faculty hires