Exploring The Backroads: Public History with Jessica Hanson

I've had my first week teaching again. The new country commute is beautiful. Wandered into town a day or two before beginning last week to do some last minute lesson planning. I'm having my students do a genealogical research project. I am allowing them to choose between three cemeteries. The first is called Maplewood Cemetery (35.35,-86.21); within that graveyard, there is a special monument/ section dedicated to (407 specifically now known) Confederate soldiers. They were buried there either after dying on the fields of Civil War battle, in one of the hospitals established when Tullahoma (TN) was headquarters for the army of Tennessee during the first six months of 1863 (following the battle of Murfreesboro and preceding the withdrawal of the army to Chattanooga), or were re-interred. Originally, more than 500 southern soldiers were simply buried with wooden headboards, but soon all vestiges of individual markers were lost in what essentially became a mass grave. In...

For the English 1010 courses I'm teaching this semester, I've asked my students to write a (4-6) page research and exemplification paper. It is about detailing the importance of remembering events, people, historical places, etc...  I am a nerd and as my boyfriend, family, friends, students, and some co-workers can even tell you, if I see some historical landmark or a plaque/ sign even hinting at a nearby location, I will definitely make it a point to go on a trek or even an "adventure" to find it. This probably came about because my mom MADE me stop and read every single sign at museums! She didn't want me to do anything without getting something out of it, learning (if you will). Many people do things "nowadays" <<<I'm sounding old...because they have to (for work or a school assignment) or for entertainment. Rarely do people do EXTRA things in their already jam-packed schedules to learn. I want to encourage my students to always do t...