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The power of an archive to elevate an underrepresented community cannot be overstated. Since the early 1990s, Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage Program ("Recovery") under Arte Público Press at the University of Houston has focused on collecting and making accessible the written legacy of Hispanic and Latino peoples from colonial times to the late 20th century. In 2017, this effort to expand the historical record of the US took new form with the establishment of the US Latino Digital Humanities Center (USLDH), the first of its kind in the country.

In Part I of this episode recorded in Fall 2023, Dr. Gabriela Baeza Ventura (Deputy Director for Arte Público; "Recovery" Director; USLDH Co-Director; Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies), Dr. Carolina Villarroel ("Recovery" Brown Foundation Director of Research and Co-Director of USLDH), and Dr. Lorena Gauthereau ("Recovery" Digital Programs Manager) discuss the deep community connections and trust fostered by their approach to the digital archive. Their insistence on sharing authority and inquiry with the people donating material breaks down academic barriers, while the respect they give to each item digitized - including adding bilingual metadata - increases accessibility and representation.

In Part II of this episode recorded in Fall 2024, we get to hear about the efficacy of this practice through the experience of three student interns (Monica Jiminez, Natalia Siboldi, and Yadira Hermosillo), who helped process one family’s archive - the Morales Funeral collection. An introduction to their work is provided by Mikaela Selley, CPH alum and "Recovery" Program Manager.

For more on the amazing work of "Recovery" and USLDH, check out the embedded links above.

See also the written publications of these scholars, including:
Baeza Ventura, Gabriela, María Eugenia Cotera, Linda García Merchant, Lorena Gauthereau, and Carolina Villarroel. "A U.S. Latinx Digital Humanities Manifesto" in Debates in the Digital Humanities 2023. Edited by Matthew K. Gold and Lauren F. Klein, 2023.

Baeza Ventura, Gabriela, Nicolás Kanellos and Carolina Villarroel. “Twenty-Five Years of Recovering Our Written Legacy” in Writing/Righting History: Twenty-Five Years of Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage. Edited by Antonia Castañeda and Clara Lomas. Houston, Arte Público Press, 2020, 5-18.

Transition music: "Por Medio De La Lectura" by Los Amparito. CC BY-NC-SA 2.5 MX.

The Center for Public History at the University of Houston. https://uh.edu/class/cph

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A historian and two engineers walk into a conference….

Rather than the start to a joke, this is a core component of the project, "Algorithms and Power Systems Architecture: Using Historical Analysis to Envision a Sustainable Future.” Led by Dr. Julie Cohn, a research historian (Center for Public History, University of Houston), and two electrical engineers, Dr. Daniel Molzahn (Assistant Professor in the School of Electorical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Tech) and Dr. Sairaj Dhople (Oscar A. Schott Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Minnesota), this interdisciplinary team is united by a shared vision that building the power grid of the future depends on a thorough understanding of the past and the people and ideas behind the technology. In their conversation recorded in January 2024, Drs. Cohn, Molzahn, and Dhople discuss one portion of the project: collecting oral histories from academic and industry leaders in electrical and power systems engineering. From the inclusiveness of their methodology to the enthusiastic response of the engineering community, it is evident how productive these kinds of partnerships between the humanities and STEM can be.

Check out the project: https://sites.google.com/view/power-systems-history/home

Learn more about the project leads:
Dr. Julie Cohn - The Grid: Biography of an American Technology (MIT Press, 2017)
Dr. Daniel Molzahn - https://molzahn.github.io
Dr. Sairaj Dhople - https://cse.umn.edu/ece/sairaj-dhople

The Center for Public History at the University of Houston. https://uh.edu/class/cph

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Latino cARTographies is an interactive digital archive and exhibition reimagining Houston through an inclusive vision of Latino art, artists, and community. This project was developed out of the University of Houston’s Center for Mexican American and Latino/a Studies (CMALS) as the brain child of Dr. Pamela Anne Quiroz (Distinguished Professor of Sociology, University of Houston). After hosting the 2019 Latino Art Now! - a national visual arts conference - Quiroz joined with Juana Guzman (former vice president of the National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago) to preserve this experience, art, and culture for a wide public audience. Using TouchCity™ technology developed by Gibson International, Quiroz, Guzman, and a research team of faculty and students gathered hundreds of hours of data and 2,000 images related to 250 Latino artists, 80 landmarks, 17 arts organizations, and other important sites within Houston’s Latino communities. As mobile digital boards, public audiences can now experience Latino cARTographies throughout the city of Houston, at Bush Intercontinental and Hobby Airports, The Heritage Society, Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts (MECA), the Mexican Consulate, and Art Museum, TX.

In Spring 2023, the team took the digital board to a new level with an immersive, cinematic event. A selection of artists and organizations were integrated with music and animations and then projected on walls 20-feet tall for a 270-degree wraparound experience. A few days later, Quiroz and Guzman sat down to talk with Dr. Debbie Harwell in the CMALS office, reflecting on the three-year project, audience reception, and plans for the future.

To learn more about Latino cARTographies, see their official page through the Center for Mexican American and Latino/a Studies: https://www.uh.edu/class/cmals/latino-cartographies/index

On the TouchCity™ platform, see Gibson International's webpage: https://www.gibsoninternational.design/portfolio/latino-cartographies/

The Center for Public History at the University of Houston. https://uh.edu/class/cph

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In an increasingly digitized world, public historians have new opportunities to reach wider audiences than ever before. However, translating our work online for and with public audiences requires more than simply uploading essays and images.

In this conversation among the directors of SYRIOS (recorded Fall 2023), we learn how a digital exhibit devoted to ancient coins from Syria experiments with new technologies and techniques from data science and digital media. Specifically, SYRIOS draws upon user experience (UX) research to enlist public audiences in the full process of creating an online exhibit. Drs. Kristina Neumann (Associate Professor of History), Peggy Lindner (Assistant Professor of Information and Logistics Technology), and Liz Rodwell (Assistant Professor of Digital Media) discuss how the success of a digital project hinges upon UX, from imagining users through personas, enlisting testers for new concepts, and intentionally making space for even the most surprising feedback from public audiences of all ages.

Check out the prototype digital exhibit for SYRIOS: https://syrios.uh.edu/

The Center for Public History at the University of Houston. https://uh.edu/class/cph

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Over the course of the 20th century, Houston evolved into a global city as immigrants from across the world came to call the city home. In this special supplement, undergraduate students from the University of Houston explore Houston’s undertold immigrant stories. Together, they reveal a range of experiences that uncover often overlooked textures of the city.

In this episode, students recount the lives of Jewish-Latin Americans who settled in 1960s and 1970s Houston. These immigrants belong to two ethnic groups, and while building a life in their new homes, they created a new community of their own.

How did a meeting between the dictator Fidel Castro and a Houston congressman, Mickey Leland, help a young, Jewish prisoner in a labor camp become a successful doctor in Miami? Listen now for the story of Salomon Imiak.

This episode was written and recorded by Devin Herrera, Nicole Hopkins, Christian Dodd, and Charis Wu as part of HIST 3317: Making of Ethnic America (Spring 2023).

The oral history with Salomon Imiak was recorded by Dr. Mark Goldberg (Associate Professor of History, University of Houston).

Music courtesy of:
freesound.org
por el camino by Connie Mendez. Attribution NonCommercial 4.0.

https://freemusicarchive.org/home
The Devil's Dance by Cuban Cowboys. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0.
Come Again by Holizna. CC0 1.0.
le manège pour les Antilles by Jean Toba. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Funk and Flash by Blue Dot Sessions. CC BY-NC 4.0.
Sadness by Gurdonark. CC BY 3.0.
Thoughts by Gurdonark. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Stereo Funk by M33 Project. CC BY-NC 4.0.

The Center for Public History at the University of Houston. https://uh.edu/class/cph

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Over the course of the 20th century, Houston evolved into a global city as immigrants from across the world came to call the city home. In this special supplement, undergraduate students from the University of Houston explore Houston’s undertold immigrant stories. Together, they reveal a range of experiences that uncover often overlooked textures of the city.

In this episode, students recount the lives of Jewish-Latin Americans who settled in 1960s and 1970s Houston. These immigrants belong to two ethnic groups, and while building a life in their new homes, they created a new community of their own. Listen now for the story of Sara Esquenazi, a Cuban immigrant to Houston.

This episode was written and recorded by Chloe Levy, Jenna Goodrich, Jesus Tobar, and Preston Parkhurst as part of HIST 3317: Making of Ethnic America (Spring 2023).

The oral history with Sara Esquenazi was recorded by Dr. Mark Goldberg (Associate Professor of History, University of Houston).

Music courtesy of:

https://freepd.com/

https://freemusicarchive.org/home

“Sunset Soul” by Ketsa. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Deed.

“Cuban Heat” by John Bartmann. CC0 1.0 Deed.

“La vieja” by Las Sirenas del Son. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Deed.

“Vida” by Lido Pimienta. CC BY-NC 2.0 CL Deed.

“Nyghtlon. Classical Guitar Solo” by M33 Project. CC BY-NC 4.0 Deed.

“Vino Tinto” by Serge Quadrado. CC BY-NC 4.0 Deed.

“Worth Fighting For” by Independent Music Licensing Collective. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Deed.

The Center for Public History at the University of Houston. https://uh.edu/class/cph

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Over the course of the 20th century, Houston evolved into a global city as immigrants from across the world came to call the city home. In this special supplement, undergraduate students from the University of Houston explore Houston’s undertold immigrant stories. Together, they reveal a range of experiences that uncover often overlooked textures of the city.

In this episode, students recount the lives of Jewish-Latin Americans who settled in 1960s and 1970s Houston. These immigrants belong to two ethnic groups, and while building a life in their new homes, they created a new community of their own. Listen now for the story of Enrique Kuperman, a Chilean immigrant who founded Hebraica Houston to serve the Latino-American Jewish community within the city.

This episode was written and recorded by Sophia Le, Alena Aguilar, and Luis Zuluaga as part of HIST 3317: Making of Ethnic America (Spring 2023).

The oral history with Enrique Kuperman was recorded by Dr. Mark Goldberg (Associate Professor of History, University of Houston).

Music courtesy of:

https://freepd.com/
https://freemusicarchive.org/home

“Dancing in the Fields” by One Man Book. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED

“El Elyon” by Psalters. Public Domain.

“The Father, The Son, and the Harold Rubin” by Ehran Elisha, Harold Rubin and Him Elisha. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 DEED

“Zemer Atik” by The Rosen Sisters. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED

The Center for Public History at the University of Houston. https://uh.edu/class/cph

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In Spring 2022, Dr. Mark Goldberg (Associate Professor of History, University of Houston) decided to try something new with his undergraduate history course. As a way of enriching his students’ engagement with Jewish Latinx culture, Goldberg partnered with Holocaust Museum Houston to guide his class through the recording and archiving of six interviews with members of this community. A year later on November 28, 2023, Goldberg sat down with one of his undergrads, Miranda Ruzinsky, to reflect on the intellectual and personal impact of their participation in the Sephardic Latinx Oral History Project. Their conversation demonstrates how revelatory an experience practicing public history can be for undergraduates - from learning how to actively listen when conducting an oral history to being part of building an archive of a hidden community to collectively presenting these living stories to a public audience.

To access the Sephardic Latinx Oral History Project: https://hmh.org/education/sephardic-latinx-oral-history-project/

To read more about student engagement in this project: https://www.uh.edu/provost/university/qep/sephardic-latinx-oral-history-project/

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/article/UH-students-worked-in-revolutionary-project-17131856.php

The Center for Public History at the University of Houston. https://uh.edu/class/cph