Jillian’s Reflection Elizabeth’s Reflection
The American Mosaic is an intense interdisciplinary semester at Dickinson College where the subjects of history, sociology, and English are taught in correlation with independent field study focusing on Steelton, Pennsylvania. The first five weeks of the Spring 2001 semester were spent in the classroom learning history on African Americans, sociology of the Great Migration and Steel industry, and African American literature.
After a brief orientation in oral history interviews and camera operation, the class ventured out into the community. Steelton, almost 3 miles outside of Harrisburg, welcomed the students from Dickinson College in their efforts to capture the life histories of many of its residents.
We would like to thank all of our narrators for generously giving their time and sharing their life stories with us. It was a pleasure meeting all of you and we will not forget this experience. You’re the true inspiration for this project.
We would also like to thank our classmates for an amazing collaboration of work that made these projects possible (not to mention it was truly enjoyable!).
Many thanks to Professors Rogers, Rose, and Seldon, who have guided our research and helped us with any snags we hit along the way. Your constant encouragement made this semester a one of a kind learning experience.
Please email Jillian and Elizabeth with more questions.