About Us

The Asheville Digital History Working Group is comprised of student interns and faculty in the UNC-Asheville History department, and receives our direction and support from Jim Samsel.

Asheville Digital History Working Group Vision and Goals

  1. Long-term vision (5 + years)
    1. People will have a more inclusive sense of history 
    2. Community building and community involvement (have them help to write the history, let them decide what should be in the story)
    3. Local history will be more accessible
  2. Long-Term Goals (Specific kinds of projects)
    1. Video project 
    2. App for self-guided tour
    3. Overarching website that could act as a hub/bring smaller projects together in one space. 
  3. Short-term vision (1-3 years)
    1. Have our community group help to frame the community history
    2. How do we make these projects more visible/How do we get these projects “out into the community?”
  4. Short-Term Goals:
    1. Involve AVL/BC schools/students in our efforts
      1. If we get students involved, that would help root the projects in the family/church/neighborhood, thus increasing community involvement.
        1. Need to bring Tiece Ruffin into the project, as she has important connections, and her intro to education class would fit well into this project.
    2. Create a website to display Brooke’s database work (can build on this in the future) 
      1. Gene recommended that we consider an NHPRC grant to plan/implement a website on which we can build some of these materials.
    3. Other digital projects that could fit into an expanded website/digital platform
      1. Af-Am women — mapping project? Blake Esselstyn has expressed interest in doing GIS work — so how about mapping projects? Redlining, other mapping projects. Perhaps he would be interested in working on a project that maps Black women’s lives?
      2. Downtown businesses — much of the research has been done/materials out there to produce some good digital resources.
      3. Redlining/urban renewal