In a new article from the College of Letters & Science, Professor Sarah Thal and UW students are featured for their work on Wisconsin 101: Our History in Objects. Wisconsin 101 is a website and public history initiative that brings together the Department of History, the Wisconsin Historical Society, and Wisconsin Public Radio to raise awareness about the ways our state’s history ties us all together. Students and members of the public are able to propose, research, and write about the history of an object and how it melds into the larger story of Wisconsin as a state. Wisconsin 101 staff are able to assist by vetting proposals and providing knowledgeable feedback on the research and writing process. Objects eventually make it onto the Wisconsin 101 website, a sort of crowdsourced digital museum, which serves as repository for fascinating histories such as that of the game Dungeons & Dragons. Several of the object writeups on the site have been converted into stories that have been broadcast as part of Wisconsin Public Radio’s Wisconsin Life series.
Today, the project continues to reach new audiences and generate knowledge as co-directors Professor Sarah Thal and Professor Emeritus Tom Broman work with Managing Editor Cortney Anderson Kramer and a group of student interns to uncover more object histories. Read more about Wisconsin 101 here.