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Digital Durham

Digital Durham 3.0: Experiencing the Presence of the Past

Project Lead(s): Trudi Abel, Victoria Szabo

2006present

The Digital Durham archive brings together numerous documents, maps, images, census data, and other primary source materials in a digital form accessible and searchable on the web. This project seeks to activate the archive as a teaching tool and public history resource through the use of annotated maps, multimedia-illustrated essays, and augmented reality tours of the city itself. Students in various Digital Durham related classes over the years have contributed not only to the archive itself, but also to deeper dives into specific research questions about Durham history as localized phenomena of spatial and temporal significance as they relate to race, religion, culture, and economic status. This work is reflected on the site and in online projects. In addition, some of these essays are being translated to augmented reality experiences accessible via mobile device from specific GPS points in the city, an approach that highlights the importance of their physical materiality and experience of the space itself as we reflect upon historical change over time. Through partnerships with local history institutions, libraries, and schools, we are also exploring collaborative approaches to public history-making in various city neighborhoods as well, including the Walltown area adjacent to Duke’s East Campus. This project was part of Bass Connections. Current expansions include georectified historic maps of the city, TEI-encoded letters from the Rubenstein Library’s Charles N. Hunter collection, including the Richard Wright letters, and the development of an interactive digital scrapbook from Hunter’s clippings from the late 19th- and early 20th-century African American press.

Banner Image: Durham, North Carolina: Annexation Map from the Durham (N.C.). Department of Public Works, Publisher. Source: Digital Durham

Current Collaborators

Hannah L. Jacobs
Joel Herndon

Past Collaborators

Brian Norberg
FHI GreaterThanGames Lab