Greetings from the Center for Campus History! Happy end of the school year and congratulations to all you new graduates! For May’s newsletter we have new Center resources, student updates, movie and book recommendations, and more!

The University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Rebecca M. Blank Center For Campus History is an ongoing effort to expand and enrich UW-Madison’s historical narrative by centering the voices, experiences, and struggles of marginalized groups. As always, if you have a story to share, an event you think should be researched, or a person you think has been overlooked, please email us at centerforcampushistory@wisc.edu.   

Speaking of graduates, we are beyond excited to share that two of the Center’s longtime student researchers, Peyton Prohuska and Andrea Linsmeier, donned caps and gowns this month! Peyton completed her undergraduate degree in Art History with a focus on Arabic art and architecture, while Andrea wrapped up her graduate program in Library and Information Studies. We’re incredibly grateful for all the work Peyton and Andrea contributed to the Center and we can’t wait to see what they do next!

Have you ever wondered how UW students worked to keep each other safe before the advent of ride hailing or location tracking apps? What about the history of divestment activism on campus? Or, more specifically, are you an instructor looking for resources to help teach those topics to your students? Well you’re in luck!

We have two hot and fresh CCH teaching guides to share: one on the history of the Women’s Transit Authority, a student volunteer run ride sharing service founded in the 1970s; and the other exploring how student activists have carried out divestment efforts over the decades. 

As always, Center teaching guides are free to access for instructors or anyone else who’s interested. You can find a full collection here.

Each month, we like to share one of the many (many… many… ) books that have helped the Center’s research. This month we’re recommending Starving the Dream: Student Hunger and the Hidden Costs of Campus Affluence. 

Using case-study research and interviews, coauthors Nathan F. Alleman, Cara Cliburn Allen, and Sarah E. Madsen shed light on the hidden issue of food insecurity at America’s most selective universities.

The book reveals how many low-income students work to earn admittance to prestigious institutions only to face inconsistent access to basic needs even within environments of plenty. 

Each month Center Director Kacie Lucchini Butcher will share a book, podcast, movie, quote, or something else she thinks has been adding to the CCH. We're calling it "From The Desk of KLB".

This month From the Desk of KLB, both Kacie and CCH Assistant Director Taylor Bailey are enthusiastically recommending the genre-bending horror musical Sinners from writer/director Ryan Coogler. Not only does it feature Michael B. Jordan playing twin brothers battling supernatural evil, it also provides a layered depiction of the complexities of Black life in the Jim Crow era South.

If you’re a history nerd who’d like to dive in to the latter, take a look at this teaching guide inspired by the film from the African American Intellectual History Society.