IC hosts behind-the-scenes conversation with presidential historians
Illinois College will present Behind the Scenes with the Barack Obama Presidential Library as part of its award-winning Conversation with a Curator series on Monday, March 16, at 6:30 p.m.
The interactive, multimedia presentation will be held on IC’s campus in the Dunham Auditorium in Crispin Hall and is free and open to the community.
Public historians from the Barack Obama Presidential Library will engage the audience, sharing their unique insight and experience gained from developing what will be the first fully digital presidential library. Jenny Barker-Devine, associate professor of history and chair of the department, said that the presentation will appeal to those interested in learning about modern public history. Since fall 2017, IC has offered a history degree specifically focused on preparing students for the field.
“We are thrilled that our students will enjoy this opportunity to learn about the process of creating a new presidential library, from professionals working on the cutting edge of archives and preservation. This brings together so many fields, from history and political science to communications and computer science, offering a first hand look at the value of a liberal arts education."
The Barack Obama Presidential Library will be the 14th presidential library administered by the National Archives and Records Administration. An estimated 95% of presidential records from the Obama administration were born digitally, including photos, videos, tweets, emails. A team is working to digitize the remaining presidential records to create a digital archive.
The Conversation with a Curator series is organized by the Paul Findley Congressional Office Museum and the Department of History, Philosophy, Political Science, & Religion at Illinois College. All Illinois College students in attendance may receive convocation credit.
For more information about this program, contact Samantha Sauer, assistant professor of history, archivist, and curator of the Paul Findley Congressional Museum at 217.245.3595 or samantha.sauer@ic.edu.