On November 28, 2018, students in Dr. Sundberg’s HIS/EVS488 course “Global Environmental History: Finding the Anthropocene,” presented their research. Presentations took place in the Truhlson Lecture Hall at the Durham Museum in Omaha, Nebraska. Student presentations consisted
of short, 3 minute introductions to their final projects, which linked objects from the Durham’s collections to the history of Omaha and to processes of global environmental change.
Students prepared their remarks in the weeks prior to the Thanksgiving break. The day before their lecture, they gathered at the Durham for a trial run. Several students acknowledged their nervousness about speaking in such a public venue to both their peers and the broader public, and many agreed that the trial helped prepare them for the event the following day.
“Omaha in the Anthropocene” was well attended, with over 80 people from Creighton and the broader community attending. Following their short lectures, students gathered on stage and fielded questions in an open format from the audience. Several audience members expressed how impressed they were with the research and speaking afterwards. One audience member had even visited Potosí, Bolivia (a subject of one group’s work) and enjoyed relaying his trip to the students afterwards.
Students in the course overwhelmingly agreed that working with the Durham added significant value to their experience in the course. Although writing a lecture script, preparing slides, and practicing their speeches added considerable time to the project, several commented that it was one of the highlights of their semester. This lecture was part of the Durham’s new Community Classroom Initiative. We hope thattThe success of this, the Durham’s first public collaborative lecture, yields many more similar opportunities in the future.
For a closer look at the content of the presentation, see the powerpoint below.
