University Archivist David McCartney presented on “Documenting Activism: How the Digital Humanities Can Uncover the History of Protest” at the American Association of University Professors national conference meeting in Washington, D.C., on June 16.

McCartney, who curated the online exhibit “Uptight and Laid-back: Iowa City in the 1960s,” launched in 2016, described how the web site is used as a discovery tool for UI faculty and other scholars from a range of disciplines, including history, rhetoric, journalism, and English. The exhibit is a collaborative project of the Dept. of Special Collections, the Digital Scholarship and Publishing Studio, and members of the UI community. It features content documenting civil rights activism, the anti-war movement, and other political movements of the era.

He co-presented with Stetson University Assistant Dean for Student Affairs/Deputy Title IX Coordinator Tammy Briant, who teaches the course, “Law and the Civil Rights Movement.” The course includes a road trip to several cities in the South each summer where students have an opportunity to meet personally with veterans of the Civil Rights Movement. Her presentation reviewed lessons of the Civil Rights Movement and how they might be applied to current campus advocacy.

The conference included presentations about the First Amendment on campus, the right to protest, academic freedom, and supporting students from diverse backgrounds. This year’s meeting commemorated the 50-year anniversary of adoption of the AAUP Joint Statement of Rights and Freedoms of Students.