Miami Studies: Building a New Interdisciplinary Public Humanities Program

FAIN: AC-277755-21

Florida International University Board of Trustees (Miami, FL 33199-2516)
Julio Capó (Project Director: July 2020 to present)

A two-year project to create a new, interdisciplinary undergraduate program in Miami Studies.

The Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab (WPHL) at Florida International University (FIU) seeks to create a new, rigorous program in Miami Studies that is particularly attentive to the unique skills our diverse student body currently possesses or needs to sharpen to be successful in today’s job market. This project proposes the creation of a series of new courses or modules that are critically integrated to FIU’s Office of Micro-Credential Initiatives, housed within the Division of Academic & Student Affairs, to build a sustained skills-based program for our students that is centered on the study of history literature, culture, language, art, architecture, politics, and overall humanistic experience of the diverse people of the Greater Miami area, a minority-majority region whose demographics are mirrored in the student population at FIU.

Associated Products

Miami Studies Symposium (Conference/Institute/Seminar)
Title: Miami Studies Symposium
Author: Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab at Florida International University
Abstract: Day-long program in Miami Studies featuring music, exhibitions, local food, roundtables and panels, and more. It was hosted at our community partner site, the Historic Hampton House, a Jim Crow-era Black motel and entertainment venue that now serves as a museum and community space.
Date Range: March 5, 2022
Location: Historic Hampton House (Miami, FL)
Primary URL: http://https://wphl.fiu.edu/community-storytelling/miami-studies-program/inaugural-miami-studies-symposium/index.html

Why We Need a Miami School of Urbanism (Article)
Title: Why We Need a Miami School of Urbanism
Author: Julio Capó Jr. and Rebecca Friedman
Abstract: This article details the need for a Miami school of urbanism that critically engages the transcultural and transnational experiences of race, ethnicity, nationality, and class of the region. It argues that Miami represents a paradigm in changing urban demographics and growth more generally, as it mirrors an increase in foreign-born and immigrant-descended people, albeit in distinct and site-specific ways. To this end, it suggests that Miami could be understood as heir-apparent to Los Angeles and the post-World War II “Sunbelt” ascendancy of urbanism.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: http://https://themetropole.blog/2021/03/31/why-we-need-a-miami-school-of-urbanism/
Access Model: Open access
Format: Other
Periodical Title: The Metropole
Publisher: The Metropole (Urban History Association)

Miami Studies: Unpacking & Curating Stories from the Past (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Miami Studies: Unpacking & Curating Stories from the Past
Author: Julio Capó Jr. and Rebecca Friedman
Abstract: This interdisciplinary honors seminar focuses on what we call “Miami Studies,” a field of inquiry and urban studies that centers Miami and its many surrounding communities, cultures, and histories. Miami is one of the most important cities in the United States and the Americas. Yet its history, culture, politics, and overall meaning are still largely caricatured through myth, stigma, and hyperbole, all of which are deeply rooted in the region’s layered past and relationship to colonial processes and empire. Although the region and the millions of people who reside in and traverse it every year remain woefully understudied and misunderstood, community and grassroots efforts have long created, fostered, and studied local knowledges that serve as a corrective to this broader national narrative that has marginalized and underscored Miami as a site of significant cultural and intellectual inquiry and impact. This course will ask you to dig deeper into Miami’s past by not only unpacking its difficult and untold histories, but also by inviting you to learn through immersive experiences, particularly through visits to museums, historic sites, archives, and cultural institutions. Visits tentatively include the Historic Hampton House, the Black Archives, HistoryMiami Museum, and the Museum of Graffiti. We will also benefit from lectures and workshops with practitioners and curators.
Year: 2021
Audience: Undergraduate

Making Miami's History and Present More Accessible (Article)
Title: Making Miami's History and Present More Accessible
Author: Katie L. Coldiron
Author: Julio Capo, Jr.
Abstract: This is a work-in-progress report of Miami Studies, a curricular, research, and collections-focused initiative housed at the Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab (WPHL) at Florida International University (FIU). Miami Studies represents a unique approach to Latina/o/x studies in the Greater Miami region and at one of the country's largest Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI). The rationale, framework, and historical context for a Miami Studies school of urbanism are described in detail. This is followed by an explanation of the WPHL’s digitally focused initiatives: the digitization of a now-defunct newspaper titled Miami Life and the Mellon Foundation-funded Community Data Curation post-custodial project. Also referenced is the Díaz Ayala Collection of Cuban and Latin American Popular Music, housed at FIU Libraries.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/367437877_Making_Miami%27s_History_and_Present_More_Accessible
Access Model: open access
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: The International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion
Publisher: The International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion

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