Voices of Grambling: Immersive Virtual-Reality Experiences

FAIN: ASB-292175-23

Grambling State University (Grambling, LA 71245-2715)
Edward Lawrence Holt (Project Director: October 2022 to present)

A one-year program to create virtual reality experiences highlighting historic moments on Grambling’s campus

Grambling State University’s History Department will create an immersive virtual-reality experience for two moments in Grambling’s history: the 1943 establishment of the largest prisoner-of-war camp in the US and the 1967 student protests. They will record and interpret the history of the African American experience in Northern Louisiana and, in particular, Grambling, both the HBCU and its affiliated Black town. Voices of Grambling: Immersive Virtual-Reality Experiences will address two key objectives for humanities student development: student enrichment and workforce preparation.

Media Coverage

Department of History receives $60,000 NEH ­­grant to create VR experience for Voices of Grambling project (Media Coverage)
Publication: Grambling State News
Date: 5/1/2023
Abstract: University press release of project.
URL: https://www.gram.edu/news/index.php/2023/05/01/department-of-history-receives-60000-neh-grant-to-create-vr-experience-for-voices-of-grambling-project/

Associated Products

The AAUP and Academic Freedom at Grambling (Article)
Title: The AAUP and Academic Freedom at Grambling
Author: Brian McGowan
Author: Edward L Holt
Abstract: The AAUP and Academic Freedom at Grambling
Year: 2024
Primary URL: https://www.aaup.org/article/aaup-and-academic-freedom-grambling
Access Model: Open Access
Format: Magazine
Periodical Title: Academe
Publisher: AAUP

Lift Every Voice: The Urgency of Oral History at a Rural HBCU (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Lift Every Voice: The Urgency of Oral History at a Rural HBCU
Author: Brian McGowan
Author: Edward L Holt
Author: Yanise Days
Abstract: This roundtable will explore findings from the “Voices of Grambling” VR and oral history initiatives at Grambling State University, a rural HBCU. During the pandemic, the daily loss of individuals highlighted the urgent need to preserve local historical memory, especially in marginalized communities. Through a conversation about the development of the federally funded project, this roundtable will shed light on the ways that a small institution has prioritized place-based oral history and its dissemination through podcasts and historically reconstructed digital immersive environments (VR).
Date: 4/12/2024
Primary URL: https://ncph.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2024-Annual-Meeting-Program-Final-Web.pdf
Primary URL Description: Conference Program
Conference Name: National Council on Public History

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