Introduction: The Historical Sources Guiding this Course
The Historical Sources that Guide this Course
The modules for this course reference the work of many historians. Perhaps most notable is the work of William Powell, considered to be a leading historian of North Carolina. Over the course of his career, Powell was instrumental in the development of the North Carolina collection at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (see: https://library.unc.edu/wilson/ncc/ Links to an external site.). He also wrote some of the best known histories of North Carolina, including North Carolina through Four Centuries, North Carolina: A History, the Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, the Encyclopedia of North Carolina and textbooks for school children. Powell’s comprehensive approach to North Carolina provides detailed accounts of people and events that shaped the history of the state.
His work has been updated by contemporary histories, including Milton Ready’s The Tarheel State: A History of North Carolina, Butler and Watson’s (1984) The North Carolina Experience: An Interpretive and Documentary History and Tise and Crow’s (2017) New Voyages to Carolina: Reinterpreting North Carolina History. These histories include more details about the variety of experiences of people living in North Carolina and how the unique political, geographical, and social contexts of the state shaped those experiences. By learning from traditionally underrepresented voices, students can develop a more thorough understanding of the historical past. The content of this course will demonstrate both the variation in experiences and the events and themes that help to define the people of North Carolina as a group.
In addition to consulting text-based resources, this course relies on the State Library of North Carolina’s ANCHOR: A North Carolina History Online Resource and other secondary and primary sources curated by NC Pedia. The ANCHOR text originated from the work of Learn NC and their digital history textbook project which is no longer supported. Due to NC Pedia’s partnership with the state archives and the NC Museum of History, we can provide teachers and students with high quality reference materials that are updated and maintained regularly.
References:
ANCHOR: A North Carolina History Online Resource Links to an external site..
Butler, Lindley S., & Watson, Alan D. (1984). The North Carolina Experience: An Interpretive and Documentary History. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press.
NCpedia Links to an external site.
Powell, William S. (1988). North Carolina: A History. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press.
Tise, Larry E., & Crow, Jeffrey J. (2017). New Voyages to Carolina: Reinterpreting North Carolina History. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press.
Additional Resources:
William Powell Links to an external site.
The State of Things Podcast “Reinterpreting North Carolina’s History” Links to an external site. Links to an external site. Links to an external site.
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