T.J. Braxton
As a Student Historian for the University Archives, I quickly found that my first task was to be the most formidable one. Selecting a topic and research question about the experiences of the underrepresented at UW-Madison was not simple; I knew that a multitude of stories had yet to be told, and the expansiveness of what my research could cover was certainly no help. So, I decided to begin with myself, and my own identity. I am a Black man and African American Studies is one of my majors, so I was very interested in researching UW-Madison’s African American Studies Department. Not only is 2020 the 50-year anniversary of the department, but the courses I had taken and the brilliant professors who had taught them had helped me establish a newfound connection to my Black identity. I knew, however, that the conception of the department had already been researched in-depth, so I figured that I would just look at the department’s archival materials and go from there.
Read more of T.J.’s “Finding my way as a Student Historian“