Project Directors
Anne Mitchell Whisnant is the instructor for History 671. She is Deputy Secretary of the Faculty and Adjunct Associate Professor of History and American Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill. Her teaching, research, consulting, and writing focus on public history, digital history, and the history of the U.S. National Parks. In 2006, UNC Press published her book, Super-Scenic Motorway: A Blue Ridge Parkway History. Anne has also been the co-principal historian on several National Park Service projects including an administrative history of De Soto National Memorial and a Historic Resource Study of Cape Lookout National Seashore. Most recently, Anne chaired a task force commissioned by the Organization of American Historians and the National Park Service to study the state of historical practice within the Park Service. Its report, Imperiled Promise: The State of History in the National Park Service, was published in 2012. At UNC, Anne serves as adviser for Driving Through Time: The Digital Blue Ridge Parkway, a digital history collection being developed collaboratively with the UNC Libraries.
Pam Lach is the Lab Manager for the Digital Innovation Lab at UNC-Chapel Hill and served as Project Manager for the Unbuilt Parkway exhibit. She holds a MS in Information Science from the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She has a Ph.D. from UNC in U.S. Cultural History with an emphasis on gender and film history. Pam is interested in how new and emerging technologies can support and redefine scholarship in the humanities and hopes to bridge the divide between technology and humanists. Among her many duties, she is DH Press Project Manager.
American Studies 850 (Digital Humanities Practicum) Graduate Consultants
Born and raised North Carolina, Sandra Davidson received her B.A. from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. After graduating she founded Living Narratives, a company that helped businesses, families, and organizations document and preserve their history and impact through oral histories and personal narratives. Throughout 2011 and 2012, Sandra worked as an oral history consultant to the African American Museum of Iowa and helped collect and produce oral history interviews for the museum’s 2012 Only One exhibit. She moved back to North Carolina in 2013 to begin the M.A. in Folklore at UNC. She believes personal stories can change perspectives and is interested in exploring the potential of Folklore in the arena of public health, education, and social justice.
Ryan Johnson
History 671 (Introduction to Public History) Project Team
The research, writing, and map marker point development for the Unbuilt Blue Ridge Parkway was carried out by fifteen students in the Fall 2013 version of Introduction to Public History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The following students have given permission to publish their names and biographies:
Will Campbell is a lacrosse student-athlete at UNC-Chapel Hill majoring in history. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Will is university-wide sponsor and spokesperson for the Match-4-Kim organization designed to increase awareness and donor registration for the National Marrow Donor Program. He is also a Campbell Family Charitable Foundation Board of Directors member and spokesman for the annual memorial scholarship. Will partook in the design of the Georgia Extension exhibit of the “Unbuilt Blue Ridge Parkway” project.
Abigail Cooksey studies history and American studies at UNC-Chapel Hill. Before taking this class, she previously interned in the public history field at the Levine Museum of the New South in Charlotte, NC and Preservation Chapel Hill. Abigail is passionate about history education and would like to work as a history teacher or in the field of public history after her graduation. She has relished the opportunity to do archival research as well as actual exhibit design when creating “The Unbuilt Doughton Park” in HIST 671.
Jacob Harwood is a senior Peace, War, and Defense major at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is from Madison County, NC and has a strong interest in the history of the Parkway as well as Appalachian History. It was interesting for him to increase his knowledge of Public History through this course. Jacob enjoyed being able to research “Americana Village” and design that exhibit in the “Unbuilt Blue Ridge Parkway” project.
Meagan Matysek is a senior Communications Studies and Political Science double major at UNC-Chapel Hill with a minor in History. She has travelled the Blue Ridge Parkway many times to visit Appalachian State University, and found it interesting to learn more about this unique feature’s history. She, along with another student, helped research and compile information on Otter Creek, a partially-built feature of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia. She is graduating in May 2014 and hopes to pursue a career in the wedding and event planning industry.
Christen Nuzum is from Conover, NC and is an undecided student at UNC-Chapel Hill with strong interests in American studies and the South, geography, geology, and environmental science. She loves animals, making pottery and other handicrafts, and collecting antiques. Her favorite place to be is in North Carolina’s mountains and she has spent a great deal of time on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Researching the “Unbuilt Georgia Extension” and visiting the BRP Archives in Asheville, NC was a very interesting endeavor for her.
David Paladin-Fernandez is a senior Biology/Dramatic Arts double major and History minor. He is also a member of UNC Baccalaureate in Science Education (UNC BEST), and is employed as a carpenter for Playmaker’s Repertory Company. He hopes to teach high school Biology after college and eventually use his experiences to help influence education reform. David helped construct the Doughton Park episode of the Unbuilt Blue Ridge Parkway exhibit.
Ryan N. Scarlette is a junior Political Science and Religious Studies double major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Ryan was born and raised in Thomasville, North Carolina. His main research focus while at UNC-Chapel Hill is the intertwining relations of differing religions and of politics and religion. Ryan helped to research, develop, and create the “Americana Village” section of the Unbuilt Blue Ridge Parkway for History 671.
David Stewart Jr. is a senior history major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Born and raised in Fayetteville, NC, David enjoys studying the rich history and tradition found in the South as well as hunting, fishing, soccer, and going hiking with Boy Scout Troop 747. Partaking in the “Unbuilt Blue Ridge Parkway” project this semester along with two other amazing students, David had the pleasure of researching and working on the “Pine Spur” section of the Parkway.
Tunu wa-Dutumi is a Global Studies major at UNC Chapel Hill. Originally from Miami, Florida, she helped research the “Georgia Extension” section of the Unbuilt Blue Ridge Parkway exhibit. She will be graduating in December 2013 and hopes to pursue a career related to human rights and social justice.
Carolyn Wood is a senior Linguistics major at UNC-Chapel Hill with a minor in Korean. Her interests include languages, culture, history, and public history. She visited the Blue Ridge Parkway many times growing up and enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about the Parkway’s creation. She helped research and develop the “Pinnacles of Dan” section of the Unbuilt Blue Ridge Parkway exhibit for History 671.