UIC lecturer awarded fellowship from The HistoryMakers

Margena Christian, senior lecturer in English at the University of Illinois Chicago, is one of seven educators selected to receive a 2022-2023 Faculty Innovations in Pedagogy and Teaching Fellowship from The HistoryMakers, a nonprofit research and educational institution committed to the preservation and accessibility of untold personal stories of both well-known and unsung African Americans.

The fellowship is designed to foster classroom innovation and teaching and diversify curricula while broadening student learning and research skills. Award recipients receive a $7,500 award and the opportunity to demonstrate how faculty can creatively incorporate The HistoryMakers Digital Archive into a semester course and syllabus.

Christian’s UIC course, “Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud! Writing About African Americans in the Media,” will use The HistoryMakers Digital Archive to explore the role of the Black media in political, social and cultural coverage with regards to representation, dissemination, innovation and education.

Students will evaluate misconceptions and misrepresentations about African Americans, engage in scholarly research to uncover strategies utilized in contributing to more inclusivity, and identify the diverse narratives employed within The HistoryMakers Digital Archive to understand why who controls the narrative matters in the media.

“The fellowship’s first two years proved The HistoryMakers Digital Archive is a unique electronic resource that works well in-person or over video-sharing platforms like Zoom. This year, I am so pleased by the caliber of applications received and look forward to what engaging discussion and research spring from use of the archive,” said Julieanna L. Richardson, founder and president of The HistoryMakers.