As a part of the 2025 Governor’s Honors Academy to be held at West Virginia University this summer, the West Virginia & Regional History Center (WVRHC) will teach a group of this year’s young scholars the course “The Earth in the Archive”—a hands-on curriculum practicing original research with primary and secondary sources.
Contributing to this year’s academy theme of Appalachia Envisioned, the WVRHC’s course will empower students to consider the work that goes into the creation of history. Reviewing the differences between primary, secondary and tertiary source research, students will question who makes history and how.
“We at the History Center value opportunities to engage K-12 students and we’re all looking forward to the students being here in the archive,” said Bridget Jamison, WVU Libraries’ instruction and public services archivist at the WVRHC. “I always hope to inspire some future historians, but the skills of reading text and images closely, asking thoughtful questions and determining how to pursue answers to those questions are skills that will serve students in any discipline.”
I always hope to inspire some future historians, but these skills will serve students in any discipline. Bridget Jamison,Instruction and Public Services Archivist,WVRHC, WVU Libraries
First under the instruction of the archivist, then on their own, students will analyze primary source material concerning the environment in West Virginia and the region that intersects with politics, activism, labor, energy, recreation and more. Eventually relating the material from the past with the challenges they see in the present and future, students will develop their understanding of the context surrounding a self-selected source and share their findings in a brief, informal presentation.
Students will finish the course with hands-on experience conducting original research with primary and secondary sources, an understanding of what kinds of material may be available to them at WVU and other institutions, and practical guidance for future academic work.
Started in 1984 by Governor John D. Rockefeller, IV, the Governor’s Honors Academy is a project born of a partnership among education, business and state government leaders. As a two-week, summer residential program, the academy aims to stimulate and support excellence in education for rising high school seniors who are residents of West Virginia. Approximately 175 academically driven students are chosen through a rigorous application process, and the program is funded by the State Legislature as requested by the Governor.