HIST A451
Issues in South Carolina History: Catastrophes, Calamities and Change
Primary Instructor: Professor Alexia Helsley, Senior Instructor of History
Support: Professor Deborah Harmon, Archivist & Librarian, Gregg-Graniteville Library
In Fall 2024, under the guidance of Professor Alexia Helsley, students in a digital humanities-enhanced history course combined historical research with digital technology. The course’s digital project required students to research major disasters in South Carolina history, such as the 1886 Earthquake, Hurricane Hugo (1989), the Great Charleston Fire of 1740, or the Graniteville Train Crash (2005). Using TimelineJS, students created interactive timelines by analyzing secondary sources, locating primary documents and images from the South Carolina Digital Library and other databases, and learning ethical standards for source evaluation and use. Archivist Deborah Harmon from the Gregg-Graniteville Library provided additional support, including a session on using TimelineJS to develop their timelines. The project allowed students to gain both historical insight and hands-on experience with digital humanities tools, blending traditional and digital scholarship.
Explore the HIST A451 TimelineJS projects below: