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In its second year, LSU Libraries Special Collections Faculty Fellowship continues to enrich faculty pedagogy and student learning by fostering archive-centered teaching and research on LSU's campus. The fellowship provides LSU faculty with the resources, training, and support needed to incorporate archival materials into their courses, enhancing students' understanding of primary sources and historical inquiry.

The fellowship begins with an immersive three-day orientation at Hill Memorial Library, where participants explore archival research techniques, digital humanities tools, and strategies for integrating Special Collections materials into their curricula. Throughout the year, the fellows engage in biweekly meetings, collaborating with librarians and experts in LSU Libraries and fellow educators to refine their approaches and develop meaningful, archive-based assignments.

Meet the Fellows 

Dorota K. Heneghan | Department of World Languages, Literatures & Cultures

Heneghan’s participation in the Faculty Fellows program enriched her interdisciplinary courses in Comparative Literature, Women’s and Gender Studies, and Screen Arts by introducing new pedagogical tools for close and comparative reading. By incorporating digital humanities techniques, such as mapping word frequencies and analyzing references to specific objects and artifacts, her students will uncover insights into gender norms and social structures beyond the discreet charm of the Victorian gentleman’s life and will explore society’s enduring fascination with Sherlock Holmes, science, and detective fiction. Humanities and Social Sciences Librarian Elizabeth Allen was her collaborator during the fellowship.

William Ma | College of Art & Design

Working with the Judith Ann Schiebout Chinese Communist Poster Collection at Hill Memorial Library, Ma developed a research seminar that provides students with hands-on experience in original archival research. After the passing of LSU Professor Emerita Judith Schiebout, who had collected the posters during her first visit to China, Ma facilitated the acquisition. The collection consists of colorful posters from the early 1980s that offer insight into China’s shifting political priorities, social changes, and cultural trends following its 1978 economic reforms. Through Ma’s course, students will research, write, and curate an online exhibition based on these unique materials. Kelly Larson, Special Collections’ Head of Research and Public Services, was his collaborator during the fellowship. 

Will Mari | Manship School of Mass Communication

Mari developed a new Honors College class, “Honors 2030: Propaganda of the Cold War,” with a particular focus on NATO and the Warsaw Pact. By Spring 2025, Mari’s students were actively engaging with LSU’s archives and getting hands-on experience in primary source research. By incorporating archival resources into innovative teaching, he enabled his students to gain deeper insight into historical propaganda, critical research skills, and an appreciation for the role of archives in preserving history. University Archivist Zach Tompkins was his collaborator during the fellowship.

Heather O’Connell | Department of Sociology

O’Connell’s project enhances an upper-level sociology course on racial inequality (SOCL 4571) by incorporating archival research on historical monuments and their impact on contemporary society. By integrating archival resources, O’Connell’s course will encourage students to critically engage with the past and its enduring effects on public spaces today. Students will examine the construction and removal of a Confederate monument that once stood on the Louisiana State Capitol lawn, approaching the topic from multiple angles by examining newspaper coverage, information about similar monuments, materials from the United Daughters of the Confederacy, personal letters from the 1890s, and oral histories from the Civil Rights era. African and African American Studies Librarian Narcissa Haskins was her collaborator during the fellowship.

Cynthia Sampson | Department of Communications Studies

François Delsarte (1811-1871) was a French teacher of voice and movement who, despite never publishing any of his theories, profoundly influenced American culture through dance, acting, and physical education. His papers have been at LSU for nearly a century, and Sampson has been designing a graduate seminar on performance history archives that will dig into the collection. Students will create intellectual histories, map the movement of concepts across the Atlantic, and puzzle out the many synaptic charts. To bring this seminar to life, John Miles, Special Collections’ Curator of Books and Head of Instruction, and Leah Wood Jewett, Special Collections’ Exhibition Manager, collaborated with Sampson and provided essential context and insight into the collection.