By Jon Call ’20 and Rudo Ellen Kazembe ’20
Managing Editor and Features Editor
Digital Chicago is a program that enables faculty and students to research historical aspects of Chicago’s history, and the projects include the history of drag, Irish music, and prominent figures of Chicago.
According to research assistant Ani Karagianis ’20, this program is funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, which focuses on “different avenues of research [inclusive of but not limited to]… oral histories, working with archives and in-the-field research.” In 2015, the Mellon Foundation gave Lake Forest College a four-year grant worth $800,000.
This research fellowship program has enabled students to acquire analytical skills and different perspectives. While working on history of drag and gender performance in Chicago with Assistant Professor of Communication Liz Benacka, Rodney Bethea ’20 gained “exposure to the realm of ethnographic research.” Kent Beckman ’20 learned how to use “statistical methods such as Eigenvector centrality, Hub, and Authority” and how to “catalog and collect data from the Chicago Tribune.”
Karagianis is working alongside Assistant Professor of Music Anne Barry on a project about Francis O’Neil, the Chicago’s police chief from 1901 to 1905. “[O’Neil] was a collector of traditional Irish music and was one of the first men to transcribe the music into books to be used by current musicians,” Karagianis said.
Bethea says that his position entails a significant amount of data entry working with Benacka. “Our project focuses on the history of drag and gender performance in Chicago, dating back to 1850,” Bethea said. “A lot of the content we have has to be organized so we can keep a clear timeline of events.”
Beckman’s assistant position entailed reading every article in the Chicago Tribune in the years 1860, 1900, and 1940, which is no small task. “I contributed to the project by collecting names of philanthropic, religious, political, and masonic organization members,” Beckman said. “I had to read at least the title of every headline in the newspaper and sometimes I would find stories that seemed very representative of the time period or just entertaining, for other reasons.”
Most students who have been assistants with Digital Chicago projects have expressed their appreciation for the program. “These projects also give students the opportunity to contribute their own ideas and gain practical skills towards their careers,” Beckman said. Not only is the program practical for skill development, but it gives students a stronger appreciation for the city we live in. “I have learned that there is a LOT of history about Chicago that has yet to be discovered,” Bethea said. “For a city that has been around for so many decades, it is impossible to uncover the complete history as well as the artifacts that come with it.”’
For more information about Digital Chicago and the programs it encompasses, visit the “Chicago” tab at www.lakeforest.edu and click on “Digital Chicago: Unearthing History and Culture,” or visit the website at digitalchicago.lakeforest.edu.
Jon Call and Rudo Ellen Kazembe can be reached at callj@mx.lakeforest.edu and kazembere@mx.lakeforest.edu.
