Young Nebraskans Oral History Project

The Young Nebraskans Oral History Project was initiated to explore the lives and experiences of Nebraska's young folk. Students in Dr. Michella Marino's Hist. 255/355/555 Natives and Nebraskans course conducted interviews with people under the age of 40 currently residing in Nebraska. Their goal was to learn more about what it means to be a Nebraskan, what values are attached to that meaning, and what their experiences have been residing in the state. For instance, what does the term "Nebraska" mean to younger people? How is this different perhaps than from previous generations, even within the same family? How has the state itself changed over time in the lives of the interviewees? Students conducted these interviews to help create a better understanding of Nebraska as a place and an identifying feature in the lives of those living in the state.

Students in Dr. Marino's Hist. 268/368 Women in the US Since 1890 course focused more specifically on young women's experiences in Nebraska. The goal of these interviews was to learn more about young women under the age of 25 currently residing in the state of Nebraska and their ideas about what it means to be a woman, what values are attached to that, and what their experiences have been as women in Nebraska. Students posed questions centered on perceptions of womanhood, definitions of feminism, the historic and modern women's movements, key issues locally, regionally, and nationally that affect women's lives, and what it means to be a woman in the new millennium.