But the artifacts and the manuscript collections were there and Dave’s vision was there. And in his 21 years at The University of Akron, Dr. David Baker was able to turn his vision for the archives into a reality.
And sure, professional success and accolades are wonderful. But what really counts in life is whether a person is kind, honest, genuine, and a friend. And Dave was all those things, and more, to so many. A mentor, a colleague, a professor, a friend, a boss, a golf buddy. Dave is the real deal and we sure are going to miss him.
We asked many of his close friends and colleagues to record a short video to thank Dave and wish him well on his retirement. As you can see from the resulting video, a lot of people are going to miss him.
All that’s left for Dave to do now is ride – or boat – off into the sunset.
Welcome to the third installment of CCHP Pandemic Projects. These fully digital learning projects give students a way of engaging directly with primary source, historical material. They are useful for teaching history, historical research skills, history of psychology, information literacy…the sky is the limit!
Volume I tackled Asylums and Epidemic Diseases and in volume II we tackled Eugenics and the Census. Both of those projects were geared more towards college students. Volume III is more adaptable to K-12 students but also works for college students. Critical thinking knows no bounds!
In this next installment, we explore something many of us are intimately familiar with right now: being alone, slowing down, taking a pause.
So let’s dig in.
Psychologist Martin Reymert (1883-1953) was an immigrant from Norway. He immigrated to the United States in 1925 to serve as the head of the psychology department and director of the psychology lab at Wittenberg College in Springfield, OH. He moved on to Mooseheart, IL in 1930 to establish the Mooseheart Laboratory for Child Research and he remained the lab’s director until his death in 1953.
Martin Reymert in his office at the Mooseheart Laboratory. Martin Reymert papers, box M1228, folder 6
Reymert’s manuscript collection is very interesting for several reasons, including the insight it provides about immigration and American life from an immigrant’s viewpoint.
Martin Reymert was interviewed by a Minneapolis radio station on this topic and the three page transcript is the document we will analyze for this project. You can access all the materials you need for this project including a document analysis instructor’s guide, a document analysis sheet, and the radio transcript in full text here: American Psychosis and Creative Laziness.
The reason I selected this radio transcript for a Pandemic Project is because it provides a perfect opportunity for us to talk to our students about isolation during the current health crisis.
Martin Reymert papers, box M2896, folder 4
…average Americans are afraid to be alone….we are always rushing into some one crowd or another…it takes an awful lot of mental sanity to squarely face ones’self in solitary moments….
Martin Reymert papers, box M2896, folder 4
…creative laziness….apparently doing nothing and experiencing the sacred moments of inspiration, new ideas, etc.–in short, the sort of things that are the actual dynamos for the world’s progress.
The COVID19 health crisis has forced us to face ourselves in solitary moments. How are we handling it? And almost more importantly, how are our students handling it? Can we use this transcript from the Martin Reymert papers to reach out to our students and check on them under the guise of an archival document analysis project? I like to think so.
We can use Reymert’s ideas of “American psychosis” (inability to be alone) and “creative laziness” (inspiration by way of solitary reflection) as the starting point for a discussion with our students about how THEY are coping. Of course, the difference here is that we are in isolation through shelter-in-place directives and social distancing, rather than simply choosing to be isolated.
The document analysis sheet I created for this project can (and should) be adapted to best suit your needs as an instructor. This project can be adapted for use with middle school and high school students or undergraduate and graduate students. If you’d like a bit of help with that reach out to me directly. I am happy to help! (lizette@uakron.edu).
A note to instructors and students: we would love to hear back from you if you have used any of these projects in class. Your feedback helps us as we continue to develop archival projects that can be completed remotely.
– contributed by Tony Pankuch (Archives Assistant)
Since beginning my work as a staff member of the CCHP earlier this year, much of my focus has been directed toward the increased accessibility of our museum and archival resources. Though changes to the design and content of museum exhibits are primarily long-term projects for our team, I have been able to work with my colleagues to develop a number of informational resources for museum visitors relating to the accessibility of our physical facilities.
We will begin publishing most of these resources when the museum reopens, but for right now, I’d like to give you a preview of what you can expect to see.
Preview of the CCHP Accessibility page.
Accessibility Webpage
My colleagues and I have worked to compile information on the CCHP’s current state of accessibility into a single location on our website. This page includes an Accessibility & Inclusion Statement that will guide our future efforts and contact information for all accessibility-related inquiries. The page also includes information on the Museums For All initiative, which will provide reduced admission to guests presenting a state-issued EBT card at the admissions desk. Within this space, we have striven to be honest about the current realities of the museum in regards to physical accessibility.
Unlike the resources below, the Accessibility page is available now.
Preview of the CCHP Visitor’s Guide.
Visitor’s Guide
A Visitor’s Guide will be available online for those interested in visiting the National Museum of Psychology and Institute for Human Science and Culture galleries. This guide will provide visitors with detailed information on travel, parking, physical facilities, and museum content. Photos will be included to illustrate all parts of the museum experience.
Preview of the Museum Map. Left: Standard Map; Right: Detailed Sensory Map.
Museum Map
In addition to the Visitor’s Guide, maps of the National Museum of Psychology will be offered on our website and in print form at the museum’s admissions desk. These maps will exist in two varieties. The first is a basic map detailing the layout of the museum and the location of key amenities, such as restrooms and seating. The second will include more detailed information on the locations of hands-on exhibits and displays, audio sources and noisier areas, and audio/visual elements currently lacking closed captioning or alternative forms of access. This second map, along with the visitor’s guide, is designed to give visitors an idea of the sensory atmosphere and limitations of the museum in its current state.
These initial resources are centered on offering clear, accurate, and easy-to-find information regarding the accessibility of the CCHP. Moving forward, we will begin working toward the improvement of our physical facilities and digital offerings.
Of course, the most important people in all of this are you, our patrons and visitors. What can we do to make the CCHP more accessible for you? What information would you like to see on our website and social media? Let us know in the comments, or email us at ahap@uakron.edu.
The United States conducts a census every ten years with the goal of counting every single resident of the U.S. The data is used to determine disbursement of all kinds of federal monies and even more importantly, it determines the number of representatives each state gets in the U.S. House of Representatives. Participating in the census is super important so if you haven’t done it yet, get to it for pete sakes! See here.
So census data is used for distributing money and determining representation – good things! – but could that same data be used for not-so-good things? What do you think?
I did a search for “census” across our collections and ended up going way, way down the rabbit hole.
What is the Journal of Heredity? It’s the official journal of the American Genetic Association, a group that is still very much active today researching genetics. Of course, “American breeding and eugenics” has long since left their journal, their research, and their mission but in 1919 eugenics was considered true science by many and its influence on politics and policy, along with numerous other facets of America life, can’t be denied.
First things first, how to access this journal. We have a short run of this title in the archives’ Books and Periodicals collection. We digitized the pre-1923 volumes and they are available in full-text in the online repository here. These early journals are really incredible in regards to plant variety and genetics (seriously, do a search for pawpaws!). And they’re also very interesting in regards to the history of immigration and American life. Do some browsing and have some fun!
Ok, back to the census and the article I want you to read. You can access it via a shared OneDrive folder here,- The Journal of Heredity, May 1919, Vol. X, No. 5. (skip ahead to page 18 of the pdf).
Laughlin, H. H. (1919). Population Schedule for the Census of 1920.
I think this article is an excellent jumping off point to have a discussion with your students about eugenics and eugenicists’ influence on American life, especially immigration policy.
I mentioned a shared OneDrive folder above. In that folder you’ll find The Journal of Heredity and document analysis sheets for each of the following project ideas. Access everything here:CCHP Pandemic Projects: Eugenics and the Census.
Project 1: Have your students read the article and report back. What was most interesting? What was surprising? What would you like to know more about? What questions do you have?
Project 2: Focus on the census. What data was collected on the 1920 census versus the data being collected on the 2020 census. Is the same data being collected? If not, what is different? Any ideas why certain questions are no longer asked?
Project 3: What was the ERO lobbying for to be included on the census and why? Why would “pedigree studies” be important to eugenicists?
Project 5: An investigation of how census data and eugenics influenced and shaped the Immigration Act of 1924 (aka the Johnson-Reed Act). For those of you that didn’t know, the Johnson-Reed Act enacted quotas on immigration, not to mention it banned immigrants from Asia all together. How does the census fit in? The quotas on immigrants were based on census data! Specifically, 2% of the U.S. population of immigrants from their country of origin as recorded via the 1890 census was used as the basis of the quota of immigrants that would be accepted from that country starting in 1924.
Allen (1986) is a valuable resource for this one too since it dives deep into Laughlin’s “lobbying” on behalf of eugenics, notably that he testified before the House Committee on Immigration and Naturalization. You could also read Milestones, 1921-1936 from the Office of the Historian . And check out this awesome resource from DOCSTeach via the National Archives – The Impact of the Immigration Act of 1924. This is more geared towards students in grades 7-12 but it’s pretty cool and all of us, regardless of age, could benefit from that resource.
Some things to think about and ask your students:
(1) Why did they go all the way back to the 1890 census to get those population numbers instead of more recent data? Ask your students to do some initial research on immigration in the United States between 1890-1924. Were there large influxes of immigrants coming from specific countries?
(2) What was the effect of these quotas on immigration numbers? Were some countries more affected than others? How did those 1890s numbers affect specific groups?
(3) Were these quotas adjusted throughout the 1930s and 1940s in order to take into account the mass exodus of people fleeing Nazi Germany? Most folks would say, “Yes. of course. The United States wouldn’t keep these quotas and turn away Jewish immigrants.” But is that the truth? Ask your students to answer that question.
(4) Are there any parallels today? I’m sure your students can dig up examples of how both so much, and so little, has changed in the discussion of immigrants and immigration in America.
A note to instructors and students: we would love to hear back from you if you have used any of these projects in class. Your feedback helps us as we continue to develop archival projects that can be completed remotely.
As always, if you’d like to work together to create a more concrete project using the Journal of Heredity please reach out to me directly – lizette@uakron.edu. I’m happy to help!
Cummings Center Blog 