Here to help!
Working within the George Collection for this archive project has truly been interesting. I reviewed publications that begin alphabetically with A and end with F, including American magazines, newsletters, and newspapers dealing with regional, national, or international topics. Most of the work caught my attention in one way or another. I especially enjoy the wide range of topics. I’ve already traveled the world figuratively speaking from America to the far reaches of Eastern Asia and the southern coast of Africa when just looking at the periodicals that begin with A and B. While I am somewhat familiar with the topics discussed about these particular locations, archival research furthers my knowledge about niche events that I previously might have only heard of in a discussion. For example, the collection contains various issues of Action, an Arab-American relations newspaper out of New York in the 1970s, mostly covering events during the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
During the fall 2024 semester, I took an Israeli-Palestinian conflict class with Dr. Andrew Magnusson, so talking with a professor about the events in Palestine and then heading over to the archive to read first person sources without a doubt broadened my view on the subject. Plenty of materials in the Betz and George Collections continually changed the way I had previously interpreted events thanks to accessing these primary sources.
Another critical element of this archival project is the piecing together of John George's own opinions on events from the little notes he wrote on the files, underlined, or circled five times in red. Diane Rice, the Special Collections reference librarian, kindly provided a short bio explaining John George and how the publications arrived at the University of Central Oklahoma, where he taught political science from the 1970s - 2000s. This helped tremendously as some of George’s note taking practices leave a reader confused on just why he highlighted a certain section, though I suppose that’s why we are ultimately here, to read between the lines of what George archived to paint a fuller picture of who he was and whether his opinions weighed in a certain direction, and to help develop an archival finding aid for this important collection.
Interesting StoriesThese images represent cover stories from various publications in the John George Collection. From anarchy to hippy publications, the collection will keep you thoroughly entertained in your research. Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed spoke to me because it covers punk subculture in southern California, something that I have knowledge in and personally find exciting. The hippy publications made me laugh because I’m always thinking of hippies as grandparents now and wondering whether their personal or political views have changed.
Image 1: Jason McQuinn, Toni Otter. Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed (Baltimore, MD: C.A.L. Press, 1992) UCO Archives and Special Collections. John George Collection, Box 01
Image 2: Ann Arbor Sun: Community News Service. (Ann Arbor, MI: Rainbow People’s Party, 1972) UCO Archives and Special Collections. John George Collection, Box 01
Image 3: Ann Arbor Sun: Community News Service. (Ann Arbor, MI: Rainbow People’s, 1972) UCO Archives and Special Collections. John George Collection, Box 01
Hunter Knight, a senior student at the University of Central Oklahoma, graduates in the Fall of 2024 and plans to continue an education career far-beyond the bachelor's degree with graduate school beginning in 2025.
The University of Central Oklahoma recognizes the university's main campus is located on the traditional lands of the Caddo and Wichita people.
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