For Educators
Fugitive Federals is an ongoing historical research project, and new biographies produced by students taking the Research Methods course are added to the prisoner database every semester. The course is a great way to educate students about historical research methods and provides them a unique opportunity to conduct and contribute original historical research, teaching them how to interpret primary sources, evaluate competing historical arguments, summarize secondary sources, and ultimately produce their own pieces of historical writing based on primary source research. Educators are invited to take part in this innovative project and participate through student research contributions. Faculty at undergraduate institutions looking to incorporate the Research Methods course into their own curriculum are free to use the materials provided below.
Include:
-Downloadable Copy of the Prisoner Database
The complete resources folder can be found here.
Drs. Foote and Davis first created a lesson plan for undergraduate students to conduct research as an in-class assignment. As such, these students were provided with minimal training in research methodology. In Spring 2019, Dr. Foote designed a Research Methods course centered around Fugitive Federals. Foote dedicated an entire semester to instilling research methods in her undergraduate students, including lessons on historical context, interpreting primary sources, writing, and historiography. Since that time, Dr. Fialka has also taught a Historical Research Methods class at Middle Tennessee State University using this project. The class is required for all History majors.
Every semester, the project Co-Directors refine their DH pedagogies and students contribute more original research to Fugitive Federals. We credit these students by listing their name and respective institutions in conjunction with their work. Iterations of these assignments were used at all four universities listed above and the several hundred biographies from such research can be found linked in the full prisoner database here.