The 1968 Anniversary Teach-ins at WKU

Colleagues:

WKU Project 68 recognizes the 50th anniversary of 1968, one of the most significant years in America’s history and worldwide.

Throughout the turbulent 1960s, one of the notable aspects of higher education in the U.S. was the advent of campus “teach-ins.” And during the takeover of the administration building at Columbia University in 1968, the students used student-led teach-ins as one of the ways to continue education for students involved in the protest.

WKU Project 68 will use faculty volunteers to lead a series of teach-ins for the WKU community and the public focusing on the year 1968.

The project will try to involve as many disciplines as possible.

The year 1968 was seminal in many ways beyond the highest profile issues — the Vietnam War, civil rights and politics: pop culture, especially music and art; science and medicine, particularly space exploration and the environmental movement; shifts in public education practices; literature; sports and more all crystalized during this year.

And rather than isolate 1968, the project hopefully will focus on the many parallels that exist between life in that year and life in 2018. No aspect of life in America and the world went untouched in 1968 and the same holds true now.

The project will seek personal essays, images, etc., circa 1968 from members of the campus community, and a WKU/Bowling Green focus will help localize 1968.

For more information or to participate, email Professor Mac McKerral, coordinator of the Journalism Major in the School of Journalism & Broadacasting at WKU. Put “Project 68” in the message line and send the email to: mac.mckerral@wku.edu.

WKU project volunteers:

Mac McKerral, Journalism

Sue Lynn McDaniel, Library Special Collections

Roxanne Spencer, Educational Resources Center

David Lee, History

Trini Stickle, English

Jennifer Hanley, History

Tony Harkins, History

Sophia Arjana, Religious studies

Beth Reitmeyer, Art (community member)

Gordon Emslie, Physics and Astronomy

Ken Payne, Public Relations

Dale Rigby, English

Trish Jaggers, English

Kelley Coppinger, Public Relations

John Conley, University Studies

Marla Zubel, English

Richard Gelderman, Physics and Astronomy

Rich Shumate, Journalism

Julia Shadoan, School of Professional Studies

Suellyn Lathrop, Archivist Records Manager, WKU Library Special Collections

Caryn Lindsay, director of Study Abroad & Global Learning