The Dayton History Project
Knowing the Past is a Lantern for the Future
What is History? It is the objective study of the past so that people can understand where they came from and the world in which they live. Through the study of history people learn that their lives are a part of something much bigger, and that understanding gives them a chance to make wise decisions in the present.
In 2018 the University of Dayton Department of History began a series of problem-based, place-centered, service-learning capstone seminars. These seminars were designed to combine elements of several experiential learning approaches. Students in the seminars work in teams to conducted research on a topic, write a history, and construct a website to present what they found.
Some photos of the DHP students
The goal? In this, “The Dayton History Project” or DHP, the students learn important skills, develop a healthy connection to others, and come to appreciate their capacity to affect the world. They do that by transforming the websites into a teaching tool and resource for the local community.
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Visit the Existing DHP Webpages
COMING SOON
Coming Soon
In the Spring 2023 students at the University of Dayton will began researching and building a website on the history of African American experience in the city. They will write a series of topical essays about black Daytonians. After completing their research and writing a history, each of the student will build a separate page to display their findings. The students are also building the websites Archive Gallery using images and data that they collected while conducting their research. They will also develop teaching modules that use these primary document galleries.
Future DHP Webpage Projects
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Current Events and the DHP
The DHP future project on the impact of the 1918 pandemic on Dayton provides an opportunity to examine how people in the past confronted the same sort of problem impacting the present. Another opportunity to reflect upon today by looking at the past is Lauren Lowen’s essay on the 1966 Dayton Race Riot. Written as part of the DHP study of the University of Dayton Arena, the essay provides insight into the Black Lives Matters protests sweeping the country in the wake of George Floyd’s murder at hands of Minneapolis police on May 25th 2020. Also see Chris Koester’s essay on the experience of African American at the Dayton Arcade for a snapshot of black Daytonians over the years.
DHP as Teaching Tool
The DHP websites are designed to be teaching tools for both K-12 and University level classrooms. Through the sites and the teaching modules on them, students learn skills needed to conduct historical research.
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Dayton’s Digital History Trail
The DHP websites reveal that the city of Dayton has a fascinating history. Its history interconnects with the wider history of the nation and the globe. Eventually the DHP pages will comprise a digital history trail that will take visitors on a journey through this fascinating history of the city. It is our goal to present a comprehensive, multidimensional look at life over time in one of the mid-west’s most interesting cities. The map below identifies the location, or important example locations, of some of the planned projects.
The following schematic depicts the structure of the DHP websites. They are each subdomains of DaytonHistoryProject.org. In the coming years UD students, in conjunction with community partners such as the Metro Library, Wright State University Special Collections, Dayton Public television and radio, 10 Wilmington Place Retirement Community, as well as civics groups such as the Friends of the Arcade, among others, will tackle future projects.
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Other Cool Webpages to Visit
DHP Affiliated Websites
In early 2021 the journal Ohio History will publish a special edition featuring five essays about the Dayton Arcade written by DHP students.
