My partner Emma and I thought fairly early on that our project would be related to our school, the University of Montevallo. Montevallo has numerous, easily accessible archive materials that would assist us in our research. Emma was the one who first suggested we look at the 80’s for our research project. After I had a chance to glance at a 1985 yearbook from Montevallo, I thought this was a great idea.
Our first research step was looking at the yearbooks from Montevallo that have been scanned and upload to the internet. We found very interesting things just from one search. Prints were a big thing in Montevallo, and these prints did not always match. Seeing pictures of places we know on campus from more than thirty years ago was also fascinating. Next our plan is to go the library to examine the actual yearbooks. Hopefully the library will have all the yearbooks from that decade. So we can either go systematically through those ten years, or maybe just pick out our favorite fashions. Either way we will need to pick out the images we want to use, and figure out how to copy, save, and credit them.
As for who we would like to interview for our oral history, that still depends on where we decide to go with our website. Alumni from the Montevallo would be the easiest to get in touch with (due to various alumni networks the University maintains), and the most eager to talk about their experiences. Another possibly is interviewing professors who taught during the 80’s. Depending on where our project goes, we could also interview current Montevallo students. Much of the casual wear in the yearbooks looks similar to what people where today. A lot of people today also dress in fashion that resembles popular 80’s fashion. One thought was to interview current students on why they relate 80’s fashion. Or perhaps document students’ reactions to 80’s fashion from their own campus.
Our goal is still evolving, and that is they way we want it to work. Both of us want to do something interesting, and leave open possibilities for further discovery.
Nice start on your ideas, Katherine. I like that you also realize some focusing still needs to happen. I had no idea the 1980s were so fascinating! Let me know what technological resources you are considering, ok? Thanks, Dr. Brown
My partner and I are doing research pertaining to campus fashion as well, so it’ll be interesting to see how our projects intersect! I wonder if y’all know what you want to focus in on in 80’s fashion. Is there a particular style of dress or hair that has got you both thinking? Or are you going to focus on the escalation of a certain trend or two? I’m interested to see where it goes!