By Liberty Rister
A Digital Approach to Understanding Community and History
What does civic life in America really look like, and how has it changed over time? In one Ball State history course, students are working to answer that question by combining traditional research with digital storytelling. Rather than writing a standard term paper, students are contributing to a public-facing digital essay that explores civic life using the Middletown studies, a collection of research centered on Muncie, Indiana.
The course, taught by Dr. James Connolly, was designed with a specific goal: to bring archival research into the classroom in a more interactive and meaningful way. As director of the Center for Middletown Studies, Dr. Connolly wanted students not only to learn about the archive but also to actively use it.
“We’re always looking for ways to incorporate the Middletown archive into student learning,” Connolly said. “This course offers a way to give students hands-on, professionalizing experience while exploring important topics.”
At the center of the course is the creation of a digital essay using Scalar, a multimedia platform that allows for nonlinear storytelling. Unlike a traditional paper, which is read from beginning to end, Scalar projects allow users to move between topics, themes, and sources in multiple ways. This means students have to think not just about what they are writing, but how their work connects to others and how audiences might interact with it.
“Part of the value of creating a digital essay is that users can explore it along many different pathways,” Connolly said. “It encourages students to think about connections across topics and consider multiple uses for the resource they are creating.”
Building a Foundation Through Readings and Discussion
The course began in a way that felt familiar to many students: reading, discussion, and analysis. Early in the semester, students were introduced to key concepts, including the history of the Middletown studies, definitions of civic life, and the differences between traditional writing and digital media. They also received an introduction to Scalar through Ball State University Libraries, which will serve as the primary tool for their final project.
From there, the class shifted to a seminar-style format, in which students engaged with major texts on American civic life. These readings not only provided historical context but also challenged students to think critically about how research is conducted.
For student Aaron Tanglertpaibul, one of the most interesting aspects of the course so far has been analyzing how authors build their arguments.
“I found our discussions about the strengths and weaknesses of the authors’ methodologies to be the most interesting part,” he said. “There is a lot of evidence presented, but it requires thinking about how far that evidence can support generalized conclusions.”
This focus on methodology has helped students better understand the complexity of historical research. Rather than simply accepting conclusions, they are learning to question how those conclusions were reached.
Student Theo Edwards said that while the course initially felt like a “standard history class,” the content itself stood out.
“We read about the Ball family and how they were basically Muncie’s aristocracy during the 1930s,” Edwards said. “They had an immense amount of power through their industries, control of banks, and influence on public life through their contributions.”
These discussions have helped students see how civic life is shaped not only by everyday people but also by powerful individuals and institutions within a community.
Connecting Past and Present Civic Life
As the semester has progressed, students have begun to explore the Middletown archives more deeply, uncovering patterns and changes in civic engagement over time. For many, this has led to some surprising discoveries.
Tanglertpaibul noted that many well-known sources, such as Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone, tend to present a more pessimistic view of civic life in America. However, local data from Muncie offers a more nuanced perspective.
“I’ve been surprised by the mix of mostly pessimism and little optimism in some secondary sources,” he said. “But the Middletown collection, especially on churches, shows trends that suggest more cooperation in recent years.”
According to Tanglertpaibul, churches in Muncie have increasingly worked together across denominational and even religious lines, something that would have been much less common in the past. This shift highlights how civic life can evolve in ways that broader national studies might not fully capture.
These findings reinforce one of the key themes of the course: the importance of looking at both large-scale trends and local experiences. While national studies provide valuable insight, they do not always reflect what is happening in specific communities.
Learning to Tell History in a New Way
One of the most unique aspects of the course is its focus on digital storytelling. As students begin planning their Scalar projects, they are realizing that presenting research in this format requires a different kind of thinking.
“In this early stage, I’m appreciating how much planning needs to be done before we even use Scalar,” Tanglertpaibul said. “The tagging system allows for many ways to connect different topics, which creates a lot of possibilities.”
Scalar’s tagging and linking features allow students to connect their work with others in the class, creating a larger, collaborative project. At the same time, each group has the flexibility to focus on its own topic, making the final product both unified and diverse.
However, this flexibility also introduces challenges. Students must decide how to organize their research, which sources to include, and how to present multiple perspectives.
“One challenge is figuring out how to coordinate what primary sources to display and whether multiple interpretations should be included,” Tanglertpaibul said. “It raises the question of whether a single, unified narrative is even necessary.”
This shift from a single argument to a more open-ended structure reflects the evolving nature of historical storytelling in the digital age. Instead of presenting one definitive perspective, students have the opportunity to showcase complexity and encourage exploration.
Looking Ahead to Research and Collaboration
As the course moves into its next phase, students are transitioning from discussion to active research and content creation. This is the part many have been looking forward to since the beginning of the semester.
Edwards expressed excitement about moving beyond readings and into hands-on work.
“I’m excited to do more individualized and group work,” he said. “I’m especially looking forward to working on the website and doing archival research.”
For students like Edwards, this phase represents an opportunity to better understand the historical process, not just learning about history, but actively creating it.
Tanglertpaibul also highlighted the collaborative aspect of the project as something he is eager to experience. Working with others to build a shared digital resource requires communication, coordination, and creativity, all of which are valuable skills for future careers.
He also sees the course as an opportunity to explore his academic path.
“I hope this course helps me gain and evaluate skills for both public history and general history,” he said. “It will also help me with my goal of producing public-facing history content on my own.”
A New Kind of History Classroom
Overall, this course offers a different perspective on what it means to study history. By combining archival research, critical analysis, and digital media, students are gaining a more well-rounded understanding of both the subject and the skills involved.
Dr. Connolly noted that one of the most rewarding parts of teaching the course has been seeing students recognize their own knowledge and ability to think critically about civic life.
“Students are discovering that they already know a lot about civic life and the norms that surround it,” he said. “They’re well prepared to think about both its history and its present condition.”
As students continue developing their digital essays, they are not just completing an assignment; they are contributing to a larger conversation about civic life in America. By making their work public and interactive, they are helping to make history more accessible and engaging for others.
In doing so, they are stepping into a role that goes beyond the classroom: not just as students of history, but as creators and communicators of it.
For more information about the Department of History, visit our website, contact our office, or follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
This course was one of several sponsored by a grant from the Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) Program, which was spearheaded by the Kahn Family Endowment. The Endowment believes that a strong liberal arts education, where students are introduced to a variety of facts, values, methodologies, cultures, and perspectives, is one of the best ways to prepare them to adapt and grow in an ever-changing world.
To accomplish this, the College of Science and Humanities’ CUREs Program is designed to increase students’ access to undergraduate research experiences by providing support for faculty to develop courses focusing on undergraduate research. In these courses, students engage in original, authentic research that is of interest to external organizations.