The City and the University Cleveland is entering its third century. It has been a dynamic urban center throughout its history and remains so today. Despite the important work that has already been done, Cleveland remains rich in largely untapped resources for writing the history of one of the most important cities in the United States. The social History and the City Project combines the strengths of the History Department and focuses them on the city of Cleveland but builds far beyond it.

The Project focuses on the social history of this evolving metropolis within the context both of national developments and developments in other parts of the world -- Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

This Project is an opportunity for the university and the community together to study history of the region and the many peoples whose work and commitment helped to make it a great city. Together we celebrate the richness and dynamism of the region by writing a new evolving history of this area. The City and Social History.

The study of social history has a special relevance for Cleveland and its public university. Social history's focus on ordinary people and everyday life, the effort to trace the experience of all people and their efforts to survive and grow in a complex and changing urban environment is very appropriate to an institution committed to serving the community. The Project seeks to explore the heart and soul of what has made Cleveland a great city -- its people -- people attracted from throughout the world bringing with them a rich heritage of cultures and languages. We invite the people of Cleveland to join us in exploring our collective past in order to better understand that past and to provide insights into the complex problems of the present.

As a major industrial and financial center, Cleveland and metropolitan area provides an excellent laboratory to

• explore social history and its implications for the present;
• immerse students in that laboratory; involve students in significant research projects and
• provide experience with applied history that can translate directly into enhanced careeer opportunities.

Program Mission

• To use the Greater Cleveland areas defined by the Ohio and Erie Canal Corridor as a focal point for research, teaching and public history.
• To encourage the study of other urban contexts which would enrich our understanding of social, political, economic and cultural processes.
• To encourage the study of the Greater Cleveland area and in the community and in the schools.
• To encourage the study of soical history in its broadest meaning.
• To provide a forum for the interaction between the community and the university.

Program Description

• The Ohio Local History Database. Visit the Cleveland of the past and explore the lives of its residents. An on-going project of the Department of History.
• Crooked River: Exploring Social and Urban History. Interpretative essays on the history of the region. An on-going electronic publication of the History Department.
• The Thomas F. Campbell Seminar on the City. A continuing exploration of the history of the city.
• HIS-393 Local History Workshop. A seminar which explores the shifting facets of the history of the Ohio and Erie Canal Corridor.
• A wide range of social and urban history courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Social History and the City M.A. concentration.
• Public History Internships at both the undergraduate and graduate level.