On the Books Expansion – On The Books

Thanks to a grant from the Mellon Foundation, On the Books is expanding!

The University of South Carolina and the University of Virginia are the Partner States that will be working with the On the Books Team to create legal corpora and identify Jim Crow language in their states’ laws. This work is planned to begin during summer 2022 and go through 2023.

Three Teaching Fellows will develop and deliver college-level instruction modules featuring materials from On the Books. Ellie Campbell, Clinical Associate Professor of Law, will be creating a module for the course Advanced Legal Research. Seth Kotch, Associate Professor, will be creating a module for the course Historical Analysis of the American South. Eleanor Rambo, Graduate Instructor, will be creating a module for the course Composition and Rhetoric. The modules will be taught in courses during the Fall 2022 Semester.

Frank Baumgartner, Distinguished Professor Political Science, and Megan Winget, Teaching Assistant Professor SiLS, will be leading two research teams utilizing materials from On the Books. Hannah Jacobs, Master’s Information Science candidate, will be using On the Books datasets to examine the intersection of Jim Crow, mental health, and disability legislation. The work of all Research Fellows will be presented in a University Library-sponsored program next year.