Virtual Staff Ride
Your final project is a virtual staff ride.
What is a staff ride and what purpose does it serve?
To answer “what is a staff ride?” we turn to the American Battlefield Trust.
Place-based learning isn’t limited to the army, though it is easier for the army. The navy also does some place-based learning, though it’s more complicated.
Virtual staff rides created by actual military history organizations are usually created as large 3D/immersive environments. Needless to say, we’re not going to that extreme. But we are going to tell the story of a place in a digital environment, using digital tools to make the history more approachable and engaging.
Why are we doing a virtual staff ride?
Well, under different circumstances we might be doing a real staff ride. 🙂 But we’re doing a virtual staff ride because it’s a good way to help us think through the ways in which space matters to military history, as well as forcing us to be innovative about our storytelling. (I say “our” because I intend to do this project along with you and create a virtual staff ride of my own.)
Staff rides are also familiar to members of the military, who may have little historical training but go to sites throughout the world to learn about the history of their organization. Thus, this is a public-facing project, but with a specific audience.
What are the parameters?
You must select one place or region that is significant in antebellum military history as your focus. It need not be a battleground; in fact, it would probably be more interesting if it isn’t. You’ll be telling the story of that place.
There are three main elements to a staff ride.
- Background reading: You’ll develop a reading list that you’d give to someone to help them understand the location you’re discussing. (You may also include podcasts, videos, etc., in your list.)
- Immersive elements: A staff ride normally consists of several sessions of instruction at various places throughout a site. You will need to individually “construct” one such virtual session. You can focus on any portion or perspective you’d like.
- Reflection/retrospection: What does this all mean? Why is this site important? What are the lasting effects of the events?
In your session, you must include primary sources, secondary analysis, and your own interpretation of what this place means.
You must also include the perspective of non-military people in your staff ride somewhere. That could be the people who lived on the site before the military came, or the civilians who were in camp, or the government officials far away who were giving the orders. I will be especially pleased if you actually center the experiences of the non-military folk.
What will this thing actually look like?
Your staff ride can take many forms. Really I’m open to any kind of platform or method that allows you to tell an interesting story digitally. Start with an idea of your topic, and then we’ll work together to find the right tool for you to use.
Also remember that you can do interesting things that include counterfactual elements, or that read between the lines a lot, to tell a story. Consider the idea of critical fabulation as you seek to include marginalized or missing voices in your staff ride.
Specific methods you might consider would include:
- A podcast or podcast series
- A digital story created as a video
- A video game or text-based computer game
- A digital map and timeline
- A 3D rendering
We’ll be working together on getting you the proper training to learn tools you will need in order to create your staff ride.
This sounds like a lot of work. Can I team up with someone else?
Yes! You absolutely can. Historians rarely work alone (despite what they say), and digital projects are almost always built by teams. You may work in teams of up to five people. You are not obligated to work as a team, but I would strongly encourage it. Each person must create one staff ride session, but you can all work within the same ecosystem (e.g., using the same 3D model to work off; doing multiple episodes in a podcast series) and can collaborate on the reading list and reflection pieces.
How is this project going to be assessed?
Well, it depends on what you come up with! You’re going to be creating this project in several stages:
- Proposal and work plan: You’ll be telling me what location you want to work on, what technology you plan to use, and the general schedule you intend to follow.
- First draft: You’ll be submitting an initial reading list and an outline or schematic for your individual session.
- Second draft: You’ll be submitting a more fleshed-out version of the individual session and the reflection.
- Final draft: All pieces put together!
At each stage, I’ll be providing feedback that will improve your staff ride.
You’re also going to be reviewing your colleagues’ work and giving constructive feedback.
At the end of the semester, you’ll be doing a video presentation (which you can do either live or pre-recorded) to the class and perhaps open to others if I can make it work.
For more about assessment, see Assessment.
