In honor of this important milestone, this Benson exhibition showcases VOCES’s extraordinary journey over the past quarter-century, and its profound impact in highlighting and recognizing the contributions of the U.S. Latino/a community in Texas and the rest of United States.
Graduation day. May 22, 1942, at Oak Park Methodist Church, Corpus Christi, Texas. Front row from left: Jeanie Mcpherson, Elenor Lacomb, Theresa Green, Mary Thomas, Bernice Hunter, Supervisor, Mrs. Elizabeth Moller. Back row from left: Margaret Moore, Apolinia Muñoz, Pat Bartholomeu, Betty Jorgenson, Dorothy Lewis. Voces Oral History Center Archive, Benson Latin American Collection.
Under the visionary leadership of founder and director Maggie Rivas-Rodríguez, VOCES has progressively expanded its original focus of documenting the experiences of Latino veterans and civilians in all branches of the military during World War II, the Vietnam War, and the Korean conflict.
Through relentless oral history documentation, VOCES has gradually broadened its scope to encompass a wide range of Latino/a experiences, including cultural contributions, political and civic participation, professional achievements, thereby establishing itself as a fundamental and invaluable institution and repository.
U.S. soldier Michael Treviño (top left), a soldier nicknamed “Red” (bottom left), soldier Nathan Garcia (middle), an unknown soldier, and Raymond Garcia (top right) from Army Unit G65 stand together in front of a M45 Quadmount called Widowmaker at FireBase Rifle in the Ashar Valley, Republic of South Vietnam, circa August 1969.
The VOCES Oral History Project Archive has been housed at the Benson Latin American Collection since 2005. By preserving this invaluable archive on our physical and digital shelves, we ensure that these stories endure for the future and for new generations as a unique resource for research and learning about the multifaceted narratives and cultural heritage of diverse Latino/a communities.
Join us in celebrating 25 years of the remarkable work of VOCES to elevate and honor Latina and Latino stories, as well as the significant impact of the Latinx community.
VOCES Oral History Center at 25 is on view in the Benson Latin American Collection’s second-floor gallery during library hours, through April 7, 2025.
Veronica Valarino is the Benson Exhibitions Curator.
The Classics Library at The University of Texas at Austin has reopened following a year-long closure for renovations aimed at enhancing accessibility and improving study spaces.
The refreshed library, located in Waggener Hall, features new furniture, more open spaces, and improved lighting, with windows no longer obstructed by old shelving units.
The renovations were completed as part of additional work occurring in the building, and offered an opportunity to provide a more accessible and comfortable environment for students and faculty.
Jennifer Lee, Director of Discovery and Access for the Libraries, oversaw the updates, which are part of ongoing efforts to modernize library spaces across campus to meet the ever-changing needs of users.
“The temporary closure of the Classics Library was challenging, but the end result is a library space that is more open and accessible, both in terms of aesthetics as well as movement within the space,” says Lee. “It’s been exciting to welcome students and researchers back into the library.”
The library continues to serve as an essential resource for faculty and students in the Department of Classics, many of whom attended a reopening event on September 10.
Vice Provost and Director of the Libraries Lorraine Haricombe emphasized the significance of the library as a space for learning and intellectual growth.
“Our mission is to connect people with knowledge and to empower them with the tools they need for personal and academic development,” said Haricombe. “The Classics Library remains a beloved location for students and faculty alike, and the feedback on the renovations has been overwhelmingly positive.”
Over the past four years, the A. Keith Brodkin Endowment for American History has played a pivotal role in expanding the University of Texas Libraries’ collections focused on the American West. Managed by U.S. Studies Librarian Adriana Cásarez, the endowment has allowed for the acquisition of 240 new books, significantly enhancing the library’s resources in this area of American history.
“We have been able to develop a collection that not only reflects traditional narratives about the American West but also includes works offering a nuanced understanding of the region’s complex histories,” said Cásarez. The acquisitions, ranging from rare texts to more accessible volumes, fill critical gaps and support a wide array of research, teaching, and public engagement.
Cásarez emphasized that primary source collections, such as letters and diaries, have been a particular focus of the acquisition strategy. These resources provide invaluable insights into the lived experiences of people in the American West and are essential for scholars studying the socio-political and cultural dynamics of the region.
“The Brodkin Endowment has elevated our collection to a new standard of excellence. Researchers now have access to firsthand accounts that deepen their understanding of this region’s history,” Cásarez added.
The endowment’s impact extends beyond expanding the library’s holdings. It has also created unique educational opportunities for students. This year, Cásarez supervised Ana Rico – a student in UT’s School of Information on a career track to become a future librarian – who took on the task of researching potential resources for the collection and reviewing our holdings of the Western Historical Association’s book award winners from the past two decades. This initiative led to the acquisition of books that align the library’s collection with contemporary academic discussions on the American West, particularly in the fields of Native American and U.S. Latine histories.
Rico’s efforts culminated in a visually compelling book display – “Expanding the American West” – that attracted attention across the campus community, showcasing underrepresented aspects of the American West, and highlighting experiences of Indigenous, Black and people of color. Rico recently joined the Libraries as resident librarian in the Libraries’ Residency Program and hopes to build off of her capstone experience in her residency.
The Brodkin Endowment also helped make historically significant texts more accessible to students and the public. For instance, the library acquired circulating copies of select items from the Briscoe Center for American History’s Texas History collection, allowing students and researchers easier access to key resources that had previously been restricted to the physical archives of the Briscoe.
Looking ahead, Cásarez expressed her excitement about future collaborations with faculty members. She noted a potential partnership with a faculty member exploring the contemporary resurgence of interest in Black cowboys in the West.
“This project showcases the type of innovative scholarship the Brodkin Endowment supports, bridging academic research with public engagement,” Cásarez said.
As students made their way back to campus for the fall 2024 semester, the University of Texas Libraries put together a fun and engaging lineup of events as part of Longhorn Welcome. The Libraries’ Welcome Week was all about giving new and returning students a chance to meet new people, get creative, and discover everything the Libraries have to offer.
Things kicked off on Monday, August 26, with the “Color and Geometry in Islamic Art” event at The Foundry in the Fine Arts Library. Students got hands-on with geometric patterns and the math behind Islamic art, working with 3D models and crafting their own intricate designs, some even taking time to make Arabic jewelry. With about 35 attendees from different departments, everyone got the chance to be creative and learn more about The Foundry’s resources for future projects.
Tuesday, August 27, brought the Zine Making Party, which transformed the Fine Arts Library into a buzzing creative space. Over 60 students, faculty, and staff dove into the zine collection, scissors and glue sticks in hand, and created their own zine pages. It was a DIY vibe all around, with people blending personal creativity and ideas with inspiration from the Libraries’ growing collection of zines.
On Wednesday, August 28, nearly 100 people gathered for “Stepping into Fall: A Celebration of Indian Dance and Music.” The night featured amazing performances from student groups like Texas Taraana, Gandharva, Sindhu Vasudevan, and Fusion Bollywood. From live Hindustani music to Bollywood fusion choreography, the audience got to experience an exciting mix of traditional and contemporary Indian art forms. The event was cosponsored by the South Asia Institute and SPIC MACAY, giving attendees a chance to learn more about these student groups and how to get involved.
Thursday, August 29, the UFCU Room in PCL was transformed into a Bibliogarden—a relaxed space where students could explore all kinds of cool books, graphic novels, zines, maps, and more from the Libraries’ collections. Around 40 attendees wandered through the offerings, checking out everything from rare books to fun reading materials that Libraries staff recommended. The variety of formats and languages sparked curiosity, and many left inspired to dive deeper into the Libraries’ collections and maybe even learn a new language or two.
To wrap up the week on Friday, August 30, the Libraries teamed up with the Center for Asian American Studies to screen Everything, Everywhere All at Once (2022) at the PCL. About 100 people showed up to enjoy the sci-fi adventure, which had everyone laughing and tearing up at different moments. The screening wasn’t just a movie night—it was also a chance to enjoy some great food from Tso Chinese, highlighting how partnerships can bring cultural events to campus in a big way.
All in all, the UT Libraries’ week of events brought students and faculty together, sparking creativity and offering a fun way to connect with the resources and communities on campus. It was a perfect way to kick off Longhorn Welcome 2024, and everyone walked away feeling a little more inspired.
Willem Borkgren is a Scholars Lab Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) in his second year of the School of Information’s MSIS program. During the 2023-2024 academic year, he undertook a Digital Scholarship Project as part of his GRA role. Using tools in the Scholars Lab, he researched a comparative literary analysis of Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea and Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. The outcomes of this analysis are available in a digital exhibit “Intemperate & Unchaste.”
When I had the opportunity to pursue a Digital Scholarship Project in the Scholars Lab, I was eager to apply the new digital tools available to me on materials I love. Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre has been the subject of literary discourse for centuries, canonized in controversy, with fair points made for its landmark importance in women’s authorship in English literature but also its casual colonial attitudes that reduce marginalized identities to symbols. Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea is a 1960s retelling of the events of Eyre but from the perspective of the abused wife of Rochester (Antoinette in WSS, Bertha in JE). Rhys’s own feelings of liminality about her intersectional identity color her characters, and critics have argued she underwrites black characters in her story just as Brontë had.
My goal in this project was to apply modern quantitative literary analysis to these texts with the purpose of evaluating how these texts interact with themes of gender and empire, how they compare in their handling of these topics, and where a modern reader may find them lacking. From these outcomes, I hope to explore their canonicity in spite of their limitations as well as the progression of women’s authorship in English literature.
The overhead scanner in the ScanTech Studio.
I used the tools and resources of the Scholars Lab from start to finish on this project. I began by digitizing a copy of Sargasso Sea I brought from the PCL stacks to the Scholars Lab. Before this I was connected with Colleen Lyon, our Head of Scholarly Communications who also advises researchers on copyright. On her recommendation, I limited my digital copy of Rhys to 3 sections of the novel to remain well within fair-use. With that in mind, I utilized the Scan Tech Studio’s overhead scanner to digitize the selections. With the book imaged, I could send the files directly to Google Docs, where I used the built-in Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software to transform the images into text. In future projects, I would consider a more robust OCR tool as, despite the convenience of the scanner-to-Google-Drive workflow, the OCR’d pages required a good amount of manual cleaning. I downloaded the pages as plain text, then accessed a plain text copy of Jane Eyre from Project Gutenberg. I imported the texts to RStudio, where I cleaned them of stopwords using a custom list containing the Creole patois of Sargasso Sea as well as the Snowball list of standard stopwords. The text was then tokenized for analysis. The tidyverse modules and GGPlot2 were used heavily in my scripting for text mining, the former for organizing data and the latter for visualizing it. With my data visualized, I moved onto Scalar to create my digital exhibit.
Bar graph of words within 5 of ‘dress’ in WSS.
I conducted my analysis in R Studio, scripting to find skipgrams of thematically significant words and assess their sentiment. Ngrams are word phrases where one word is within ‘n’ of a target word, and skipgrams are Ngrams where words between the target word and its pair are skipped over rather than maintained. These are useful in literary analysis as they can indicate how a word or idea is connotated within a text that may not be immediately apparent with a traditional close-read. They also are useful in filtering for words whose meanings are changed by a negating modifier. I represented the outcomes of these skipgrams in word clouds and bar graphs, using size to indicate the frequency of words and thus the relative importance of their connotation. In this way, the juxtaposed contradictions of Eyre and the cynicism of Sargasso Sea can instantly be visually compared.
This word cloud shows ngrams of marriage words in both texts. Larger words are more frequent. Dark blue represents ‘husband’ & ‘groom’ skipgrams in JE, dark red for WSS. Likewise, light blue represents ‘wife’ & ‘bride’ in JE, which are pink for WSS.
From these outcomes and more, I conclude that Rhys is writing back to the assumptions made in Brontë’s work with a more nuanced and modern perspective, but is still limited by her position in time and relative privilege of the white Creole perspective in a Caribbean context. Elements like Antoinette’s status as the daughter of former slave owners and her wealth compared to Tia’s fetishized poverty do indicate some acknowledgment of this privilege.
Skipgrams of 5 for the words “Slave” and “Servant.” Note that ‘slave’ did not occur in the limited selection of JE used in this project.
I hope that this post has piqued your interest and that you will explore my digital exhibit on Scalar. If it has, I invite you to visit the Scholars Lab and see what research you can come up with. From digitization to scripting to publication, all the resources I used in the scope of my Digital Scholarship Project can be found there! If you are curious about any of these tools or spaces, schedule a consultation with the Scholars Lab staff and we’ll help you accomplish your research goals.
