Younger chosen for “Mapping Freedom” project

Arianna Younger of Clinton presents her research during the Mapping Freedom research symposium at USM.

Special to The Clinton Courier

Arianna Younger of Clinton, a junior at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), was one of nine undergraduate students from across the country, and one of only two from USM, who recently participated in a digital humanities project called “Mapping Freedom.”

Mapping Freedom is a three-year initiative hosted by USM and supported by a National Science Foundation-Research Experience for Undergraduates (NSF-REU) grant that examines the pathways to freedom and citizenship taken by emancipated slaves during the Civil War and Reconstruction eras. The project represents a collaborative effort between digital humanities and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) using mapping technology that includes geographic information systems. The paid, eight-week research experience offered opportunities, particularly for those from underrepresented and underserved populations, to conduct research showing how STEM disciplines can be employed in humanities projects.

Younger, who is majoring in sociology and minoring in anthropology and archaeology, presented “An Examination of Ku Klux Klan Activity in Mississippi from 1865-1875.”