Springfield College Faculty Member Earns Expand Massachusetts Stories Grant
Associate Professor of Composition & Rhetoric and the Chair of the Department of Literature, Writing, and Journalism Anne Wheeler, left, along with College Archivist Jeffrey Monseau, and student assistant Maegan Boucher.
Springfield College is proud to announce that Anne Wheeler has been awarded a prestigious Expand Massachusetts Stories grant of $7,777.00 by Mass Humanities. This grant will support Wheeler's work on The Western Massachusetts LGBTQ+ Oral History Project, which seeks to document and preserve the experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals from the region, spanning from the 1940s to the 1980s.
Wheeler, who is an Associate Professor of Composition & Rhetoric and the Chair of the Department of Literature, Writing, and Journalism, has been at Springfield College since 2015.
Mass Humanities is a statewide organization that fosters civic engagement, encourages conversations, and strengthens communities by supporting nonprofits and initiatives that enrich lives through the humanities. Their funding aims to bring diverse perspectives to light, and the award granted to Wheeler's project exemplifies these goals.
The Western Massachusetts LGBTQ+ Oral History Project originated when Wheeler was approached with the idea of documenting the lives of LGBTQ+ individuals in the greater Springfield area. The initiative has led to the creation of a community-centered effort to capture the oral histories of LGBTQ+ elders.
Since its inception, the project has conducted 13 interviews with LGBTQ+ individuals, whose stories provide a deep and nuanced understanding of life in the area during a time of social and cultural change. Interviewees have shared their experiences growing up LGBTQ+, navigating long-term same-sex relationships, and living through pivotal moments in the gay liberation movement and the marriage equality era. The project has revealed the vibrancy of previously undocumented LGBTQ+ communities in Western Massachusetts, with stories touching on life at Classical High School, Holyoke Community College, the McKnight district, and local institutions like the Arch Cafe.
The grant from Mass Humanities will enable the project to expand its scope beyond Springfield to the broader Western Massachusetts region and fund equipment to digitize and archive images and other ephemera shared by participants, preserving invaluable memories for future generations.
In addition to Wheeler, the project's team includes Ian Delahanty as Springfield College's Humanities Advisor, Springfield College Archivist Jeffrey Monseau, and student assistants Maegan Boucher and James Uyar. Together, they are committed to ensuring that the stories of LGBTQ+ elders in the region are not only preserved but also accessible through a searchable online.
