Author: Julliana

By Julliana BravonPublished in The Daily CampusnMay 11, 2023nnhttps://twitter.com/FionaVernal/status/1629572928168681472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1629572928168681472%7Ctwgr%5E07be111e5945226aba5d355b7ecfe02ef160024d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdailycampus.com%2F2023%2F03%2F07%2Fepoch-and-connecticut-humanities-address-the-history-of-housing-insecurity%2FnnEPOCH partners with Connecticut Humanities to address Hartford’s history of housing insecurity while providing history majors a research space. nnFiona Vernal, associate professor at the University of Connecticut, has recently partnered with Connecticut Humanities to continue her work with Engaged, Public, Oral and Community Histories, or EPOCH. nnEPOCH is a program in the history department at the University of Connecticut that connects undergraduate and graduate students, K-12 schools and museums to create a new way of teaching, learning and presenting history. nn“EPOCH is the formalization of work that I have been doing for a long time and very much inspired by undergraduate classes,” Vernal said. nnVernal said her work began in 2008 while she was a professor at UConn teaching South African history. During the Recession, she said her students became worried about their future job prospects as history majors. This worry created an ongoing conversation about how marketable their degrees would be once they pursued careers.  nn“Students were also completely bored with lectures and Socratic methods,” Vernal said. nnVernal also questioned the functionality of an end-of-semester paper that would be graded and eventually thrown away. She said she believed this was not a way to engage with history.  nnWith the help of her students, Vernal said she created a new syllabus for the class in one day. She said she reworked it so students could engage with history instead of just hearing about it. She said she wanted her students to know that they too could be a part of producing original research. More specifically, they would go to archives and listen to 10 oral histories. At the end of the semester, instead of a term paper, they would produce an exhibition named “Children of the Soil: Generations of South Africans.” nnFive exhibitions later, Vernal said she has much more experience with engagingly telling history. She said the Connecticut Humanities grant will allow Vernal and EPOCH to ensure that historians tell oral histories correctly and with the proper resources. nn“These exhibitions are meant to be iterative. They’re not one and done,” Vernal said.  nnVernal and her team incorporated the history of public housing, housing reform, urban renewal and slum clearances. Although each exhibition focuses on a different part of history, she said they can coexist. nnAfter her first exhibition, Vernal said she received feedback that people wanted the incorporation of contemporary and modern housing issues. So, she and her students dug further. She said they followed the ongoing “No More Slumlords!” campaign in Hartford and captured it in real-time. Here, Vernal and her team interviewed tenant activists.  nn“We worked on the history of housing and wanted to focus on contemporary activism that resonated with what was going on in the community,” Vernal said in an email. nnHousing issues persist today with an ongoing debate in the Connecticut General Assembly about incorporating public testimonies, Vernal said. Last year, the CGA discussed a right to housing and the right to counsel during an eviction. This year, the CGA discussed laws about municipalities contributing their fair share. nn“Connecticut cities share a disproportionate burden of affordable housing. Notions of home rule and NIMBYism [Not in my Back Yard] undermine efforts to create affordable housing, accessory dwelling units, multi-family properties and other forms of housing that maximize density and affordability.” Vernal said in an email. nnWith the help of Connecticut Humanities, Vernal said, EPOCH will continue to answer these questions, and the exhibition will continue to add panels.  nnVernal said she doesn’t believe one person should own a piece of history. EPOCH also partners with K-12 schools to introduce exhibition work. They partner with other museums and exhibitions to share the panels as well.  nn“It’s reused again and again, and we need to promote the effort to continue use beyond the original programs,” Vernal said. nnVernal said she wants the exhibition to have an afterlife. For Vernal, inclusive teaching and being able to work with communities have been central to how EPOCH operates. 

By Julliana BravonEnvironmental Journalism, UConnnApril 22, 2023nn

By Julliana BravonPublished in The Daily CampusnMarch 10, 2023nnNorthern Central California is currently under a winter storm warning. Reports state that California has had over six feet of snow and wind gusts up to 70 mph. While California has seen snow in the past, especially in the mountains, what’s different now is the amount of snow.  nnIt also raises questions and concerns about how communities and vulnerable populations will deal with the weather. It has also opened a conversation about future adaptation to extreme weather.  nnChristopher Burton is a professor at the University of Connecticut. He specializes in the social characteristics of communities that come back from natural hazards and those that don’t. Burton said labeling a particular group as more or less vulnerable than others isn’t easy.  nnBurton said social vulnerability is defined as characteristics that create potential loss or harm. However, determining what those characteristics are is difficult. Many scientists have different definitions of what those characteristics are making it difficult to reach a consensus across the scientific community.  nnAccording to Burton locals aren’t the most vulnerable group. He said locals who live in the California mountains are savvy. Residents likely have four-wheel drive pickup trucks, generators and a long food supply. nnRather, those who are vulnerable are likely to be tourists and the elderly, according to Burton. Recent reports found many tourists in the mountains rented houses for vacation. Burton said they likely only had food for the weekend and now are stranded there. Another group at risk is the elderly, who move slowly and have a greater risk of injury.  nnAnother issue with the amount of snow is the weight of it on roofs, which leads to house collapses. Burton speculates that these houses aren’t equipped for that much snow weight, which might result in new infrastructure laws if extreme snow continues to hit California year after year. nnBurton said that for the past 20 years, California has seen extreme weather on various ends. First, extreme drought, then extreme rainfall and now, extreme snow. nnThere are long term effects of this amount of snow. When it melts, Burton said, it floods towns like Sacramento and San Francisco, putting them at a huge flood risk. nn