February 2, 2023

Scot French, a longtime member of the UVA-Charlottesville research community, will discuss his collaboration with Lenora McQueen on their Morven Summer Institute class, ARH 4500/AAS 4559 Morven’s Enslaved and Descendant Communities. The place-based course, to be offered again this summer, includes guided student research, field trips, and collaboration on a final digital project. French is a digital public historian specializing in the study of cultural landscapes associated with 19th and 20th century African American history. His research and teaching at Morven dates to 2010, when he directed a small research seminar and began delving into the correspondence of Thomas Jefferson and William Short on the subject of race, slavery, and emancipation. McQueen is an educator, researcher, and advocate for the preservation and interpretation of African American historic sites in Virginia. Her public advocacy on behalf of Richmond’s Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground led to a 2022 National Register of Historic Places listing and the erecting of an historic marker on the site.