Freedom Journey: History and Memory in the Civil Rights South
With generous support from the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade and donors David and Ann Erne, the College of Arts and Sciences is launching a University Partnership Program with the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Novi Sad (UNS) in northern Serbia.
Led by Dr. Alex Lichtenstein, Professor of History and American Studies, the aim of the program is to provide new channels of thinking about how to commemorate historical events and heritage sites. Like the United States, Serbia grapples with its own volatile history. This partnership will fortify UNS’s American Studies and history curricula.
In spring 2023, IU will invite 20 Serbian undergraduates studying African-American literature, American history, and Communications and Culture to the United States for an eight-day study tour of civil rights historic sites and memorials. Four UNS faculty members will accompany each group of students.
IU students will be able to join the group on their study tour through the U.S. South.
IU students: Participate in the study tour!
Undergraduate and graduate students at IU Bloomington will be invited to apply to join their peers from Serbia in a study tour of the U.S. South May 6-13, 2023.
Participants will travel by chartered bus from Bloomington to Memphis, where they will meet up with the Serbian delegation arriving from Washington, DC.
The proposed itinerary:
- Memphis, Tennessee. National Civil Rights Museum
- Sumner, Mississippi. Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Center; Mississippi Delta
- Jackson, Mississippi. Seminar at Jackson State University; Mississippi Civil Rights Museum
- Greensboro, Selma, and Montgomery, Alabama. Safe House Black History Museum; Edmund Pettus Bridge; National Voting Rights Museum.
- Montgomery, Alabama: National Memorial for Peace and Justice; Southern Poverty Law Center
- Atlanta, Georgia: The National Center for Civil and Human Rights; The King Center
- Return to Bloomington from Atlanta
Among these visits to sites memorializing the civil rights movement, students will participate in group discussions and enjoy the recreational and culinary offerings of the region.
Up to ten students will be selected to participate. Their trip will be generously subsidized by the grant from the U.S. Embassy so that their costs for transportation, lodging, group meals, admission fees, and instruction will be less than $200.
Specific questions may be posed to Prof. Lichtenstein at lichtens@indiana.edu.
The priority deadline for applications is February 8, 2023. Applications will be accepted until February 28 if space is available.
Application form
