George Mason University Libraries' Special Collections Research Center Blog
Last week we sadly found out that Dr. Darius Swann, a civil rights advocate and lifelong Presbyterian minister died at his home in nearby Burke, Virginia on March 25. Dr. Swann had been a popular and respected member of the George Mason University Faculty from 1971 to 1984. He is Continue Reading
It is fascinating how oral history has a way of describing a social, political, or environmental situation by putting the listener right there in the middle of the action. An interviewee has nothing to lose or gain by recalling events as they saw them, but a listener can get tremendous Continue Reading
In 1974 George Mason University faculty members Lorraine Brown and John O’Connor discovered the archives of the Federal Theater Project (FTP) in an aircraft hangar near Baltimore, Maryland after a lengthy search. Included were scripts for over 800 plays and radio programs, official FTP photographs, 1930s-era silk-screened posters, hand drawn Continue Reading
“It became necessary to destroy the town in order to save it.” This quote, attributed to a U.S. Army officer in February 1968, illustrates the contradictions inherent in the Vietnam Conflict. Seen by some as a noble fight to stop Communism and help a developing country establish democracy, and others Continue Reading
On June 19 former George Mason University president Dr. Ángel Cabrera sat down with Special Collections Research Center staff to record his recollections of seven years of service to the university. During the fifty-six minute interview Dr. Cabrera detailed how he was recruited, his initial interviews for the position of Continue Reading
