Finding Freedom in the Parting of the Ways

Gratitude

This project was conceived in Dr. Eve Oishi's The Time and Space of Cultural Studies, written in Dr. Darrel Moore's Genealogies of Freedom, and built in Dr. Nadine Chan's Durable Empires: Praxis courses in the Cultural Studies Program at Claremont Graduate University during the Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 semesters. I have boundless gratitude for each of my generous, thoughtful, and wicked smart mentors! I have benefited enormously from the challenges you have presented me, the encouragement you've offered, and the learning experiences you have designed.

In addition, as the recipient of the Fernandez Prize in Cultural Studies at Claremont Graduate University, I am truly thankful to the Cultural Studies faculty, and the Honorable and Mrs. Ferdinand Fernandez!

I learned, with great trepidation and a fair amount of grumbling, to build this Scalar website through a workshop and several one-on-one sessions with the extraordinary Director of the Digital Humanities Initiative at the Claremont Colleges, Leigh Anne Lieberman. Her expertise and insights got me past a number of foreboding bumps and obstacles. Thank you for your incredible patience!

Of course, I offer huge love and many thanks to students in Dr. Chan's Durable Empires: Praxis for their enthusiasm and heartening feedback as this site was built! Spring 2020 was a challenging semester, but scholarship prevailed.

The seeds of this project were planted in a number of meetings with my incredible colleague at Chapman University, Dr. Jana Remy, Director, Educational Technology Services, who first introduced me to Omeka, then Scalar. My mind is summarily blown!

Last, but certainly not least, I must shower glowing praise and endless gratitude to my friend and colleague, the incredible artist, Julie Shafer! I recall with fondness when you first mentioned your interest in the Oregon Trail - we were driving to or from the Getty Museum on that windy alternate road. What a fitting setting! I am so very proud of where those meandering thoughts have taken you. The COLA 2018 grant that assisted the making of this work was so well deserved and utilized. As always, I can't wait to see what you make next!

- Denise M. Johnson