Jackson Free Press

Although Millsaps College history professor Stephanie Rolph wouldn't call herself a specialist on art, on April 11, she will deliver "Perspectives in the Press" in conjunction with the Mississippi Museum of Art's exhibit, "Civil War Drawings: The Becker Collection." The lecture, which shows how teachers can use newspapers of the era to tell students about the Civil War, is a joint project of Rolph and Mississippi Department of Archives and History Director of Education Stacey Everett and Historic Resources Specialist Jo Miles-Seely.

"(Newsprint) is really sort of an under-utilized resource for teachers ... trying to make the Civil War tangible to their students," Rolph says. "Rather than learning about the war retrospectively, instead, (students) get to see how the people themselves experienced that uncertainty found both in the North and the South."

This uncertainty would manifest itself in readers combing obituaries for their loved ones, and, perhaps more significantly, wondering where there next meal might come from.

"They really didn't know what was going to happen," she says.

In Rolph's part of the lecture, she will talk about her experiences with using newspapers in her history classes. Everett will explain how lesson plans might be geared toward the use of these documents. Finally, Miles-Seely will explain the Mississippi Digital Newspaper Project that has been working to digitize the microfilm the papers have been stored on for preservation purposes.

"Perspectives in the Press" is 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. April 11 at the Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St., 601-960-1515). The program is free with admission, which is $10 for an adult, $8 for seniors, $5 for students and free for members and age 5 and under. Limited seating. For more information, visit msmuseumart.org.