Women's Voices of Military City, USA

This project records the histories of women’s contribution to the military since World War II by employing oral history and centering the voices of women Veterans. Veterans’ narratives offer a lens for understanding the impact of service, gender integration, combat integration, shared governance, and perhaps most importantly, a historical context for better evaluation of the contemporary issues of gender integration and the U.S. military. While much scholarly attention has been directed to the economic impact of military installations on San Antonio, its role as a training and logistical center for recruits, and its new fame as a capital of cyber-security, few studies have considered how San Antonio has recruited and trained women for military service since World War II. This project is a student-centered oral history project that trains students in professional oral history, while advancing experiential student learning in the humanities that includes a curriculum based in research methodology that fosters interview skills, and requires scholarly analysis. The project is collaborative and supported by the National Endowment of the Humanities, Our Lady of the Lake University, and The University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA) host an Oral History Institute (OHI).Oral history recordings and transcripts available at https://digital.utsa.edu/digital/custom/womenandwar. More information on the project available on the project website at https://womenandwar.omeka.net/