Roberts Forde Receives 2022 Jinx C. Broussard Award for Excellence in Teaching : UMass Amherst

Kathy Roberts Forde, professor of journalism and associate dean of equity and inclusion in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, has received the 2022 Jinx. C. Broussard Award for Excellence in Teaching. The award, presented by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications’ History Division, acknowledges original, creative practices in teaching media history.

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In Forde’s undergraduate history course, The Black Freedom Struggle and the Press, she teaches students about the role of the press in events such as the North Carolina Election of 1898 and the Wilmington Massacre. She asked students to write an academic essay on the topic in the past. But in the fall of 2021, she decided to take a different approach.

“Now that I have a good bit of personal experience writing news essays about topics in journalism history for news outlets, I thought it would be more fun for students to write – and more fun for me to read – news essays written for a popular audience,” says Forde.  

Students were asked to write a news article about the events relating to the election of 1898 and the subsequent massacre using primary and secondary sources. Forde guided them through the research and creation process, teaching students about the importance of primary sources, helping them with initial drafts, and requiring students to participate in a peer-review session that allowed students to learn how to critique the work of others professionally. After completing this initial project, students were then asked to work in teams to develop another article exploring the role of white journalism in the racial terror massacres from 1873-1923.

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Switching the focus from creating traditional academic essays to journalistic articles turned what would have been a largely autonomous experience writing about history into a collaborative one. Forde cautions, though, that the assignment required building a space of trust, respect and deep care in the classroom, especially given the sensitive nature of the topics and the ongoing issues with racism in the U.S. “I’m not sure this assignment would work well if the classroom weren’t an inclusive community,” she says.

The shift to a journalistic approach received overwhelmingly positive reviews from students. “Almost all of my students reported that this final news essay assignment was the most meaningful, most personally transformative academic work they’ve ever done,” says Forde. “They said doing research in primary sources made them learn the subject deeply in a way they would never forget.”

More information about the Jinx. C. Broussard Award for Excellence in Teaching can be found on the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications website.