OSU Library Dean Sheila Johnson, along with Carol Moder, chair of OSU’s English Department, and History Professor Elizabeth Williams, proposed a new Center for Oklahoma Studies “to illuminate the state’s history, culture and current affairs.” Their plan recommends specialized studies in Oklahoma history and dialects to work in tandem with the library’s oral history project. In support, the College of Arts & Sciences has hired two new faculty members to develop the proposal: Western historian Ron McCoy and Dennis Preston, an expert in sociolinguistics and dialectology. The library recruited Mary Larson, anthropologist and oral history specialist, who will assume leadership of the library’s Oklahoma Oral History Research Program. “People in Oklahoma are like a mosaic,” says McCoy, who is currently researching Lakota winter counts and the painted tipis and shield designs of the 19th-century Kiowa. “Put it all together, and you start getting a very multifaceted picture of Oklahoma — a complex history. By bringing people and ideas together, the center becomes a way the university can contribute to the overall culture, to an overall awareness and appreciation of one of the most diverse heritages a state could possibly have,” he says. “Culturally and ethnically, Oklahoma has been at a crossroads long before statehood. We need to learn where we are. How we got here, and maybe where we’re going to go. Many people aren’t particularly aware of how diverse Oklahoma is or the tremendous strength and opportunity that come from this diversity.”
“The way people talk reveals their history, perceptions, values, even their future,” Preston says. Nowhere is that study more exciting than Oklahoma, which “is at enormous linguistic crossroads” as well. Oklahomans’ speech is both diverse and distinct. Although influenced by bordering states, it differs from other regional dialects and even from section to section within the state, he says. “What makes Oklahomans distinctive from a linguistic point of view? And what does that tell us about the way Oklahomans perceive themselves and the way they think,” he asks. “In one study, more than half say Oklahomans’ speech is most similar to Southern speech. Is that because of the vocabulary, grammar and vowel sounds, or does it have more to do with perception?” Preston explores these questions along with others about dialect differences among Oklahomans: “Do those living in the Panhandle sound like those living in Little Dixie? What is language like in the state’s small, immigrant and AfricanAmerican communities?” While McCoy and Preston’s credentials lend prominence to the Oklahoma studies project, their role as co-directors involves more than their individual research. “Ron and I want to go beyond history, English and the library to engage other departments and facilitate cross-disciplinary research,” says Preston, who already envisions collaborative projects with cultural geography, experimental psychology and artists. “We want to get people from other departments involved. We want to bring together people who are interested in Oklahoma but who haven’t shared information before.”
The Center for Oklahoma Studies will facilitate information flow, McCoy says. “It’s as if building a bee colony that adds to itself as it goes along — just as Preston’s dialect studies bring in history and psychology. By bringing in new perspectives and letting them ferment, calling attention to an area and drawing in resources, a rounded, fuller picture emerges.” Johnson says the library’s main emphasis will be expanding the oral history programs. Larson, who has experience in creating oral history research programs, will work collaboratively with other faculty to teach students oral history methodology that meets national standards. As a repository, the library plans to make interviews widely available through the Internet. The emphasis on oral history also involves reaching out to communities, another crucial element in its development. “Since this is for Oklahoma studies, it’s not just to engage the interest of academics. We want to engage people outside academe,” Preston says. “The center will be doomed if it doesn’t have a very strong outreach component so that Oklahomans are engaged in it and by it.” As it matures, the co-directors expect the center will provide resources for teachers as well as presentations for the public. “Ten years from now I see it bringing together faculty and students from across campus to identify, study and preserve Oklahoma’s vibrant culture, history and ethnic and linguistic diversity,” Johnson says. “We have much to be proud of including some very talented and successful Oklahomans who have made wonderful contributions to music, theater, arts, dance, commerce — in all areas actually.” Perhaps it is time to retire the “Okie” image.
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