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Chicago’s DePaul University, a nationally recognized academic institution, recently embraced the Eastland Disaster. And while the most intuitive fit would have been in their history curriculum, in fact it was DePaul’s Sociology Department that took an interest in the Eastland Disaster. Dr. Susan Fournier (with support from Dr. Rick Schaefer) used the Eastland Disaster as the basis for a class project for her Fall 2000 Introduction to Sociology 101 course. |
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The Initial Intrigue The seed for galvanizing the Eastland Disaster with sociology was planted in 1998. As Dr. Susan Fournier recalls: "I was walking on Wacker Drive along the Chicago River when I came upon a plaque telling me about the Eastland Disaster in 1915. Although I was born and raised in the Chicago area, this was the first I had ever heard about the Eastland." "I asked my husband about it. He also had never heard (of it). But, when I asked my 93 year-old grandmother – had she heard of it? – matter of factly she stated, "Oh, yes, my mother had a friend who died on the Eastland – Nannie Shannon."" "As a symbolic interactionist, I study social meaning," said Dr. Fournier. "Needless to say, I was fascinated." Fascination Leads To Education Dr. Fournier’s fascination with the Eastland Disaster led her to contact EDHS. Upon discussing the possibilities and after agreeing to proceed, plans for a class project were made. First, Dr. Fournier did preliminary research on the sociological concepts of collective memory and social amnesia. Class lectures, discussions, and assignments followed. A 2-for-1 Deal: Combining U.S. History With Sociology Through the careful planning and instruction of Dr. Fournier, her forty Soc-101 students were able to apply sociology concepts to a real life situation. And by embracing the Eastland Disaster as a class project, the forty sociology students were able to learn the details regarding a little known piece of U.S. history. When 40 Becomes 800 One of the early assignments for which each student was responsible was to interview twenty people about the Eastland Disaster. Ten of each set of twenty people interviewed were to be over the age of 60. Each interviewee was asked, "Have you ever heard of the Eastland Disaster?" For those who had heard of the tragedy, the students were instructed to dig deeper by asking questions such as: "What did you hear?" and "How did you learn about it?" Interviewees were also asked, "Why do you think people generally do not know about this disaster?" Is That Your Final Answer? The responses from the 800 surveys were tabulated. The results showed that, in the under 60 age group, two out of every three people did not know of the Eastland Disaster. In the 60 and over age group, a little more than one out of every two people did not know of the Eastland Disaster. (Please note that because this survey used a sample of convenience that was non-random and non-representative, conclusions based upon the results of this survey cannot be generalized and applied to any larger population.) EDHS Goes On Campus Near the end of the class project, EDHS gave a guest presentation and lecture to the students and faculty at DePaul. The Results While numerous results were achieved, we would like to highlight two. First, almost 850 people (including students, faculty, and interviewees) had an opportunity to hear and/or learn about the Eastland Disaster. Second, forty college students received a meaningful learning experience by combining sociology with history. Dr. Susan Fournier stated, "From (my students’) comments after your lecture and at the end of the quarter, I can tell you that they were both intrigued and fascinated by the Eastland phenomenon. The inclusion of the Eastland Disaster into my curriculum this Fall was a perfect means of teaching the students how sociology can be used in the real world." |
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