The Eileen Southern Initiative
The Eileen Southern Initiative
The Eileen Southern Initiative was a multi-year, multi-part collaborative project at Harvard University honoring Dr. Eileen Southern. The Initiative began in 2019 as a classroom-library collaboration led by Carol J. Oja (Department of Music) and Christina Linklater (Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library). Graduate students in a seminar taught by Oja worked toward curating an exhibit of Southern’s collection to be held at the Loeb Music Library. They also conducted oral history interviews with individuals who had a connection to Southern and her world. Not long after the course ended, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the project to pivot. The Initiative morphed into a digital exhibition, two symposia, two films, an interactive map and a concert, all of which can be accessed from the Initiative's website.