Morehouse College, one of our country’s most prominent HBCUs, plans to unveil a black history course that will take place through the metaverse, aka virtual reality (VR).
What Can Students Expect in Class?
The course is called “History of the African Diaspora Since 1800.” It will be entered in the upcoming Spring 2023 semester, and Dr. Ovell Hamilton will direct the instructions.
Through the class, people will have the opportunity to see many moments in Black history from the last few centuries, NBC News reports. We should also note that students interact with each other through avatars, as opposed to physical interaction.
Students can have a moment like the speech of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. of “I Have A Dream”. They will also see black soldiers on the battlefield, as well as 19th century slave ships, which Hamilton shares.
“These are experiences that they would not have had if they were in the classroom, if they were studying. When you go there and see the bottom of the slave train, see the slaves packed together…
Morehouse Began His Journey Into The Metaverse Last Year
In March 2021, Morehouse partnered with VictoryXR Academy, “a leading innovator of education in virtual and virtual reality.”
The collaboration enabled students to start taking different courses in a new way. Morehouse currently offers 10 different VR courses across majors such as journalism, English, biology, and sociology.
Although the Morehouse project has already existed, the upcoming “History of African Diaspora Since 1800” class will be the first VR course in Black history. However, parts of these lessons were present in the world history class that Dr. Hamilton recently taught through experience.
Kade Davis is one student who was in the VR history class. The metaverse made him see ancient structures like the Mayan pyramids in a new light.
“It was interesting to see that…
Jerad Evan Young was also in the class, and he talked about seeing a slave ship through VR.
“It evokes feelings of sadness. Also, there is pride because not everyone was successful in the slave trade. You know, you must have been a strong man. So, that let me know that my parents were strong enough to continue the tiring journey across the lake.”
Would you rather take a history class across the metaverse, or would you rather stick to physical classes?
