Touching History through the UAB Libraries Reserve Collection
The "Touching History" initiative began with the aim of introducing students to the process of consulting primary sources. Today, the project has evolved into a web resource designed to document this experience, providing a foundation for teachers interested in adapting it to other subjects.
The “Touching History” project was launched at the beginning of 2023, when a group of lecturers from the Modern History Area of the Department of Modern and Contemporary History developed a teaching activity proposal, using the UAB Libraries Reserve Collection. This proposal was implemented in the second semester of the 2022-2023 academic year within the spaces of the Communication Library and the General Newspaper Library, receiving positive feedback from both the teaching staff and students.
By the end of the same year, the activity was awarded a grant for innovation and teaching enhancement, which led to the creation of a web resource to complement the practical component. This virtual platform, recently published, brings together the three types of sessions offered, forming a didactic unit for each: the session with the Regia Bible (Bible, Humanism, and Religious Reforms), the session with the Martí Gelabertó's Collection of antique maps (Cartography of the 17th and 18th centuries), and the session with books by the printer Rafael Figueró (The Printing Press in the Modern Era). The units outline the structure of each session and provide a theoretical context through informational capsules and other resources that supplement the content. These pages are available for consultation at: Touching History.