In my digital history project, I am telling the story of the unique immigrant experience, and Americanization process of the Carpatho-Rusyn people. My project starts in the 1880s, when the Carpatho-Rusyns first began to immigrate to the United States in large numbers, and ends in the present day, looking at the Rusyn-American community today. Throughout my project, I argue that the Americanization process of the Carpatho-Rusyn people was different than other Slavic immigrants groups due to their unique Eastern Rite Greek Catholic faith. This was different than other Slavic immigrant groups like the Polish and Slovaks, who were Roman Catholic and there for had at least some common ground with previous immigrant groups like the Irish and Germans.
I further argue that the Americanization process of the Carpatho-Rusyns must be understood through the establishment and development of the Greek (later Byzantine) Catholic Church. The church was a major influence in the lives of the Carpatho-Rusyn people and throughout the twentieth century, continued to provide a sense of their heritage and ethnic identity. The changes and developments in the Greek (later Byzantine) Catholic Church over the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, parallel the Americanization process undergone by the Carpatho-Rusyn people at the same time. Throughout my project, I emphasize how these must be looked at together.
When planning my project, I decided that a digital exhibit was the best way to present the information contained in my project. I felt that the best way to tell the story of the immigrant experience and Americanization process of the Carpatho-Rusyn people was to divide the story up into smaller sections that focused on a one period of time and one specific aspect of the story. Creating a digital exhibit allowed me to present the information in a chronological way where I could include both descriptive text and images to emphasize and reinforce the main argument of my project.
I will evaluate my work and the success of my project based on two different criteria. These criteria are the number of visitors to my digital exhibit and the nature of the feedback these visitors leave about my project. My goal is to average around 10-15 people viewing my digital exhibit a month and out of those visitors I would like to receive at least 3-4 positive comments on the content of my exhibit. I would consider my project to be a success if I am able to meet these two goals.
