Morehouse launches Black history metaverse course for spring semester - TheGrio

Morehouse College successful Atlanta volition connection a Black past people taught solely successful the metaverse starting successful outpouring 2023.

According to NBC News, this first-of-its-kind people is led by Professor Ovell Hamilton and volition spot students interact with 1 different successful a virtual 3D abstraction utilizing avatars. The people is titled “History of the African Diaspora Since 1800,” and is portion of the school’s Virtual Reality Project.

Atlanta’s illustrious Morehouse College, the lone all-male HBCU successful America, is preparing to motorboat the Black Men’s Research Institute. (Photo: Mike Stewart/AP)

“We judge that immersive acquisition done VR is simply a transformative mode to learn,” said Brian Vogelsang, elder manager of merchandise absorption astatine Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., successful a 2021 connection amid the campus’ history-making determination to connection its archetypal people successful the metaverse. 

At the time, Morehouse partnered with VictoryXR to assistance standard VR acquisition astatine the assemblage and Hamilton was 1 of 11 professors to usage the technology. He instructed a Black past people extracurricular of Morehouse titled “Journey for Civil Rights.” 

“Journey for Civil Rights” serves arsenic the inspiration for his archetypal afloat people successful the metaverse. The “History of the African Diaspora Since 1800″ volition reportedly recreate important moments and artifacts starting from the Haitian Revolution to the civilian rights movement. 

Students volition deterioration a virtual world headset during people to acquisition the brutality of enslavement connected a enslaved ship, lying successful chains connected apical of 1 another, and faced with the terrifying prime betwixt state done decease oregon beingness successful bondage. 

In the metaverse, students are capable to circuit a enslaved vessel and the Underground Railroad, oregon be Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 “I Have a Dream” code successful Washington. The caller people volition recreate the La Amistad enslaved ship, the Ebenezer Baptist Church successful Atlanta, and battlefields during the Civil War and World War I, according to the NBC News report.

By teaching successful the metaverse, Hamilton says students are amended capable to digest the people worldly and go much engaged with it. 

“That is an acquisition that they would not person if they were sitting successful a classroom, if they were sitting successful a lecture,” Hamilton said.

“When you spell determination and spot the bottommost of a enslaved ship, spot the slaves packed successful unneurotic … you volition person a caller appreciation and you person a greater cognition of however the events took place,” helium added.

There are presently 10 courses successful the metaverse offered by Morehouse College successful departments including journalism, English, biology and sociology.

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