Student Engagement

The Bunker Hill Refrain project invites students to become researchers, storytellers, and creators. Through archival research, conversations with community members, and creative projects, students engage directly with the history of Bunker Hill while contributing new perspectives to its ongoing story.

Zine Academy

Funded by USC’s Arts in Action, the Zine Academy introduces high school students to the practice of public history through hands-on archival research and zine-making. Working with primary sources from USC Libraries, the Los Angeles Public Library, and other local collections, students investigate the lives of Bunker Hill residents before urban renewal transformed the neighborhood.

As they explore photographs, maps, census records, newspapers, and personal histories, students learn how archives preserve the past while also revealing the voices and stories that have too often been overlooked. Their research becomes the foundation for original zines that combine historical evidence with artistic expression.

Each zine represents a student’s interpretation of Bunker Hill’s history. They are encouraged to connect archival discoveries with contemporary questions about place, memory, displacement, and community.

Student Research

Undergraduate, graduate, and high school students contribute to Bunker Hill Refrain through archival research, oral history, digital storytelling, mapping, 3D reconstruction, and creative interpretation. Their work expands the project’s understanding of Bunker Hill while developing new approaches to public history.