‘In the Midst’: a multimedia autobiography of a missionary life
The CGCM offers its resources, materials, and personnel to support a variety of unique and interesting websites. In conjunction with an international network of libraries, universities, and interested individuals, the center gathers hard-to-find materials and makes them easily accessible.
Among its newest projects, the center is now hosting CGCM Visiting Researcher Catherine Corman’s “In the Midst.” This project is the result of several years of interviews Corman conducted with Barbara Beach Alter—an American Presbyterian missionary to northern India. Alter and her husband James rejected conversion as central to missionary activity in favor of service to the surrounding population. The multimedia site was launched in a celebratory gathering attended by over 40 people, including family and friends commemorating Barbara Alter’s extraordinary life as a missionary. CGCM doctoral students Daryl Ireland and Eva Pascal helped design the website to feature Corman’s innovative audio autobiography, which allow listeners to hear Alter’s stories by theme in her own voice. The story can also be explored by place and by time. Corman has also created a podcast that is now available on the website.
