Derek Ham PhD '15 created “I Am A Man”, an interactive virtual reality experience (trailer) set to the historic events of the African-American Civil Rights Movement. The vision is to give people an experience of history in a way that provides a more personal understanding of the struggles of these marginalized people.
The VR experience allows one to literally walk in the shoes of people who fought for freedom and equality during the civil rights era. Most importantly, this project gives users a deeper awareness of their struggle. Using historical film and photographs, along with voice narrations of actual Civil Rights participants, the project falls along the lines of a new type of interactive-documentary experience.
I Am A Man VR experience looks to help usher in this rich new way of experiencing history. “VR can tap into the emotions of the user and tell a much richer story”
-Derek Ham
Derek Ham, PhD is an independent VR developer who also teaches as an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at North Carolina State’s College of Design. He completed his doctoral work in Design Computation from MIT, holds a Master’s in Architecture from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, and a Bachelor of Architecture from Hampton University.