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There are 97 matching records. Displaying matches 91 through 97 .
Every Picture Tells A Story: Documentary Photography and the Great Depression
From 1935 to 1943, photographers working for the federal government produced the most enduring images of the Great Depression. Under the auspices of the Farm Security Administration (FSA), a small group of men and women created a pictorial record of the nation’s hard times, primarily of rural American life. These publicly displayed pictures had a profound impact on contemporary viewers, and more than fify years later the FSA photographs continue to shape Americans’ views about the 1930s. Like other forms of historical evidence, these images conveyed the views of their creators as well as the audiences they were made for. As interpretations photographs remain valuable historical resources, but they need to be studied critically. This interactive exercise allows viewers to examine how some of the photos of the FSA’s Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange were created, which photos were selected for publications, and how they were changed for public presentation.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES.
From 1935 to 1943, photographers working for the federal government produced the most enduring images of the Great Depression. Under the auspices of the Farm Security Administration (FSA), a small group of men and women created a pictorial record of the nation’s hard times, primarily of rural American life. These publicly displayed pictures had a profound impact on contemporary viewers, and more than fify years later the FSA photographs continue to shape Americans’ views about the 1930s. Like other forms of historical evidence, these images conveyed the views of their creators as well as the audiences they were made for. As interpretations photographs remain valuable historical resources, but they need to be studied critically. This interactive exercise allows viewers to examine how some of the photos of the FSA’s Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange were created, which photos were selected for publications, and how they were changed for public presentation.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES.
Freedom and Slavery in 19th century America
Leslie Wilson, Montclair State University.
After the American Revolution, northern states began abolishing slavery. By 1808 slavery was outlawed in every northern state. Blacks were merged into an emancipated society where all persons were to be treated equally. However, was this actually the case? This activity asks students to compare first person and literary accounts, census data, and legal cases and draw conclusions on whether emancipation meant equality and if there was a universal free northern experience.
Resources Available: TEXT.
Leslie Wilson, Montclair State University.
After the American Revolution, northern states began abolishing slavery. By 1808 slavery was outlawed in every northern state. Blacks were merged into an emancipated society where all persons were to be treated equally. However, was this actually the case? This activity asks students to compare first person and literary accounts, census data, and legal cases and draw conclusions on whether emancipation meant equality and if there was a universal free northern experience.
Resources Available: TEXT.
Red Hot Jazz: Music, Literature & Culture in “The Jazz Age”
Bret Eynon.
This assignment can be used in a class studying the literature and culture of the 1920s. Students are asked to prepare a multimedia presentation to the class, 1) providing background to a reading of widely-recognized novels of the period (such as the Great Gatsby) and 2) illuminating the relationship of jazz and 1920s concepts of modernism to the literature of the period. This assignment is designed to deepen student understanding of the relations that exist between literary texts and other forms of cultural expression.
Resources Available: TEXT.
Bret Eynon.
This assignment can be used in a class studying the literature and culture of the 1920s. Students are asked to prepare a multimedia presentation to the class, 1) providing background to a reading of widely-recognized novels of the period (such as the Great Gatsby) and 2) illuminating the relationship of jazz and 1920s concepts of modernism to the literature of the period. This assignment is designed to deepen student understanding of the relations that exist between literary texts and other forms of cultural expression.
Resources Available: TEXT.
Civil War Photographs
Bill Friedheim, Borough of Manhattan Community College, City University of New York.
The Civil War was the first major conflict to be photographically documented, leaving behind a unique visual record which affects how the war is remembered. However, early photographic processes were subjecct to technological constraints which require the researcher to remain aware of both the usefulness and limitations of these photographs as sources. This activity is designed to introduce students to the collection of Civil War photographs displayed at the Library of Congress/National Digital Library collection “American Memory” website in order to increase visual literacy and critical thinking skills. It seeks to help students use photographs as historical evidence and to understand photographic production during the Civil War.
Resources Available: TEXT.
Bill Friedheim, Borough of Manhattan Community College, City University of New York.
The Civil War was the first major conflict to be photographically documented, leaving behind a unique visual record which affects how the war is remembered. However, early photographic processes were subjecct to technological constraints which require the researcher to remain aware of both the usefulness and limitations of these photographs as sources. This activity is designed to introduce students to the collection of Civil War photographs displayed at the Library of Congress/National Digital Library collection “American Memory” website in order to increase visual literacy and critical thinking skills. It seeks to help students use photographs as historical evidence and to understand photographic production during the Civil War.
Resources Available: TEXT.
Race, Gender and Justice
Students in a Race, Gender and Justice course analyze Barbara Kruger’s art piece “Love for Sale.” The artwork poses questions about national scripts and about who is included and excluded from these scripts. By gathering together quotes from these famous documents—The Pledge of Allegiance, The Marriage Vow and the Testamentary Preface—Kruger offers an alternative vision of so-called objective nation building. The assignment sought to develop writing and web publishing skills and to have students examine their positions in relation to other students as well as to primary documents and assigned readings.
Resources Available: TEXT.
Students in a Race, Gender and Justice course analyze Barbara Kruger’s art piece “Love for Sale.” The artwork poses questions about national scripts and about who is included and excluded from these scripts. By gathering together quotes from these famous documents—The Pledge of Allegiance, The Marriage Vow and the Testamentary Preface—Kruger offers an alternative vision of so-called objective nation building. The assignment sought to develop writing and web publishing skills and to have students examine their positions in relation to other students as well as to primary documents and assigned readings.
Resources Available: TEXT.
The Amistad Case in Fact and Film
Eric Foner.
Historian Eric Foner, DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University, examines the issues surrounding the historical film Amistad. In this essay he explores the problems faced by the producers of Amistad and the shortcomings of both the film and its accompanying study guide in their attempt to portray history. More importantly, Foner raises questions not only about the accuracy of details and lack of historic context, but also about the messages behind Hollywood’s portrayal of history as entertainment. (Posted March 1998)
Resources Available: TEXT.
Eric Foner.
Historian Eric Foner, DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University, examines the issues surrounding the historical film Amistad. In this essay he explores the problems faced by the producers of Amistad and the shortcomings of both the film and its accompanying study guide in their attempt to portray history. More importantly, Foner raises questions not only about the accuracy of details and lack of historic context, but also about the messages behind Hollywood’s portrayal of history as entertainment. (Posted March 1998)
Resources Available: TEXT.
“I Always Had Pads with Me”: A G.I. Artist’s Sketchpad, 1943–1944
In the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor and the declaration of war, thousands of Americans enlisted in the U.S. armed forces. Among them was twenty-year-old Bronx resident Ben Hurwitz. Like many of the men and women who entered military service, Hurwitz (who changed his name to Brown after the war) kept a record of his experiences. But his “journal” was a sketchpad, and, during his two years in North Africa and Italy, Corporal Hurwitz drew and painted at every opportunity. Hurwitz’s pictures are accompanied by the artist’s commentary transcribed by historian Joshua Brown in November 1996. Sketches used with permission of Eleanor A. Brown.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES.
In the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor and the declaration of war, thousands of Americans enlisted in the U.S. armed forces. Among them was twenty-year-old Bronx resident Ben Hurwitz. Like many of the men and women who entered military service, Hurwitz (who changed his name to Brown after the war) kept a record of his experiences. But his “journal” was a sketchpad, and, during his two years in North Africa and Italy, Corporal Hurwitz drew and painted at every opportunity. Hurwitz’s pictures are accompanied by the artist’s commentary transcribed by historian Joshua Brown in November 1996. Sketches used with permission of Eleanor A. Brown.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES.