Connecting to the Future
Analyzing Online Historical Collections
I explored two collections from Documenting the American South at the University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill. Navigating the http://docsouth.unc.edu website was very easy. Along the top of the opening page there are nine tabs and one of them is entitled Collections. I clicked on the Collections tab and a list of thirteen collections popped up. What was nice about this collection list was that there was a title as well as a brief description and a thumbnail picture to accompany the description. The two collections I choose were “True and Candid Compositions: The Lives and Writings of Antebellum Students at the University of North Carolina” and North Carolinians and the Great War.”
“True and Candid Compositions: The Lives and Writings of Antebellum Students at the University of North Carolina.”
When you click on the link from the original list of thirteen more thumbnails as well as a longer summary of the collection are shown. On the left side of the collection explanation is a box that allows you to search the collection. The top of the box has a Google search for the collection. Directly under the Google search is an option for an advanced search. The advanced search lets you enter words and choose what fields you want to be searched as well as the genre. If you know what name you want to search for you can type in the proper name and search that way.
Under the advanced search tab there is a list from the Introduction through Chapter 6 and then Editorial Practices. When you click on a tab such as Chapter 1 there is another list. For example under Chapter 1 the items are The Establishment of the University, The Early Faculty, The Early Curriculum, Early Student Rebellions and then Primary Documents. When I clicked on the link for Primacy Documents eighteen documents with information related to Chapter 1, which covers the 1795 to 1819, were listed. When you choose a document the letters, author and date are located at the top under a document summary. You can see the actual image of the letter or paper by clicking on a link for each page. The letters are typed up in html for you to read. There are also endnotes at the bottom of the primary document. I really like this webpage because it gives you information about the primary document, the E-edition and some editorial practices for each primary document. The layout is very easy to follow and aesthetically pleasing.
“North Carolinians and the Great War.”
The opening page of this collection also has five thumbnails across the top. Just under the thumbnails is a short explanation of the collection. When you click on the thumbnails it sends you to a link of the sources from which the thumbnails are taken. Under the description of the collection is a short list of links that can be used to explore the collection. The first tab is an introduction about Carolinians before the war, during the war and after the war. The introduction article is short and easy to read. Under the Introduction tab is an option for locating North Carolinians in Alphabetical order by name. When you click on a person’s link you see options for full texts, illustrations, and subjects. For things such as posters the image is displayed for you with a source description. You can also choose from the opening page to browse by topic, to browse images by subject, to explore further research about this collection and more information about the collection. This website is also easy to navigate. This one is also more interesting because it has more images to choose from and look at.
After exploring the Documenting the American South website I traveled over to the American Faces collection. Which I randomly picked from the list of collections in the email Dr. Lee sent.
“American Faces: Twenty-First Century Photographs.”
This collection is from the Journal of American History website which is credited at the top left of the page. On the left of the page is a paragraph which talks about the importance and influence of photographs and their authors. Underneath this description is a link to reading the introduction. The introduction was featured in the Journal of American History and is cited at the top of the page. You can click on home to go back to the opening page or next to continue reading when you are done with the page. On the right hand side of the page is a list of the featured essays and photographs. Each item in the list has a title, a photograph and the author’s name. You can click on any essay and travel through all of the essays by click previous or next. Under each essay title you can see the photograph and click on a link to see a larger image. The images are along the right hand side of the essay. Each essay has a few pictures for you to click on and view. From each page you can click home to go back to the American Faces homepage or to the Journal of American History homepage. The collection is easy to navigate however it is lengthy in wording. What is important about this collection is that photographs can be used to study history.
Another website I explored was History Matters. I clicked on the link from the email. Under this website I chose to explore Famous Trials.
“Famous Trials.”
This collection of famous trials was compiled by Douglas O. Linder in 2009. It also lists the school he is affiliated with which is the University of Missouri-Kansas City. The layout of this website is very simple. Under the title, author and affiliation are 56 pictures with the trial name underneath them. They range from the trial of Socrates, to the Lizzie Borden trial, to the King beating trial and the O.J. Simpson trial and the Clinton Impeachment. When you click on a link under each photo you are sent to a colorful site with a picture and overview of the trial on your right. On the left are links of things such as chronology, maps, and images, details of the trial and further historical information regarding the parties involved and the events. Each link contains more links to help you understand why each trial is important. Each page you can visit is set up in a very elementary manner. Many of the pictures look like they were copied and pasted in. There are a lot of links for each trial which can be overwhelming.
At the end of the homepage is a picture stating more famous trials. This link is a white page with the trials listed by date. All the information streams directly down the center of the page with very few images spaced sporadically throughout. You can also only click on a select few. Many of the trials on this page are just listed. There is also a link towards the bottom of the page that states the purpose for this site. The basic motivation behind this site is to encourage students to find a trial they have interest in on this site and then continue from this starting point for research. At the bottom of the webpage are more links to continue with this process. From each trial page you can click the link to take you back to the homepage.
From the History Matters page I clicked on the link entitled Military History. From there I choose to review The American Image.
“The American Image—The Photographs of John Collier Jr.”
This website layout is very bright and pleasing. Across the top are the title, the collection, activities, a biography and information about the project. There is also one of John Collier, Jr.’s pictures that takes up half of the opening page and to the right you can compare images from yesterday and today, which is an activity teachers can use with their students, you can click on the for teachers link to explore this activity. Another activity you can click on to explore is the Active Looking Activity and the Propaganda Filmmaker. Each of these activities gives you a link to participate in the activity as well as guides for teachers and information regarding why these activities are important.
Each time you navigate away from the homepage and then return the picture has changed to display a new one. Under the propaganda activity you can use different tabs to create your own film. The collection is designated into image sets. All the photos are streaming across the bottom of the page; you can click on the red arrows to view them. When you choose an image set from the list on the right hand of the page it takes you to a more specific group of photos. These photos are also streaming across the bottom of the page. You can click on a photo to enlarge it. This project is important because it was created for teachers to use in the classroom. It explores the WW II years in photographs.
“True and Candid Compositions: The Lives and Writings of Antebellum Students at the University of North Carolina.”
When you click on the link from the original list of thirteen more thumbnails as well as a longer summary of the collection are shown. On the left side of the collection explanation is a box that allows you to search the collection. The top of the box has a Google search for the collection. Directly under the Google search is an option for an advanced search. The advanced search lets you enter words and choose what fields you want to be searched as well as the genre. If you know what name you want to search for you can type in the proper name and search that way.
Under the advanced search tab there is a list from the Introduction through Chapter 6 and then Editorial Practices. When you click on a tab such as Chapter 1 there is another list. For example under Chapter 1 the items are The Establishment of the University, The Early Faculty, The Early Curriculum, Early Student Rebellions and then Primary Documents. When I clicked on the link for Primacy Documents eighteen documents with information related to Chapter 1, which covers the 1795 to 1819, were listed. When you choose a document the letters, author and date are located at the top under a document summary. You can see the actual image of the letter or paper by clicking on a link for each page. The letters are typed up in html for you to read. There are also endnotes at the bottom of the primary document. I really like this webpage because it gives you information about the primary document, the E-edition and some editorial practices for each primary document. The layout is very easy to follow and aesthetically pleasing.
“North Carolinians and the Great War.”
The opening page of this collection also has five thumbnails across the top. Just under the thumbnails is a short explanation of the collection. When you click on the thumbnails it sends you to a link of the sources from which the thumbnails are taken. Under the description of the collection is a short list of links that can be used to explore the collection. The first tab is an introduction about Carolinians before the war, during the war and after the war. The introduction article is short and easy to read. Under the Introduction tab is an option for locating North Carolinians in Alphabetical order by name. When you click on a person’s link you see options for full texts, illustrations, and subjects. For things such as posters the image is displayed for you with a source description. You can also choose from the opening page to browse by topic, to browse images by subject, to explore further research about this collection and more information about the collection. This website is also easy to navigate. This one is also more interesting because it has more images to choose from and look at.
After exploring the Documenting the American South website I traveled over to the American Faces collection. Which I randomly picked from the list of collections in the email Dr. Lee sent.
“American Faces: Twenty-First Century Photographs.”
This collection is from the Journal of American History website which is credited at the top left of the page. On the left of the page is a paragraph which talks about the importance and influence of photographs and their authors. Underneath this description is a link to reading the introduction. The introduction was featured in the Journal of American History and is cited at the top of the page. You can click on home to go back to the opening page or next to continue reading when you are done with the page. On the right hand side of the page is a list of the featured essays and photographs. Each item in the list has a title, a photograph and the author’s name. You can click on any essay and travel through all of the essays by click previous or next. Under each essay title you can see the photograph and click on a link to see a larger image. The images are along the right hand side of the essay. Each essay has a few pictures for you to click on and view. From each page you can click home to go back to the American Faces homepage or to the Journal of American History homepage. The collection is easy to navigate however it is lengthy in wording. What is important about this collection is that photographs can be used to study history.
Another website I explored was History Matters. I clicked on the link from the email. Under this website I chose to explore Famous Trials.
“Famous Trials.”
This collection of famous trials was compiled by Douglas O. Linder in 2009. It also lists the school he is affiliated with which is the University of Missouri-Kansas City. The layout of this website is very simple. Under the title, author and affiliation are 56 pictures with the trial name underneath them. They range from the trial of Socrates, to the Lizzie Borden trial, to the King beating trial and the O.J. Simpson trial and the Clinton Impeachment. When you click on a link under each photo you are sent to a colorful site with a picture and overview of the trial on your right. On the left are links of things such as chronology, maps, and images, details of the trial and further historical information regarding the parties involved and the events. Each link contains more links to help you understand why each trial is important. Each page you can visit is set up in a very elementary manner. Many of the pictures look like they were copied and pasted in. There are a lot of links for each trial which can be overwhelming.
At the end of the homepage is a picture stating more famous trials. This link is a white page with the trials listed by date. All the information streams directly down the center of the page with very few images spaced sporadically throughout. You can also only click on a select few. Many of the trials on this page are just listed. There is also a link towards the bottom of the page that states the purpose for this site. The basic motivation behind this site is to encourage students to find a trial they have interest in on this site and then continue from this starting point for research. At the bottom of the webpage are more links to continue with this process. From each trial page you can click the link to take you back to the homepage.
From the History Matters page I clicked on the link entitled Military History. From there I choose to review The American Image.
“The American Image—The Photographs of John Collier Jr.”
This website layout is very bright and pleasing. Across the top are the title, the collection, activities, a biography and information about the project. There is also one of John Collier, Jr.’s pictures that takes up half of the opening page and to the right you can compare images from yesterday and today, which is an activity teachers can use with their students, you can click on the for teachers link to explore this activity. Another activity you can click on to explore is the Active Looking Activity and the Propaganda Filmmaker. Each of these activities gives you a link to participate in the activity as well as guides for teachers and information regarding why these activities are important.
Each time you navigate away from the homepage and then return the picture has changed to display a new one. Under the propaganda activity you can use different tabs to create your own film. The collection is designated into image sets. All the photos are streaming across the bottom of the page; you can click on the red arrows to view them. When you choose an image set from the list on the right hand of the page it takes you to a more specific group of photos. These photos are also streaming across the bottom of the page. You can click on a photo to enlarge it. This project is important because it was created for teachers to use in the classroom. It explores the WW II years in photographs.
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