Before class:

Read

• William Cronon, “Getting ready to do history” [pdf] pages 1-7 only.
• Douglas Seefeldt and William G. Thomas, “What is Digital History,” Perspectives, May 2009.
• Dan Cohen and Roy Rosenzweig, “Introduction: Promises and Perils of Digital History” and “Getting Started,” in Digital History, online edition (Center for History and New Media, 2005).
• Miriam Posner, “How Did They Make That?,” August 29, 2013. Click through to all of the projects listed in this post.

Explore

Here are a list of some digital history projects. Pick two, investigate them, and prepare to discuss the projects you examined in class as a group. In particular, we should be thinking of a few things while looking into these projects. What arguments do these projects make? Who funded the projects? What’s different about how the information is presented versus a traditional book? What sources do they use? Do they have anything in common? How are they different?

• Digital Harlem
• Geography of the Post
• Gulag: Many Days, Many Lives
• Her Hat Was in the Ring
• Histories of the National Mall
• History Quest DC and explanation
• HistoryPin
• Hurricane Digital Memory Bank
• Language of the State of the Union, Mapping the State of the Union, and The State of the Union in Context
• Locating London’s Past
• The Lost Museum
• Mozilla Digital Memory Bank
• Old Bailey Online
• Orbis
• Papers of the War Department
• PhilaPlace
• Railroads and the Making of Modern America
• Redlining Richmond
• September 11 Digital Archive
• Serendip-o-matic
• Spread of U.S. Slavery, 1790–1860
• Voting America
• Women Writer’s Project

After Class:

Think about the projects we discussed in class. You will need to blog (300-500 words) your thoughts on the projects you looked at before class. What works? What doesn’t? Can any of these serve as a model for you and your thoughts on the final project? What’s the benefit of a digital history project over a traditional book? What are the negatives? DUE FEBRUARY 4 BY 5PM