week 1 introduction


the future of the past: history in the digital age schedule/websites \|\| assignment due dates \|\| writing center info \|\| class home

week 1
introduction

1/16 Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday – No Class
1/18 Orientation: requirements, expectations, plans

reading
Briggs and Burke, Social History of the Media (chapters 1-4)

week 2
communication innovations as history

1/23 overview of different ways of presenting, preserving, and experiencing history
(academic history, public history, commercial history; film and television; books,
historic sites, museums, the world wide web)

1/25 discuss how communication formats affect the social, political, and cultural aspects of
the circulation of knowledge, with a focus on the history of reading and the print
revolution

Pass out Website Review instructions for American Memory, Who Killed William
Robinson?, and Valley of the Shadow (first two due on 2/8, third on 2/22)

reading
   Briggs and Burke, Social History of the Media (chapters 5-6)
   Cohen and Rosenzweig, Digital History (Introduction and Chapter 1)

internet
   Library of Congress, American Memory    http://lcweb2.loc.gov/amhome.html

week 3
communication innovations as history (con.)

1/30 discuss how communication formats affect the social, political, and cultural aspects of
         the circulation of knowledge, with a focus on communication in the age of steam and
          electricity
2/1    beginning to think digitally: case study on differences and parallels between the
         emergence of radio and the internet

Pass out Exam Question on Social History of the Media (due 2/13)

reading
Briggs and Burke, Social History of the Media (chapters 7-8)
Bolter, Writing Space (chapters 1-3 – on e-reserve)

internet Who Killed William Robinson?

http://web.uvic.ca/history-robinson http://www.lostmuseum.cuny.edu/home.html

week 4
history and the web: first examples

2/6 what changes when we go to the web for history – the nature of hypertext

Instructions for Final Project passed out, along with questions for the Digital History Book – these are due Friday of Finals Week

2/8    Website Review Paper Due: discuss American Memory and Who Killed William
           Robinson? websites

Pass Out Book/Website Comparison Instructions for Our Three Case Studies

reading
   Glassberg, Sense of History (chapters 1,2, and 4; chapter 3 optional)

internet
   The Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil War

http://valley.vcdh.virginia.edu

week 5
public history

2/13    Social History of the Media Exam Due: Discussion

2/15 A "sense of history" vs. "changing interpretations of history": the issue of amateurs and professionals

Pass Out Exam Question for Sense of History (due 2/27)

reading
   Glassberg, Sense of History (chapters 5, 7, and conclusion; chapter 6 optional)

internet
   Will Thomas and Edward Ayers, "The Difference Slavery Made: A Close Analysis
    of Two American Communities"

http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/AHR/

week 6
public history (con.)

2/20 public history and war

2/22 Website Review Paper Due: discuss Valley of the Shadow

reading
Ulrich, Midwife’s Tale (through the December 1793 chapter)

internet do history (website on Martha Ballard)

http://www.dohistory.org

week 7
personal documents as evidence

2/27 Sense of History Exam Due: Discussion

3/1 historical background: diaries as historical evidence

reading
Finish Ulrich, Midwife’s Tale

internet
do history (website on Martha Ballard)

http://www.dohistory.org

week 8
history on the web: case study #1

3/6 computer lab session for dohistory.org

3/8    Report Due: comparison of Midwife’s Tale as digital history (dohistory.org) and as
         history in book form

reading
   Adams, e pluribus Barnum (Introduction, chapter 1)

week 9

3/13 no class: spring break
3/15 no class: spring break

week 10
experiencing history

3/20 engaging different historical audiences

3/22 words alone? history as a visual experience

reading
Adams, e Pluribus Barnum (chapters 2-4)
Cohen and Rosenzweig, Digital History (chapters 2-4)

internet The Lost Museum

http://www.lostmuseum.cuny.edu/home.html

week 11
digital issues

3/27 digital media as interactive media

3/29 historical background: the rise of museums in the 19^th century

reading
   Adams, e Pluribus Barnum (chapter 5 and conclusion)
   Cohen and Rosenzweig, Digital History (chapters 5-7)

internet
   The Lost Museum

http://www.lostmuseum.cuny.edu/home.html

week 12
history on the web: case study #2

4/3 computer lab session for The Lost Museum

4/5   Report Due: discussion of P.T. Barnum as an historical figure; comparison of digital
         history (The Lost Museum) and print (e Pluribus Barnum)

reading
Linenthal, The Unfinished Bombing (chapters 1-2)

internet
   The September 11^th Digital Archive

http://www.911digitalarchive.org

week 13
digital issues (con.)

4/10 copyright issues and digital historical work

4/12 digital archives: taking the sources out of the libraries

reading
Linenthal, The Unfinished Bombing (chapters 3-conclusion)

internet The September 11^th Digital Archive

http://www.911digitalarchive.org

week 14
public history and digital archives of recent history

4/17 historical background: memorialization and how we remember the past

4/19 computer lab session for The September 11^th Digital Archive

internet
Edward L. Ayers, "The Pasts and Futures of Digital History"
http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/PastsFutures.html

Vernon Takeshita, "Tangled Webs: The Limits of Historical Analysis on the Internet"
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~history/newsletter/spring01/web.html

week 15
history on the web: case study #3

4/24    Report Due: comparison of memories of a major disaster as digital history (the
            September 11^th Digital Archive) and as an historic site and in print (The
            Unfinished Bombing, The Oklahoma City National Memorial)

4/26    computer lab session for www.historychannel.com

internet
   The History Channel

http://www.historychannel.com

              Roy Rosenzweig, "Scarcity or Abundance? Preserving the Past in a Digital Era,"
              AHR (June 2003) http://chnm.gmu.edu/assets/historyessays/scarcity.html

week 16
final thoughts

5/1    comparison and discussion of "deep-pockets" digital history (commercial ventures such
          as the History Channel) and webprojects we’ve examined
5/3    consultation session for final projects

Assignments

1. Website Reviews of American Memory & Who Killed William Robinson? (due week 4 on 2/8) -- 4-5 pp., 5% (graded s/u)

2. First take-home essay exam on Social History of Media (due week 5 on 2/13) – 5 pp., 10%

3. Website Review of Valley of the Shadow (due week 6 on 2/22) – 3-4 pp., 5% (graded s/u)

4. Second take-home essay exam on Sense of History (due week 7 on 2/27) – 5 pp., 10%

5. Case Studies:

do history / Midwife’s Tale (due week 8 on 3/8) – 5-6 pp., 15%
The Lost Museum / e Pluribus Barnum (due week 12 on 4/5) – 5-6 pp., 15%The Unfinished Bombing / 911 Digital Archive (due week 15 on 4/24) – 5-6 pp., 15%

Note: The last two assignments – 6 and 7 – are both due on Friday, May 12^th, from 10:30-12:30 (the final exam time for this class), in Dale 116.

6. Reflections on Digital History (3 pp.) – 5%

7. Final Essay: Research Project based on a digital history website (10 pp.) – 20%

University of Oklahoma ConocoPhillips Writing Center

If you would like help with your pre-writing, organizing, documenting sources, or other aspects of writing assignments, make an appointment at the Writing Center – 325-2936. The Writing Center is located in Bizzell Library, Lower Level 227. They are open Mon-Wed 9:00 - 8:00 and on Thurs-Fri from 9:00-5:00. Information is also available at their website: http://www.ou.edu/writingcenter/index.htm

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