Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Identity by design: Tradition, Change and Celebration in Native Women’s Dresses

Identity by design: Tradition, Change and Celebration in Native Women’s Dresses [http://www.nmai.si.edu/exhibitions/identity_by_design/IdentityByDesign.html ] - For many generations, Native American women have crafted dresses that are both aesthetically pleasing and also tell important stories. These stories incorporate different visions about their respective tribal values and family status. This online exhibit, curated by Colleen Cutschall and Emil Her Many Horses, pays tribute to these creations. After reading a brief introduction to the site, visitors can make their way through sections that include “19th-century style”, “Indigenous Innovation”, and “Forming Cultural Identity”. Each section contains explanatory captions, primary documents (including photographs and drawings) and some very nice interactive features, such as a feature that shows how a side-fold dress was made and worn. Perhaps the most admirable aspect of this site is that it illuminates both past traditions and current practices of Native American dress making.
>From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2007. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Imagining the French Revolution


Imagining the French Revolution [http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/imaging/ ] - Any good historian knows that to create a multifaceted and thorough portrait of any historical event or process it is important to draw on a multitude of primary and secondary sources. For example, if one merely relied on Edmund Burke’s “Reflections on the French Revolution”, he or she would certainly craft a rather one-sided portrait of this monumental event in world history. For more diverse opinions, this project, created by the Center for History & New Media at George Mason University and the Department of History at UCLA, takes on the popular images of the French Revolution. Visitors to the site can read essays by various scholars that analyze differing depictions of the Revolutionary crowd. There are some real gems here, and visitors can also view the actual images themselves, which are contained on the site in the “Images” area. Additionally, the site contains an archived discussion area, which contains comments on the power of images, the relationship between text and images, and appropriately enough, the advantages and disadvantages of online collaboration - >From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2007. http://scout.wisc.edu/