Help |
Site Map
|
The Scout Report: Penn and Slavery Project, Robots Reading Vogue, Open Book Publishers, Black History in Two Minutes & Maps of Home
GENERAL INTEREST
Back to Top |
 |
PENN AND SLAVERY PROJECT
|
SOCIAL STUDIES |
|
Founded in 2017, the Penn and Slavery Project researches the University of Pennsylvania's ties to slavery and scientific racism. In doing so, the project hopes to correct false narratives about Penn's history and create increased accountability and change. The message of accountability is not limited to their campus, either; the project emphasizes "that no colony, state, or well-funded university was buffered from slavery's reach." The project is powered by undergraduate student researchers and designers, with support from faculty and fellows. Readers can explore the students' reports by semester (Fall 2017-Spring 2019) on the Student Reports page. Users can also explore the research by topic ("slave ownership," "finances," "medical school," and "campus"). The project also acknowledges gaps in research. For example, the contributors note that "while the archives provide ample information about powerful white men who helped create the university, the information about the lived experience of enslaved people is much harder to find." For more information about the project and its impact, readers may want to explore the relevant news stories catalogued on the About page. [EMB]
|
|
|
|
 |
ROBOTS READING VOGUE
|
SOCIAL STUDIES |
|
Robots Reading Vogue explores the digital humanities (DH) possibilities presented using data from Vogue magazine. Vogue creates a DH bonanza, as it has been "continuously published for over a century," and is "completely digitized," resulting in some six terabytes of data and thousands of covers and images. Several experiments are showcased on the website, including the Diana Vreeland Memo Generator, a project that pulls the text of over 200 memos written by Diana Vreeland (former editor-in-chief of American Vogue) to create Vreeland-esque memos on the fly. Another project, Advertisements in Vogue, looks at the frequency of ads per issue and plots the data on a graph. The interactive charts allow readers to compare the advertising highpoints for companies like Estee Lauder, Tiffany & Co., and Calvin Klein. Robots Reading Vogue is a joint project at Yale University, headed by Associate Director for Access and Research Services at the Haas Arts Library Lindsay King and Director of the Digital Humanities Lab Peter Leonard. [DS]
|
|
|
|
 |
OPEN BOOK PUBLISHERS
|
LANGUAGE ARTS |
|
At first glance, Open Book Publishers may look like an ordinary bookselling site. What makes the literary hub unique is that it not only publishes books in traditional print and ebook formats, but it also publishes "free online editions of every title in PDF, HTML and XML formats that can be read via our website, downloaded, reused or embedded anywhere." This online format also allows for more interactive texts, as authors can embed images, audio, and more. Readers can browse the latest titles on the home page or sort by categories, including Digital Humanities and Sciences, using the left-hand panel. Educators may want to pay special attention to the selection of Textbooks and Learning Guides. The site also provides information about the submission process and hosts a blog packed with book reviews and other insights. In addition to sales and donations, Open Book Publishers receives financial support from the Polonsky Foundation, the Thriplow Charitable Trust, the Jessica E. Smith and Kevin R. Brine Charitable Trust, and The Progress Foundation. [EMB]
|
|
|
|
 |
BLACK HISTORY IN TWO MINUTES (OR SO)
|
SOCIAL STUDIES |
|
As readers continue to celebrate Black History Month, the Black History in Two Minutes (or so) podcast is a wonderful resource to learn the full scope of U.S. history. The award-winning show explores important people and events from the past and present. These episodes create more accurate depictions of well-studied events such as the Civil War and school integration, while also highlighting prominent figures left out of most history books (for example, a recent episode discusses Oscar Micheaux, the first Black indie filmmaker). The resource is well suited for educators, too; as the name implies, episodes are short and accessible to a general audience. The podcast is executive produced by an impressive team: Robert F. Smith, (Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Vista Equity Partners); Henry Louis Gates Jr. (Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University); Dyllan McGee (an Emmy and Peabody award-winning filmmaker and co-founder of McGee Media); and Deon Taylor (film director and founder of Hidden Empire Film Group). Professor Gates also narrates the series. Listeners can subscribe on their favorite podcast platform, including Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Android, and Stitcher. Readers will also find the show on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. [EMB]
|
|
|
|
 |
MAPS OF HOME
|
SOCIAL STUDIES |
|
Maps of Home tells the story of growing up and going back. This theme may be relatable to many readers, as COVID-19 led to many relocations and returns. In the piece, author Dylan Moriarty reminisces on the nearly two decades he spent growing up in Janesville, Wisconsin. He later moved to New York, returning to the Midwest mostly for "holiday pop-ins" in the years that followed. A family member's illness caused Moriarty to return to Wisconsin for a longer period of time, and he decided to reflect on his homecoming in this data visualization. The nostalgic prose and engaging visuals make the piece a sweet read, culminating in a memorable line: "It is enthralling realizing that for each of those folk, this lil' dot [referring to map coordinates] blows out to a whole other story." To add an audio element to the piece, users will want to click the "Hover for Companion tunes" button in the right corner. This will initiate a fitting playlist, beginning with the song "Home Again" by Michael Kiwanuka. Maps of Home was created with Mapbox and OpenStreetMap data. Readers who enjoyed this piece may wish to explore the other posts on Moriarty's blog, Moriarty Naps. [EMB]
|
|
Copyright © 2021 Internet Scout Research Group - http://scout.wisc.edu
The Internet Scout Research Group, located in the Computer Sciences Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, provides Internet publications and software to the research and education communities under grants from the National Science Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon foundation, and other philanthropic organizations. Users may make and distribute verbatim copies of any of Internet Scout's publications or web content, provided this paragraph, including the above copyright notice, is preserved on all copies.
Culture and Arts, Home and Shopping, News and Issues, History, Culture Watch, Style and Fashion, Shop for Yourself, Issues, Politics, Media, Learning, Senior Women Web, Articles, Sightings, Book Reviews, What's New
More Articles- Joan Cannon Writes: Finding the Right Excuse; Committing Words to Paper Because ...
- Julia Sneden: The Comfort Zone of Yardley's English Lavender Soap, Merle Norman Sun Cream, Fleers Double Bubble Gum, Miner's Lettuce, A Bosky Dell, A Granddaughter's Hand in Mine
- Jo Freeman's Review of Michael Barone's How America’s Political Parties Change (And How They Don’t)
- Filling in the Blanks: A Prehistory of the Adult Coloring Craze
- Joan Cannon Asked: What is a Book Club? An Old-Fashioned Book Report? A Program Given By an Author? What Is the Accepted Practice?
- A Curmudgeon's Complaint: Should There Be a Convention For the Preservation of Real Literature?
- Scout Report: Computer Dating, "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu", Western Front WWI,Women's History, Vaccinations, Newsmap, "Look Out Honey, 'Cause I'm Using Technology"
- Why Write? It's Like Everest! - Because It's There
- A C-Span Q&A With David McCullough: The American Spirit: Who We Are and What We Stand For
- 100 Years of Pulitzer Fiction Prizes and a New Way to Submit an Entry to the Competition
|
|