General Interest
http://www.digitalwordsworth.org/
Created as part of a unique collaboration between Lancaster University and the Arts & Humanities Research Council, this site brings together manuscript materials for two important texts by William Wordsworth: Prelude and Home at Grasmere. The focus of the project is to explore "the importance of place to the writing of poetry", and it's a novel and interesting way to think about the creative process. The intent of the project is "to open up an understanding of the relationship between actual physical place and imagined, textual space in the context of the poem and the making of the manuscript." First-time visitors should take a look at the "How to Use This Site" area to learn about how they can best navigate the site. Along with containing the text of both works, visitors can look at different maps of the places discussed in these works, learn about Wordsworth's movements around these places when he was writing, and look at historical maps. Overall, this site is well-thought out and it may serve as a model for those looking to explore the relationship between real and imagined places in literature. [KMG]
Working with metals has engaged the talents of humans for thousands of years, and the Creative Metalworking site is great way for those with an interest in such matters to learn more about it. The primary function of the site is "to document the processes used to create cast and fabricated art/design works", and the site is maintained by Robert Moule. Visitor can click on the "Bronzecasting" section to learn about casting processes via different images and short summaries. The materials here are divided into sections that include "materials testing", "restoration", and "patterns". The next section of note is the "Fabrication" area, which contains a primer on metallurgy, including information on the chemical processes involved with this activity. The site is rounded out by a collection of relevant links to other external sources that cover metalworking, metal art galleries, and trade associations. [KMG]
http://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/
If you're looking for information about the built environment in and around the City of Brotherly Love, you should definitely bookmark this invaluable site. Created as part of a partnership between organizations including The Athenaeum of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Historical Commission, the project website includes access to a database with architectural and historical information and images for over 35,000 structures in Philadelphia and the surrounding area. Additionally, the site also provides access to biographical sketches of over 2,500 architects and a library of over 25,000 images. Visitors will need to sign up to use these resources, but it's entirely free, and it takes just a couple of minutes to complete the registration. After doing so, visitors will be able to search for buildings, locations, thematic collections, and so on. [KMG]
http://forces.si.edu/index.html
This informative website from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History suggests that "to understand our world, we must understand change." A thoughtful sentiment, and one that explains the site's basic mission quite well. Essentially, the site looks to explore climate change, ecological change, and cultural change. Drawing on a wide range of research, the site looks at how different types of changes are affecting life on earth, and some of the processes covered here include El Nino, volcanic eruptions, and changes in the atmosphere. Visitors can click on sections such as "Arctic" and "Atmosphere" to watch interviews, enjoy interactive features, and read research reports on all of these matters. The site also includes a special "For Educators" area that features everything from printable Arctic bookmarks to tours of prairie ecosystems. [KMG]
The Mapping the African American Past (MAAP) project, produced by a team of researchers and specialists at Columbia University, offers a marriage of African American history and geography in New York City. The project was funded by JPMorganChase, and it allows users to navigate through sites of importance to the African American community throughout the city's past. New visitors may wish to start by watching the short film, "Introduction to MAAP", and then move on over to the "Place in Focus" feature. Here they can learn about places like Five Points, the Abyssinian Baptist Church, and the home of David Ruggles. They can also use an interactive map to toggle through places associated with certain time periods, such as the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Additionally, the site also contains lesson plans that address topics that include African American community and culture and "Building New York". The site is rounded out by a series of podcasts which cover all 52 locations featured on the MAAP website. [KMG]
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meltdown/
The economic situation in the United States is on everyone's minds right now, and this provocative and thoughtful look into how it all transpired is offered as part of Frontline's regular programming. As with most Frontline programs, visitors can watch the full program, and then go back to sections like "Interviews", "Timeline", and "Analysis". The "Analysis" section is particularly shrewd, and it contains interviews with key economic players and policy types including Barney Frank, Sheila Blair, and Chris Dodd. Visitors can also view an interactive timeline of events related to the meltdown and even chime in with their own thoughts via the "Join the Discussion" area. [KMG]
http://www.library.yale.edu/newhavenhistory/
This intriguing look into the life of one of America's oldest urban areas begins with a thoughtful insight: "The American city has been seen as problematic at least since the time of Jefferson." New Haven, Connecticut has certainly been seen as problematic throughout the ages, and this site provides a place to learn about its successes and its failures. Created by staff members at the Yale University Library (in consultation with professors and others), the material here is divided into three sections: "Images", "Maps", and "Data". After clicking on the "Images" area visitors can view specific images from New Haven's many neighborhoods. The historic images cover industrial geography, commercial districts, community events, and so on. In the "Maps" area, visitors can make their way amidst maps of the city that date from 1852 to 1995. This section also contains information from Census 2000, and information about clubs and hotels that existed in the city in the early 20th century. Finally, the data area contains census reports and data files from the past 150 years. [KMG]
Created by art historians at Smith College in 2005, the goal of the Vistas project is to promote wider understanding of the visual culture of the Spanish Americas. The project covers a vast region and time period, running geographically from California to Chile, and temporally from the 16th century to the early 19th century. The centerpiece of the site is the gallery, with over 100 images arranged by time period. The 1500s, 1600s, and 1700s are the most populated sections. Images range from a modern photo of Saqsawamán, which is a series of masonry zigzagging walls used as a fortress, palace, and temple from the mid-15th to early 16th century in Cuzco, Peru, to the Chicano Park murals in San Diego, California, begun in 1973. In between there are examples such as a portrait of Simón Bolívar in Lima, 1825, by José Gil de Castro, and a Mexican Chippendale Chair, built in the mid- to late-18th century, in the style of the English furniture maker Thomas Chippendale, using mahogany from the forests of Central or South America.
[DS]
