|
|
The Last Issue of the Scout Report for Social Sciences & Humanities
The Internet Scout Project is sad to announce that this is the final issue of the Scout Report for Social Sciences & Humanities. We have been unable to secure funding to continue publishing our subject-specific reports. The last issue of the Scout Report for Business & Economics will be May 31, and the last issue of the Scout Report for Science & Engineering will be June 20. We have, however, no immediate plans to cease publishing our flagship report, the Scout Report. Many thanks to our loyal readers.
If you do not already receive the Scout Report, you can subscribe here:
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/report/sr/srsubscribe.html
[Back to Contents]
|
|
Report of the Sharm el-Sheikh Fact Finding Committee [.pdf]
http://www.meridian.org/sheikh.htm
On May 21, the Sharm el-Sheikh Fact Finding Committee, chaired by former Senator George Mitchell, issued its report on the recent outbreak of violence between Israelis and Palestinians. Among other things, the report calls for an immediate halt to the violence, to be followed by confidence-building measures and the resumption of security cooperation and peace negotiations. It also calls for a halt in the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. The full text of the report and Senator Mitchell's statement from the May 21 news conference may be downloaded from the Meridian International Center Website. [MD]
[Back to Contents]AIDS Epidemic at 20 -- Kaiser Family Foundation, Ford Foundation [.pdf]
The AIDS Epidemic at 20 Years: The View From America (Survey Report)
http://www.kff.org/content/2001/3026/aids20_rpt.pdf
The AIDS Epidemic at 20 Years: Selected Milestones (Timeline)
http://www.kff.org/content/2001/3026/aids20_timeline.pdf
Press Release:
http://www.kff.org/content/2001/3026/Press%20Release2.htm
Last Friday, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Ford Foundation released a report on the public's perception of the AIDS epidemic in America. This release is in advance of the National Symposium on AIDS convening on June 5, which will, among other things, take up these findings. According to the 64-page report, "when asked to name the most urgent health problem facing the U.S., more than one in four Americans (26%) names AIDS" -- a significant decline from recent years, but still AIDS is second only to cancer (35%). Moreover, nearly half of Americans (49%) think HIV/AIDS is a "more pressing problem for the nation today than it was a few years ago." The survey presents data on the state of American's knowledge about the epidemic -- including its means of transmission, the number of Americans who have relatives or friends with AIDS, and their opinions on the Federal government's role in fighting AIDS both at home and abroad as well as the worldwide AIDS crisis. Opinions are also broken down by race, showing marked variance in the responses of different ethnic groups. An eight-page timeline of selected milestones in the history of the epidemic is also posted as well as a press release. [DC]
[Back to Contents]Ambitions for Britain - Labour's General Election Manifesto [.pdf]
http://www.labour.org.uk/lp/new/labour/labour.wwv_main.main?p_full=1&p_language=us&p_cornerid=364783
Released last week by the Labour Party, this 44-page document lays out the ambitions of Prime Minister Blair and the party over the next 10 years. These include long-term economic stability, rising living standards for all, expanded higher education, faster and more effective health care, full employment in every region, "opportunity for all children, security for all pensioners," a modern criminal justice system, "strong and accountable local government," leadership in the expansion of the EU, and commitments to tackling global poverty and climate issues. The document is posted in .pdf format and can be accessed in two sections at the URL listed above. [DC]
[Back to Contents]Archives of European Archaeology (AREA)
http://www.inha.fr/area-archives/
Launched in 1999, but recently updated, the Archives of European Archaeology (AREA) "is a research network dedicated to the history of archaeology, with particular emphasis on the archives of the discipline, their promotion and preservation." The heart of the site consists of two sections. The first, "a thematic track," offers "substantive, original research" examining the history of archaeology and drawing on "hitherto unknown or unexploited archival material." Representative titles here include "Europe, archaeology and colonialism: The making of prehistory in Southern Africa, 1920s - 1940s" and "The role of archaeology in the formation of modern Greece." The second section consists of a database of catalog entries for archival materials relevant to the history of archaeology in the countries of Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden. One can search the database by place names, country, language, date, names of individuals and institutions, as well as by free-text search, which searches the entire catalog entry. "The information contained in the database bears on the identity of the archival entity and its hierarchical nature (usually fond or series), the repository where it is held, the context of its creation, its contents and structure, conditions of access and use, etc." Also currently posted under "other projects" is a French bibliography of antiquarian books and an interesting virtual exhibition from Britain, entitled "Collecting Prehistory: Amateurs and Professionals in Late Colonial Africa." [DC]
[Back to Contents]Two from the National Library of Canada:
Images in the News: Canadian Illustrated News
http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/cin/
Sheet Music from Canada's Past
http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/sheetmusic/index-e.html
The National Library of Canada has recently placed online a new collection of images from the Canadian Illustrated News as well as updated their collection of historical Canadian sheet music. Images in the News features "a selection of almost 4000 images of people, places and events across Canada and around the world taken from the popular 19th-century magazine," issues dating 1869-1883. These include both drawings and half-tone photographs printed from engravings taken from early photographs. The images may be browsed or searched by title, artist, and/or date. (We were disappointed to find, however, that they could not be browsed or searched by type of image.) Sheet Music from Canada's Past (see the November 17, 2000 Scout Report for an earlier mention) has updated their collection of sheet music from the World War I era with sheet music published before the Confederation in 1867. One can search the entire collection or search the World War I and pre-Confederation collections separately. The site also features articles devoted to describing each collection, and the posted music may be printed out from the site. Future plans include digitizing sheet music published between 1867 and 1913. [DC]
[Back to Contents]Researching U.S. Treaties and Agreements
http://www.llrx.com/features/ustreaty.htm#international
Posted in mid-May on the Law Library Research X-change (LLRX), this hypertext bibliographic essay offers a thorough discussion of accessing treaties and agreements and related research resources. The essay covers both print and online publications, including research guides; online full-text sources of US treaties and agreements; indexes and finding tools; status, updating, and ratification information; background information; and more. The essay was written by Marci Hoffman, the International & Foreign Law Librarian at the E.B. Williams Law Library. A link is also provided to a similar essay covering non-US Treaties. [DC]
[Back to Contents]Psychological Research on the Net -- American Psychological Society
http://psych.hanover.edu/APS/exponnet.html
Posted by the American Psychological Society (see the May 6, 1994 Scout Report), this Website presents an extensive annotated list of psychological research currently being conducted on the Web. In addition to a new studies section, topics include health psychology, industrial and organizational psychology, personality studies, psychology and religion, sensation and perception, social psychology, neural psychology, clinical psychology, developmental psychology, cognition, emotions, and others. Links are provided to the listed Websites. [DC]
[Back to Contents]
|
|
Execution Tapes -- Soundportraits.org [RealPlayer]
http://www.soundportraits.org/on-air/execution_tapes/
This Website from the radio documentary Website Soundportraits.org examines the chilling recordings of executions that were recorded on audio in Jackson, Georgia over the last few decades. In addition to audio of "botched" executions -- executions that had to be "reinitiated" or terminated due to a failure of the apparatus to effect the convicted's death -- the Website provides audio of Ray Suarez' NPR report, roundtable discussions by prominent members of the media and activists, a selection of prisoner's last statements, and the complete audio for all 22 executions. These include audio footage from the prisoner's cell, the warden's "command post," and the death chamber. As recent events in the news cause the nation once again to turn its attention to the question of the validity of capital punishment as well as the value (or detriment) of public executions, Execution Tapes provides a sobering documentation of what is at stake. [DC]
[Back to Contents]Black Loyalists: Our History, Our People
http://collections.ic.gc.ca/blackloyalists/
This new online exhibit from Canada's Digital Collections Program documents an often overlooked group who fought for the British in the Revolutionary War: freed and escaped slaves. After the British government offered freedom to any slaves who fought on Britain's behalf, as many as 30,000 people of African descent escaped to aid the British war effort. When the war ended in an American victory, these free blacks were evacuated to Nova Scotia with the other Loyalists who left the former colonies. Although they had been promised land and a new life in Canada, black emigrants found harsh living and working conditions, prompting many to leave for Sierra Leone. This site tells the story of the black Loyalists with numerous illustrated vignettes, short biographies, a timeline, and descriptions and maps of black Loyalist communities. Also included at the site is a rich collection of documents, including personal accounts, letters, and official papers and proclamations. [MD]
[Back to Contents]Scribbling Women [RealPlayer]
http://www.scribblingwomen.org/
This fine resource uses radio dramatizations produced by the Public Media Foundation to teach prominent texts by American women writers -- the same writers Nathaniel Hawthorne, fearing for his livelihood, cursed as a "damned mob of scribbling women." Currently, the Website offers dramatizations of three texts: The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Gilman, A Wagner Matinee by Willa Cather, and A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell. In addition to the full audio (offered in RealPlayer) of the radio dramatizations, each dramatization is accompanied by an essay offering a literary interpretation and another discussing the work's literary and historical context. Further reading, a biography, and sample lesson plans are also posted. Seven other works are also covered on-site, containing all of the above materials with the exception of the audio dramatization. These works are The Schoolmaster's Progress by Caroline Kirkland, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs, Life in the Iron Mills by Rebecca Harding Davis, A Whisper in the Dark by Louisa May Alcott, Louisa by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, Hate is Nothing by Marita Bonner, and The Bones of Louella Brown by Ann Petry. [DC]
[Back to Contents]Three on Thinking
Critical Thinking On The Web: A Directory of Quality Online Resources
http://www.philosophy.unimelb.edu.au/reason/critical/index.htm
The Fallacy Files
http://gncurtis.home.texas.net/index.html
Logical Paradoxes -- The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/p/par-log.htm
For those who believe the Web fosters only barely mindful surfing, we offer the following sites as counterargument. Maintained by a professor at the University of Melbourne, Critical Thinking On The Web offers an extensive, annotated directory of resources dealing with the broad topic of critical thinking. In addition to a useful top ten that includes such Websites as Critical Thinking: What it is and Why it Counts? and Skeptics.com, the directory offers dozens of headings on related topics such as Great Critical Thinkers, Statistics and Probability, Language and Thought, as well as listings of journals, electronic mailing lists, bibliographies, and the like. We were impressed with both the number of resources and the helpfulness of the individual annotations. The Fallacy Files, mentioned in Critical Thinking on the Web's Top Ten and authored by a former teacher of college logic, features virtually exhaustive descriptions with examples and counterexamples of logical fallacies. The fallacies are readily accessible through an alphabetical index and may also be consulted in terms of the categories of linguistic and nonlinguistic as well as by example -- this last method consists of a kind of reverse dictionary of fallacies. In addition, the Website offers a brief list of annotated resources on the subject. Not to be confused with fallacies are paradoxes: "a puzzling conclusion we seem to be driven towards by our reasoning, but which is highly counterintuitive, nevertheless" -- also known as brainteasers for logicians. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (see the August 14, 1998 Scout Report) presents a thorough discussion of paradoxes in the context of the history of philosophy, covering paradoxes of both classical and modern origins in addition to those of self-reference and a few others. A bibliography is also available as well as links to further discussions of paradoxes within the Encyclopedia. [DC]
[Back to Contents]Orion Online [RealPlayer]
http://www.orionsociety.org/index2.html
Orion online is the Website for two excellent magazines -- Orion and Orion Afield -- dedicated to the issue of humans living more harmoniously with our environment. The Website offers selected articles and features from both magazines as well as some content unique to Orion Online. Orion, which won the 2000 Utne Reader award for Best Design, features "the highest literary and artistic representation of the natural world." The current online issue includes three articles about the Monarch butterfly, considering both its aesthetic value and its role as a bellwether species in the controversy over the use of genetically modified foods since some research suggests Monarchs are adversely affected by the pollen from genetically modified corn. There are also pieces by well-known essayists such as Scott Russell Sanders and Anne Matthews as well as meditative photographs by Lynn Geesaman. Orion Afield is dedicated to reporting on community involvement in local environmental and economic projects. The current issue has less online content than its companion periodical but includes an interesting feature on Virginia high school students who built a piece of land art made up of five hundred tires to indicate the path a proposed highway would take through current greenspace. Unique online content includes an interview with Joni Mitchell discussing, in essence, her thoughts on how to unpave paradise and take out the parking lot; "Curmudgeon in the Wild" James Howard Kunstler discussing open space conservation as a means to revitalize community; and a gallery of paintings of the New England landscape by artist Forrest Moses. [DC]
[Back to Contents]About Johannes Vermeer Art
http://www.about-vermeer-art.com/vermeer/index.html
This Website presents all 36 of Vermeer's surviving artworks for the viewer's pleasure. The images come in two sizes, thumbnail and mid-size, with an additional details window that allows the viewer to look at finer levels of detail. Of course, Vermeer's work is defined by its portrayal of light and shadow, and much of this is lost in these online reproductions (visitors might want to adjust their screen's resolution in an effort to improve upon this). Still, to have all of them on one site is very convenient, and the Website also provides a biography of Vermeer's life as well as an exploration of the iconography Vermeer used in his paintings (that vase is more than just a vase!). The site additionally offers an ample listing of related Websites, including museum collections, galleries, and educational sites. [DC]
[Back to Contents]Pathfinders -- Internet Public Library
http://www.ipl.org/ref/QUE/PF/
This useful resource from the Internet Public Library makes available "home-grown guides written by IPL staff which are intended to help you get started doing research on a particular topic, both online and at your local library." There are currently over one hundred guides with new ones posted regularly. The guides are listed under broad subject categories, which include Arts and Humanities; Health, Medicine and Nutrition; History and War; Business and Consumers; Science and Technology; Education and Libraries; Law, Politics, and Government; Society and Culture; Entertainment, Leisure, and Hobbies; and others. The guides are individually organized, but all feature print and Internet resources (the latter with annotations) as well as "getting started" advice (including Internet search strategies). They also include governmental, academic, and institutional resources -- both on and off the Web -- where relevant. [DC]
[Back to Contents]
|
|
New Series of Reports to Monitor Health of Older Americans -- National Center for Health Statistics
Press Release/ Summary of reports' data:
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/releases/01facts/olderame.htm
Trends in Causes of Death Among the Elderly [.pdf, 9 pages]
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/agingtrends/01death.pdf
Trends in Vision and Hearing Among Older Americans [.pdf, 9 pages]
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/agingtrends/01death.pdf
The Oral Health of Older Americans [.pdf, 8 pages]
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/agingtrends/03oral.pdf
The Changing Profile of Nursing Home Residents: 1985-1997 [.pdf, 8 pages]
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/agingtrends/04nursin.pdf
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) has developed a new series of reports to focus attention on some of the most important health issues facing today's generation of older Americans. Aging Trends, produced with support from the National Institute on Aging, uses data from a variety of sources to help monitor the health and well-being of the older population. The first four reports in this new series include Trends in Causes of Death Among the Elderly,Trends in Vision and Hearing Among Older Americans,The Oral Health of Older Americans, and The Changing Profile of Nursing Home Residents: 1985-1997. Each report "identifies opportunities for prevention and further research, describes those most at risk, and points to areas where increased use of existing services and aids would be beneficial." The summary of the reports' findings offers a paragraph highlighting significant findings from each document. The individual reports are presented in .pdf format. [DC]
[Back to Contents]The Hispanic Population -- US Census Bureau [.pdf]
http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-3.pdf
Press Release:
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01-81.html
Earlier this month, the Census Bureau released 2000 Census data on the US Hispanic population. The number of Hispanics has risen by thirteen million since the last census -- a number largely driven by a 53 percent increase in the number of people of Mexican origin, contributing 7.1 million new Hispanics to the population. Data are broken down by country of origin as well as region, state, city, and county residence in the US. [DC]
[Back to Contents]Higher Education Research Institute
http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/heri/heri.html
Based at the graduate school of Education and Information at the University of California, Los Angeles, the Higher Education Research Institute "serves as an interdisciplinary center for research, evaluation, information, policy studies, and research training in postsecondary education." It is also the home of the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP), a national longitudinal study of the American higher education system. Established in 1966 at the American Council on Education, the CIRP is "the nation's largest and oldest empirical study of higher education, involving data on some 1,700 institutions and over 10 million students." Visitors to the site can access extensive press releases and data summaries of the latest CIRP's of incoming freshmen as well as data from surveys targeting entering students, other classes of college students, and faculty members. The CIRP Archives section offers an extensive annotated bibliography of related conference papers, journal articles, books, dissertations, and reports. The Website also provides information to educators and administrators on ordering more targeted data drawn from specific schools and/or specific comparative profiles. [DC]
[Back to Contents]
|
|
(For links to additional current awareness on tables of contents, abstracts, preprints, new books, data, conferences, etc., visit the The Scout Report for Social Sciences & Humanities Current Awareness Metapage: http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/report/socsci/metapage/).Kendall, Jeremy. "The third sector and social care for older people in England: Towards an explanation of its contrasting contributions in residential care, domiciliary care and day care" [.pdf, 23 pages]
http://www.lse.ac.uk/Depts/ccs/pdf/cswp9.pdfKendall, Jeremy and Rachel Wigglesworth. "The impact of the third sector in the UK: the case of social housing" [.pdf, 23 pages]
http://www.lse.ac.uk/Depts/ccs/pdf/cswp9.pdfPiazolo, Daniel. "Multilateral and European Responses to E-Commerce"
http://olymp.wu-wien.ac.at/eiop/texte/2001-004.htm
.pdf version [20 pages]:
http://olymp.wu-wien.ac.at/eiop/pdf/2001-004.pdf
Abstract:
http://olymp.wu-wien.ac.at/eiop/texte/2001-004a.htmSwallen, Karen. "Does Population Composition Explain the US Advantage
in Old-Age Mortality?" [.pdf, 27 pages]
http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/cde/cdewp/2001-01.pdf
Abstract:
http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/cde/cdewp/2001-01ab.htmTan, Qihua et al. "A Case-only Approach for Assessing Gene-sex Interaction in Human Longevity" [.pdf, 21 pages]
http://www.demogr.mpg.de/Papers/Working/wp-2001-012.pdfTanzi, Vito. "Pitfalls on the Road to Fiscal Decentralization" -- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Working Papers Series [.pdf, 20 pages]
http://www.ceip.org/files/pdf/19Tanzi.pdf
Summary:
http://www.ceip.org/files/Publications/wp19.asp?from=pubdateUcarer, Emek M. "From the Sidelines to Center Stage: Sidekick No More? The European Commission in Justice and Home Affairs"
http://olymp.wu-wien.ac.at/eiop/texte/2001-005.htm
.pdf version [25 pages]
http://olymp.wu-wien.ac.at/eiop/pdf/2001-005.pdf
Abstract:
http://olymp.wu-wien.ac.at/eiop/texte/2001-005a.htm
[Back to Contents]New Think Tank Policy Papers and Briefs
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace:
The Role of the Multilateral Development Banks in Emerging Market Economies -- New Policies for a Changing Global Environment [.pdf, 58 pages]
http://www.ceip.org/files/pdf/mdbreport.pdf
Press Release:
http://www.ceip.org/files/Publications/mdbrelease.asp?Funding Virtue: Civil Society Aid and Democracy Promotion [summary, complete introduction, table of contents]
Introduction [.pdf, 18 pages]:
http://www.ceip.org/files/publications/pdf/FunVirtueIntroduction.pdf
Summary:
http://www.ceip.org/files/Publications/fundingvirtuesum.asp?from=pubtitle
Table of Contents:
http://www.ceip.org/files/Publications/fundingvirtuetoc.aspCenter for Development Research -- University of Bonn
Taketoshi, Kazuki. "Environmental Pollution and Policies in China's Township and Village" [.pdf, 42 pages]
http://www.zef.de/download/zef_dp/zef-dp-36.pdfCenter for the Study of Democracy
Pahlavi, Reza. "Iran at the Crossroads"
http://www.democ.uci.edu/democ/papers/pahlavi.htmForeign Policy in Focus
Zunes, Stephen. "Mitchell Report on Israeli-Palestinian Violence Flawed" [Global Affairs Commentary]
http://fpif.org/commentary/0105mitchell.htmlKaiser Family Foundation:
"The Working Uninsured in California and the US" [.pdf, 8 pages -- Issue Brief]
http://www.kff.org/content/2001/3109/CA%20Issue%20Brief.pdfUrban Institute:
Clewell, Beatriz Chu and Ana Maria Villegas. Ahead of the Class: A Design Handbook for Preparing New Teachers from New Sources
http://www.urban.org/education/ahead_of_the_class.html
.pdf version [60 pages]:
http://www.urban.org/pdfs/ahead_of_the_class.pdfClark, Rebecca L. "Federal Expenditures on Children: 1960-1997"
http://newfederalism.urban.org/html/op45/occa45.html
.pdf version [25 pages]
http://newfederalism.urban.org/pdf/occa45.pdf
[Back to Contents]New Offerings from Academic Publishers
Association of American University Presses: New Releases
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/new_releases/Michigan State University Press Online: New Releases
http://www.msupress.msu.edu/Cambridge University Press
http://www.cup.org/books/hot.htmlBasic Books: New Releases
http://www.basicbooks.com/newreleases.htmlThela Thesis: Just Published
http://www.thelathesis.nl/new.htmlPerseus Publishing: Book News (click on category)
http://www.perseuspublishing.com/booknews.htmlBooksforAcademics.com: New Academic Books
http://www.ex.ac.uk/bfa/
[Back to Contents]European CSCW (Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work)
2001: Managing Tacit Knowledge
September 16, 2001
Bonn, Germany
http://ecscw2001.gmd.de/59th Annual Plains Anthropological Conference
October 31-November 3, 2001
Lincoln, Nebraska
http://www.uiowa.edu/~osa/plainsanth/plainsconf.htmlThe Humanities Computing Curriculum/ The Computing Curriculum in the
Arts and Humanities
November 9-10, 2001
Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
http://web.mala.bc.ca/siemensr/HCCurriculum/Strategic Knowledge and Concept Formation 2001 (SKCF'01)
December 17-19, 2001
University of Sydney, Australia
http://www.arch.usyd.edu.au/kcdc/conferences/SKCF/index.html
[Back to Contents]New Tables of Contents/ Abstracts/ Journals
National Security Studies Quarterly [table of contents, some
articles in full-text]
Spring 2001
http://www.georgetown.edu/sfs/programs/nssp/nssq/current.htmlInternet Archaeology [online journal]
Issue 10 (Spring 2001)
http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue10/index.htmlAfrican American Review[JSTOR]
Volumes 26-31 (1992-1997)
http://www.jstor.org/cgi-bin/jstor/listjournal/10624783?config=jstor&f
rame=noframe&userID=80690e2d@wisc.edu/01cc99331400506c03a8&dpi=3The Journal of Electronic Publishing: Going Global, Living in a
Global World [online journal]
Volume 7 (Spring 2001)
http://www.press.umich.edu:80/jep/Oxford Art Journal [table of contents, abstracts]
Volume 24, Issue 1 (2001)
http://www3.oup.co.uk/oxartj/hdb/Volume_24/Issue_01/
[Back to Contents]H-Net Job Guide
http://www.matrix.msu.edu/jobs/The Chronicle of Higher Education Job Openings
Humanities
http://jobs.chronicle.com/free/jobs/faculty/humanities/links.htm
Social Science
http://jobs.chronicle.com/free/jobs/faculty/sscience/links.htmAcademic Employment Network (By State)
http://www.academploy.com/jobs.cfmAmerican College Personnel Association: ACPA Ongoing Placement Listings
http://www.acpa.nche.edu/placemnt/placemnt.htmAcademic 360.com (Update of "Jobs in Higher Education" site)
http://www.academic360.com/
[Back to Contents]
|
|
Pearl Harbor Opens: A Fitting Memorial?
1. Pearl Harbor: The Movie -- Touchstone Pictures Official Website [QuickTime, Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, High speed connection preferred, Free registration required]
http://bventertainment.go.com/movies/pearlharbor/
2. Remembering Pearl Harbor -- National Geographic
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pearlharbor/
3. "Remembering Pearl Harbor, in a search for heroes" -- Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/2001/05/25/p1s3.htm
4. On this Day: December 7, 1941 -- New York Times Learning Network (free registration required)
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1207.html
5. "Some Upset by Twist on Pearl Harbor" -- New York Times (free registration required)
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/28/national/28HARB.html
6. "Pearl Harbor: 'Bombs Away'" -- Salon.com
http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/review/2001/05/25/pearl_harbor/index.html
The 140-million dollar summer blockbuster Pearl Harbor opened this Memorial Day weekend eliciting tears from teenaged girls, mixed reactions from veterans, and measured optimism from the Disney executives who financed the three-hour epic. As everyone surely knows by now, the movie tells the story of the bombing of Pearl Harbor through the vehicle of a love story. The producers, Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay (who is also the director), apparently hope to capitalize on two current cultural trends at once. The first and most obvious trend is the rise in interest in the veterans of World War II, driven in large part by the success of Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan and the best-selling book The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw. Thus far, however, survivors of the attack who have seen the film are not having the sort of reaction that the veterans of the European theater had to Saving Private Ryan. That seems to be because of Pearl Harbor's focus on the love triangle between two soldier - friends (played by Ben Affleck and newcomer Josh Hartnett) and a nurse (Kate Beckensale). This love interest brings us to the second cultural trend: Hollywood's newfound interest in the adolescent girl audience in the 1990s. As some critics have pointed out, this focus on love against the backdrop of a spectacular historical disaster makes Pearl Harbor more indebted to The Titanic than to Spielberg's somber film, and the sound of weepy teenaged girls who vowed to see it again as they emerged from the multiplexes is music to the ears of Disney executives, who based on the first two days' gross, expect the second largest Memorial Day weekend take ever, second only to The Lost World. Even so, critics have offered mostly negative reviews -- Roger Ebert gave the film only one-and-a-half stars -- citing just this sort of hybrid approach, sloppily managed, as a reason for the film's failure. During filming, however, director Michael Bay was reported to have often said to his actors, "trust the box office." Apparently, for Bay and the film's financial backers, it's demographics, not narrative, or memorials for that matter, that counts.
The official Website (1) for the movie offers trailers, promotional paraphernalia, and on-site "documentary" footage of interviews with real survivors. This excellent Website (2) looks at the history behind the hype (for a complete review, see the May 18, 2001 Scout Report). A feature from the Christian Science Monitor(3) examines the resurgence of interest in the veterans of the second World War and the hunger for non-materialistic values this interest seems to suggest. The New York Times' Learning Network (4) provides the complete text of front page story on December 7, 1941 as well as headlines from the same issue and a cornucopia of aids and lesson plans for teachers to use to incorporate the historic event into the classroom. An article in yesterday's New York Times(5) examines the reactions of local Hawaiians to the blockbuster film. Salon.com reviews the film (6) with its usual dose of skeptical panache. [DC]
[Back to Contents]
Scout Report for Social Sciences & Humanities Subscription Instructions
To receive the electronic mail version of the Scout Report for Social Sciences & Humanities every other Tuesday, join the SRSOCSCI mailing list. This is the only mail you will receive from this list.
- To subscribe online to the Scout Report for Social Sciences & Humanities, go to:
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/misc/lists/ - Or send email to:
listserv@cs.wisc.edu
In the body of the message type:
subscribe SRSOCSCI - To unsubscribe, send email to:
listserv@cs.wisc.edu
In the body of the message type:
unsubscribe SRSOCSCI - For subscription options, send email to:
listserv@cs.wisc.edu
In the body of the message type:
query SRSOCSCI
Internet Scout team member information
The Scout Report for Social Sciences & Humanities
Brought to You by the Internet Scout Project
The Scout Report for Social Sciences & Humanities (ISSN 1533-1423) is published every other Tuesday by the Internet Scout Project, located in the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Department of Computer Sciences.
|
David Charbonneau
Susan Calcari Rachael Bower Travis Koplow Pat Coulthard Andy Yaco-Mink |
-- -- -- -- -- -- |
Editor Executive Director Director Managing Editor Technical Specialist Website Designer |
Below are the copyright statements to be included when reproducing annotations from The Scout Report for Social Sciences & Humanities.
The single phrase below is the copyright notice to be used when reproducing any portion of this report, in any format:
From The Scout Report for Social Sciences & Humanities, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2001. http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/
The paragraph below is the copyright notice to be used when reproducing the entire report, in any format:
Copyright Susan Calcari and the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, 1994-2001. The Internet Scout Project (http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/), located in the Computer Sciences Department of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, provides information about the Internet to the U.S. research and education community under a grant from the National Science Foundation, number NCR-9712163. The Government has certain rights in this material. Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of the entire Scout Report provided this paragraph, including the copyright notice, are preserved on all copies.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Wisconsin - Madison or the National Science Foundation.
A Publication of the Internet Scout Project
Comments, Suggestions, Feedback
Use our feedback form or send email to scout@cs.wisc.edu.
© 2001 Internet Scout Project
Information on reproducing any publication is available on our copyright page.