civil war and the american identity
This project asks you to reflect on American Identity as captured by Civil War photographers during the conflict.
TASKS:
You will create an exhibit of Civil War photographs from the extensive collections at the National Archives and Library of Congress. Your exhibit will have three distinct "rooms" (1 page and 2 subpages).
1) Visitors enter the exhibit through your "Civil War Experience" page:
This page reflects on American Identity at the time of the Civil War and the emerging medium of photography as a tool
to capture the transformative, national experience of total war. This page also introduces visitors to the next two rooms
(your "subpages"), the Northern and Southern Perspectives on the Civil War.
NOTE: Create the "Civil War Experience" page first, but wait to write your "Introduction to the Collection" and to add images to the
page until your subpages are complete.
2) "Northern Perspective" and "Southern Perspective" subpages:
a) As the curator, you will select, display, and describe photographs you believe best tell the story of the Civil War from the
perspective of each region.
b) As you search and select photographs for your exhibit, consider:
*The Battlefields: defining battles, soldiers, generals, prisoners, camps, dead and wounded
*The Homefront: civilians, economic hardship, workers, families, politics
c) Each room (subpage) will contain:
*10 PHOTOGRAPHS (or more) PER REGION that define its distinct experience during the war.
Each photo will be accompanied by a text box with information: photographer, date, and short description.
(If any info is unknown, include what you DO know such as the National Archives ID.)
*a WRITE-UP (well-written paragraph/s) on the collection (one for the North; one for the South)
How do your choices reflect the Northern or Southern perspective and experience during the Civil War?
3) Once you have completed your North and South pages, return to your main page ("Civil War Experience"):
a) Upload 5 PHOTOS that you believe define the total experience of the war and its larger meaning.
b) Now, look at your total collection (all three pages) and write a reflection (well-written paragraph/s) on the American Identity and
the American Experience during the Civil War as captured in the photographs you arranged for display.
This is your "Introduction to the Collection" for visitors to read when entering your exhibition.
TOOLS:
To create your unique exhibits, access the following websites:
1) The National Archives:
http://www.archives.gov/research/military/civil-war/photos/index.html
Info from the Archives on photography during the war:
"The War Between the States was the first large and prolonged conflict recorded by photography. During the war, dozens of photographers, both as private individuals and as employees of the Confederate and Union Governments, photographed civilians and civilian activities; military personnel, equipment, and activities; and the locations and aftermaths of battles. Because wet-plate collodion negatives required from 5 to 20 seconds exposure, there are no action photographs of the war. The name Mathew B. Brady is almost a synonym for Civil War photography. Although Brady himself actually may have taken only a few photographs of the war, he employed many of the other well-known photographers before and during the war. Alexander Gardner and James F. Gibson at different times managed Brady's Washington studio. Timothy O'Sullivan, James Gardner, and Egbert Guy Fox were also employed by Brady during the conflict."
2) The Atlantic:
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2012/02/the-civil-war-part-1-the-places/100241/
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2012/02/the-civil-war-part-2-the-people/100242/
3) Library of Congress:
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/cwp/
DUE DATE: Friday, December 20, 2013
NOTE: Listed below are other websites of interest as you explore the emerging American Identity during the Civil War:
1) Harper's Weekly (political cartoons):
http://elections.harpweek.com/1860/cartoons-1860-list.asp?Year=1860
http://elections.harpweek.com/1864/cartoons-1864-list.asp?Year=1864
2) Chicago Collections: Access "Exhibits" and "Image Gallery"
http://www.civilwarinart.org
3) Smithsonian:
http://npg.si.edu/exhibit/cw/npgcivilwar.html#
TASKS:
You will create an exhibit of Civil War photographs from the extensive collections at the National Archives and Library of Congress. Your exhibit will have three distinct "rooms" (1 page and 2 subpages).
1) Visitors enter the exhibit through your "Civil War Experience" page:
This page reflects on American Identity at the time of the Civil War and the emerging medium of photography as a tool
to capture the transformative, national experience of total war. This page also introduces visitors to the next two rooms
(your "subpages"), the Northern and Southern Perspectives on the Civil War.
NOTE: Create the "Civil War Experience" page first, but wait to write your "Introduction to the Collection" and to add images to the
page until your subpages are complete.
2) "Northern Perspective" and "Southern Perspective" subpages:
a) As the curator, you will select, display, and describe photographs you believe best tell the story of the Civil War from the
perspective of each region.
b) As you search and select photographs for your exhibit, consider:
*The Battlefields: defining battles, soldiers, generals, prisoners, camps, dead and wounded
*The Homefront: civilians, economic hardship, workers, families, politics
c) Each room (subpage) will contain:
*10 PHOTOGRAPHS (or more) PER REGION that define its distinct experience during the war.
Each photo will be accompanied by a text box with information: photographer, date, and short description.
(If any info is unknown, include what you DO know such as the National Archives ID.)
*a WRITE-UP (well-written paragraph/s) on the collection (one for the North; one for the South)
How do your choices reflect the Northern or Southern perspective and experience during the Civil War?
3) Once you have completed your North and South pages, return to your main page ("Civil War Experience"):
a) Upload 5 PHOTOS that you believe define the total experience of the war and its larger meaning.
b) Now, look at your total collection (all three pages) and write a reflection (well-written paragraph/s) on the American Identity and
the American Experience during the Civil War as captured in the photographs you arranged for display.
This is your "Introduction to the Collection" for visitors to read when entering your exhibition.
TOOLS:
To create your unique exhibits, access the following websites:
1) The National Archives:
http://www.archives.gov/research/military/civil-war/photos/index.html
Info from the Archives on photography during the war:
"The War Between the States was the first large and prolonged conflict recorded by photography. During the war, dozens of photographers, both as private individuals and as employees of the Confederate and Union Governments, photographed civilians and civilian activities; military personnel, equipment, and activities; and the locations and aftermaths of battles. Because wet-plate collodion negatives required from 5 to 20 seconds exposure, there are no action photographs of the war. The name Mathew B. Brady is almost a synonym for Civil War photography. Although Brady himself actually may have taken only a few photographs of the war, he employed many of the other well-known photographers before and during the war. Alexander Gardner and James F. Gibson at different times managed Brady's Washington studio. Timothy O'Sullivan, James Gardner, and Egbert Guy Fox were also employed by Brady during the conflict."
2) The Atlantic:
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2012/02/the-civil-war-part-1-the-places/100241/
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2012/02/the-civil-war-part-2-the-people/100242/
3) Library of Congress:
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/cwp/
DUE DATE: Friday, December 20, 2013
NOTE: Listed below are other websites of interest as you explore the emerging American Identity during the Civil War:
1) Harper's Weekly (political cartoons):
http://elections.harpweek.com/1860/cartoons-1860-list.asp?Year=1860
http://elections.harpweek.com/1864/cartoons-1864-list.asp?Year=1864
2) Chicago Collections: Access "Exhibits" and "Image Gallery"
http://www.civilwarinart.org
3) Smithsonian:
http://npg.si.edu/exhibit/cw/npgcivilwar.html#