Wallace II Blog

Section II of Wallace seems to be the section most closely related to the title. It discusses how history is used by WED Enterprise, more widely known as Disney. The main focus of the Section is in regards to how history is represented in the parks, though some time is spent on other aspects of the company’s many ventures. For example, Wallace points out the ahistorical use of architecture and misconception of 1890s American town life in the 1890s in Disneyland’s Mainstreet area. Disney’s “imagineers” (the quotes seem to be more sarcastic than denoting a unique job type) state that since its purpose is just for entertainment then there is no harm in creating such environment. Wallace looks at several pieces of evidence to show that there is more to Mainstreet than this, including Walt Disney’s upbringing and his personal thoughts on constructing Mainstreet. Wallace’s critique of Disney’s track record with using history, humorous as it is on occasion, is an important study of the effects of one of the most well known company’s in the world can have on the public understanding of history.

Wallace seems focused on the topic of education in the parks, for the most part noting the marketing and indoctrinating nature most of them seem to utilize. What is interesting about this process though is that Wallace notes a correlation in programming and what overall public sentiments are at the time. For example, the transition between the eternal optimism and status quo stage of the 50s that left out many groups from being represented in the parks to the new social movements in the 60s and 70s which saw history being told from a more diverse viewpoint. Is this an example of Disney supporting more progressive modes of thought? Or simply a well informed market strategy that better satisfies consumers/guests?

Articles on History and Film Media Blog

A Trademark Approach to the
Past: Ken Burns, the Historical
Profession, and Assessing
Popular Presentations of the Past
VIVIEN ELLEN ROSE AND JULIE CORLEY

This article is an examination of how film media impacts a broader understanding of history. This is mainly done through the examination of a work by Ken Burns titled Not for Ourselves Alone. The film's main focus is on the efforts of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony in furthering the cause of the early American women's rights movement. The author's critique of this particular film, as well as the larger impact and methodology of Burn's other work, is used to advance the idea of increased professional/scholarly involvement in the production of historical presentations.

Many of the other articles discussed the need for historians to become more involved with the process of Also, the comment on pictures not matching up with the audio does seem to be a very serious oversight by the filmmakers. While some images might fit better in overall tone with certain aspects of the picture, or if there was a lack of appropriate photographs, if they mislead the audience it should be viewed as a serious flaw in the film.

Some other comments on presentation though seem very odd in context with the rest of the review. For example, the comments on what the leaf transition seemed to be more focused on hidden meaning behind what the leaf motif could represent. Instead of pondering what it meant, it may have been more constructive to actually find out what Burns intended with this recurring theme. Also, one of the main critiques of the film was the idea that the If the film's intent is to focus on the contributions of Cady and Anthony, then how much of a critique is this? There are many historical texts that focus on only a few characters of a much larger time in history, whether this is due for the intent that the author had for it, length of the work, etc. As such, this critique could be applied to a variety of other pieces, which makes it rather odd that this seems to be a major, if not the most prominent, complaint the reviewers have.

Cinematic History: Where Do
We Go From Here?
ROBERT BRENT TOPLIN

This article looks at the aspects of cinematic history have been studied in the past, and what the author believes should be focused on in the future. The focus of the article is on studying how fiction films have changed in the ways they interpret history in line with the times they are produced. Though overall a very positive (one might go so far as to say cheerful) evaluation of cinematic historiography, the author does feel that certain areas of cinematic history need to be examined further. He sees the need for more wide spread trend in performing more in depth study of how a film is made and what kinds of thought that persons in the production process had when it came to making it. He also feels that the emphasis is too strongly tied to political viewpoints and that labor/social/economic viewpoints should be taken into consideration when

Toplin makes a point about the fact that too many historians spend time commenting on the way a film is composed rather than discussing its historical merits. This is a valid point for many reasons. Such a focus on these factors could detract a historian from bringing his/her expertise to the collaborative effort of making a film. Also, it could serve to somewhat undermine historians general acceptance into the field if the profession is perceived at simply being another set of film critics.

On the other hand, when a historian reads a written piece, is it not distracting when one finds glaring grammatical and spelling errors? When one finds the use of passive voice, is it not aggravating at times (speaking as a person guilty of this more often than not)? Thus is it not surprising that the historian as craftsman find his/herself desiring to point out what they view as basic errors in the fabric of the film? If historians are to become more involved with the production process, that is looking at primary sources that deal with the basis of the process itself, it would help out for them to know what are some of the basics when it comes to making a film.

Movie or Monograph?
A Historian/Filmmaker’s
Perspective
NATALIE ZEMON DAVIS

This article looks at the use of film itself as a medium for the presentation and dissemination of history. The author examines her personal experience in consulting for a movie. Davis does not seem to advocate total control of the movie making process by historians, at times even sympathizing with the filmmakers struggle to create a story that will be cared about by the viewing audience. However, she does seem to advocate for historians who do work on projects such as these should have more input into the basic research, more control in what is reviewed and increased power when it comes to a final say in what is in the final product. The author does not view film as being a lesser medium than other forms, yet feels that films should be subject to the same set of standards that are expected of more traditional forms of presenting history.

What does one say to a historian who perhaps has not had as successful experiences as the author has had in collaborating with a film project? If they had participated in the production process and they discover that maybe the only reason they were brought on was so their name could be slapped on the ending credits to prove the the studio had "done their homework". While the author has shown the reader how historians might be able to influence film through reviews of particular movies, it would be interesting to see more thoughts on how the film industry could be convinced that having a historian as a part of the in production team of a film would be beneficial. Another question might be is how could reviews from a historical point find themselves engaged in a larger public discussion?

(All websites taken from besthistorysites.net)

Odden's Bookmarks: The Fascinating World of Maps.
http://oddens.geog.uu.nl/index.php

Online database connecting to other sites that deal with maps up to present day.

Links to other sites that have very good resources and links of their own, in many cases these websites offer better, more tightly focused links. At times, these sites seem better sources of informaiton than the Odden site. (example:http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/map_sites/hist_sites.html)
There is also a comprehensive list of other organizations and groups with their own interest in geographical studies, which all contain very interesting historical.

However, there are certain parts of the site that seem suspect or frivolous. This can be seen in sites links to sites that obtain their information from Wikipedia, "Legolas Fantasy Maps", etc. Also, searching by groups seems to work much better than using the search function, which can be a major hindrance considering the density of the information available.


Open Directory: Geography
http://www.dmoz.org/Science/Social_Sciences/Geography/

Part of the Open Directory Project which claims to be "the largest, most comprehensive human edited directory of the Web" according to their website. Attempts to correct what the administrators of the site believe is the inability for automated search engines to keep up with the ever increasing size of the Internet. In partnership with AOL Search.

Geography Section layout is very plain, with blue links to different categories on a white background, similar to many other database websites. Contains many different categories, from geographic regions to areas of specific interest. Not too many map sites under the historical listing, though it is possible to find historical maps in other sections.

Historical Atlas of the Twentieth Century
http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/20centry.htm

Here seems to be more of a site with potential if not actual executed in the best manner. the concept is very promising, offering animated and at times interactive maps of major events in the twentieth century. everything from borders, to troop movements, to statistics are provided. The animation may seem a little low tech in comparison to other sites but the information it provides is not affected by this. There are also buttons representing different international trends in relation to the individual maps.

There are many items that could be improved about the site though. First, once the map animation loads up, there are no options available to stop it. In regards to accessibility, some of the fonts and colors chosen are not very legible. some of the ways chosen to represent different information is awkward, mainly due to the fact that maps are not enlarged enough or that there are too many maps placed on one page.

CHNM Essays: Lessons Learned from Building the Famous Trials Website

This essay describes Douglas Linder's experience in creating a history reference source online, which covers famous trials in history. He goes over a few major points on what he discovered made his site successful and accessible. Many of the points he goes over seem like very common sense advice. Much of his pointers run along the lines of make sure you enjoy what you are doing and go all out or do not attempt it at all. However, the sheer fact that a concept for a historical resource website became as successful as Linder's did is inspirational by itself. The main point of the article in making sure that the resource created is actually utilized by people online is one that I believe is an important concept for any history project that will be placed on the Internet.

One point I found particularly interesting was the concept of networking. While this is one of the common sense points in the article, I thought it was interesting how Linder seemed to emphasize selective linking. That is, he advocated not linking with everyone who asks to become a part of your project. In the scramble to make sure that one builds up a network these days, it may be prudent to stand back sometimes and ask oneself if associating with anyone with event he most remote connection to your topic may be ideal. Though one may share aclot of similarities, goals and practices can be completely different, even counter to what one is trying to attempt.

Interesting how the article starts out with a "Go Big" message and ends with "Enough's Enough".

Archive Blog

Location: State Archives of Florida
Collection: 000510. S 1605
Organization: Florida Dept. of Natural Resources-Recreation and Parks
Park Development and Planning Files

Description of Collection:

Documents pertaining to plans for both natural and man made resources in park, regarding improvements, development, restoration, preservation, etc. Organized by specific parks. Each park had different folders, each corresponding to a particular type of document or area of interest. For example, survey maps were located in one folder, with material aquisitions located in another. Also, contained files on overall goals for Recreation and Park Service, which emphasized expansion of park facilities. This section also contained official letterhead/memos from Mike Bullock, Director of Rec and Parks. (I bring this up because he is still the head of Rec and Parks and thus I now work under him, in the broadest sense of the term.)

Double Fold Blog

Double Fold by Nicholson Baker examines issues concerning the physical preservation of materials in libraries and archives, with emphasis placed on the preservation of paper formats. The author examines the effects that new preservation

One question I would ask the author would be what is more important, that the books themselves are worthy of saving, or the information they contain? While Baker does believe that much information, and thus history, is lost by not preserving the physical material they were printed on, does this mean that absolutely every item is worthy of preservation? For example, newspapers are created to be ephemeral modes of keeping information, their to keep a populace informed on what the paper believes is newsworthy. While the information is important to keep, should the physical items themselves be preserved? Does historical preservation inherently imply a pack rat mentality, that everything should be saved? Or should their be selective salvaging of key artifacts?

Baker's take on using modern technology is skeptical. This is understandable, considering the many times it has been used as a excuse to destroy valuable and still viable sources of information. however, this should not preclude librarians involvement in developing digital technology for their collections. Should digital technology replace physical modes of holding information? I believe that Baker does not give enough credit to then current archivists and librarians. Many of them view the digital aspect of archiving as a way to make the records more readily accessible to the general public as opposed to a replacement for the established practices. This kind of mentality is important to maintain as one moves more towards the future. While digital is in ascendancy now, one does not know how it might fare in the future. Even now for example, there are numerous problems associated with compatibility between different generations of software and programs. With new breakthroughs and theories on the use of quantum computers and other forms of data storage, who knows what kind of problems will arise by converting old digital data to new technologies.

Oral History Blog

"The Other Suburbanites" discusses the history of African American neighborhoods as they developed in the early part of the twentieth century. In particular, it looks at a neighborhood neighborhood near Cleveland known as Chagrin Falls Park. Settled for the most part by rural immigrants from the South, Cahgrin Falls is used as an example for how many other African American suburbs developed alongside their more well known predominately white counterparts. The main thrust of the article is to prove that although the overall look of these neighborhoods may have differed from stereotypical views of suburbia, that did not mean the residents did not maintain the same mindset of what suburban living meant.

The ways the oral history interviews were worked in was very well done, working with the narration as opposed to being presented as a separate artifact. However, having said that, I personally appreciate it when one is presented with a clip of the actual oral history interview, where one is able to see the interaction between the interviewer and the interviewee take place. I think this provides more of a feeling of connection with the work and reminds the reader how close the process of oral history can be. I also thought some of the interviews were spaced wide apart, with some jammed next to each other and whole sections of the article not even referencing them. While the ones close together were for the most part important in regards to their relation to one another, the article may have included more in other areas.