Author: Carter Knapp

The Segregation of Tourism

For this project, I discussed the historical question of: How was Tourism affected for African Americans, in the region of North Carolina, due to racial segregation during the Jim Crow Era? From this topic, I learned that through national organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan and and local government statues that tourism for African Americans was extremely difficult and could be potentially life-threatening for them. Lynchings and assaults were common and many African Americans avoided the major cities in North Carolina to stay safe. This involved staying away from the towns on the water that dealt the most in trade. For this project, I used mapping, timelines, and image analysis to explore this topic. I felt these skills were the most useful because they easily showed the issues that African Americans dealt with allowed the reader to more easily understand and see what African Americans dealt with while traveling and touring. For example, glitching would not have been a useful skill for this project because it doesn’t provide an useful insight into segregation and tourism. Glitching is when you take a photo and edit its code to distort its original settings and view.1 On the other hand, mapping was a great skill to use because it connects easily with the Green Book, which was a travel guide for African Americans, so they would know where it was safe to travel, or eat, or get gas, or sleep.2

http://jessicadoeshistory.com/cnd/exhibits/show/the-segregation-of-tourism2

The skills discussed above transform sources by allowing a reader to be able to easily understand and incorporate the information to their own life. For example, with the mapping, a reader can compare to places that they have been and see how the place has changed over time or not.

From this class, I learned that the 1930’s was a difficult time for many people, due to the Great Depression and the government created many different organizations to try to get people back to work. This led to the creation of the Federal Works Project which included writing, theatre, arts, and music. Of these projects, the Federal Theatre Project was the least successful because people felt it was given too much money and didn’t produce enough for the money it was given.3 These projects were unique because they appealed to those that either didn’t like or couldn’t do manual labor. The Civilian Conservation Corp focused on the manual labor while the Federal Workers Project appealed to the artists in multiple different areas. This history has a larger significance in the sense that it shows while the government did have its own issues that it did want to get the working American back to work. The government worked to provide for its citizens by giving money to these organization and allowing people to work for their money. Also, history is important as it is to show what not to do in the future. This time period was filled with depression and prejudice, so we should all work together to avoid these issues and try to fix things so these problems never happen again.

In this class, I learned many important topics when it comes to being ethical digital citizens. First, don’t make any posts or blogs about topics or issues that you literally know is false. It is not fair or right for people to think information is correct or usable when it is actually filled with mistakes or problems. Also, in general don’t steal information from another user and claim it as your own information. This is plagiarism and can be illegal in some situations due to copyright. Lastly, copyright and trademark are very complicated issues and you should always make sure to check and avoid any issues surrounding these topics. It is important to check the rules because it is still illegal even if you don’t know so make sure to do your research first. 4

Green Book Mapping

Mapping and spatial history are important to help the reader/user understand the benefits and reasons for people of the past settling in these areas. For example, many cities such as Yorktown, Virginia or Myrtle Beach, South Carolina are both along a body of water, so it would make sense to settle here because of the advantage of trade and multiple other resources such as food and housing material. Through mapping, it is easy to notice these advantages and also to see the natural boundaries and resources. Another benefit of spatial history is the ability to see changes over time. For example, seeing how town and cities expanded over time due to population growth and innovations such as the American railway system. This can also show patterns developing among time and place. So, spatial history can help us understand why towns and cities are the way they are.

Primary sources are immediate, first-hand accounts of a topic from a person or organization that had a direct connection to the event. When looking at primary sources through a spatial lens, it is important to notice the patterns that can be found within them. For example, through the skills assignment, I was able to see a pattern that almost every single city/town I found was rested along a river or waterway. Through primary sources, I noticed that these waterways were integral parts of life for the people that live there and made a living there. Also, another thing I noticed is that the major tourist sites I explore through this assignment didn’t align with the slave trade routes at all. It seemed as though they completely avoided each other. This seems as though segregation and racial bias were focused on different routes, at least within North Caroline during the 1940’s.1 Tourism seems to be popular in the major areas such as Charleston, North Carolina and myrtle Beach, South Carolina, but I couldn’t find any routes from the Green Book Map that passed through these areas. It appears to me that during this time white and black travelers might not have the same experiences in these tourist destinations in North Carolina.  Primary sources also help show how over time things can change. Connecting back to the oral slave narratives, my interviewee discussed how when he was a child, he never had shoes, but now as an adult a majority of kids did have shoes, which was a major change for him. This also shows that African American tourists would possibly not be welcome in these areas, which is interesting to the fact that these were major city hubs, and yet they still weren’t welcome there during this time period.2

https://uploads.knightlab.com/storymapjs/af03b94c562bd807deb9c5ba2a7531ed/north-carolina-a-guide-to-the-old-north-state/index.html

Special Collections Archives

First, the Special Collections archive is a major resource that allows us to explore many different histories including the Federal Theater Project, our school, and the New Deal Era. The archive is very significant and important for scholars because it groups many important artifacts and information into the same place. This allows scholars to be able to easily find what they are looking for. Also, it allows for scholars and even the general public to easily find tons of information about their topic. For example, if a digital historian was looking for artifacts relating to Theater and arts during the New Deal Era, then they would just have to search Federal Theater Project and all of the information would be at their fingertips. Also, the Special Collections allows people to decide whether they want to digitally find artifacts and information or do they want to physically go and feel artifacts and learn that way. For the general public, the archive serves as an extra reminder of our history and our country’s history. Also, they can use the archive as a secondary source when they can’t find any other information or place to go.

The main thing that archivists must use to decide whether to digitize an artifact is how would the artifact appear to the user, if digitized. They must discuss multiple different things to decide if an artifact should be digitized including texture, weight, appearance, and quality etc.1It’s important to realize that archivists make sure the user will be able to understand what the artifact is based off the photo. For example, I dealt with the print press stamp during our Special Collections class and the texture on these is very unique. You can’t feel the ridges or understand how the paint/toner had to be packed into these stamps because of how deep the ridges and spaces are. Also, some of the stamps can only be seen and understood under certain angles of light, which would be extremely hard to show in a photo and would therefore not benefit to digitize. From our speaker, I learned that archivists mainly digitize photos because these are easy to see digitally and they try to keep away from digitizing objects because of all the extra factors that you use when digitizing a 3D artifact. 

My understanding of the Federal Theater Project has changed drastically after looking at the materials in class. I realize the true effect this federal project had on so many lives. The government was able to put people back to work doing something they love, such as acting, and also gave normal citizens a cheap play they could see. 2 This project was able to bring people together for a short period of time over a comedy or tragedy of some sorts. Also, I understood how this project gave more than just actors jobs. For example, now writers are able to write articles in the newspaper about the show and critics are able to give their opinions as well. Also, marketing people are able to make flyers and promo for the plays. The project seemed to be beneficial for many people. 

Crime in the 1930’s

Originally, my historical question focused on crime rates and the type of crimes during the New Deal Era. My question was “How did crime alter during the New Deal?” I had some initial ideas to answer this question like that crime rate would be extremely high. I assumed many people were starving and couldn’t afford a place to live. This usually leads to extremely high theft rates and vandalism crimes. Many parents would steal food just to provide for their family or rob someone of their money, so they could buy food or a place for their family to stay. Usually, small petty crime can lead to more complex and violent crime including assault, armed robbery, and murder.

Personally, when searching for sources, I didn’t filter by location or time period. I focused on articles and narratives that mentioned crime or had a person discussing their own experience with crime and violence in their life. I also looked through the details about each narrative and some mentioned topics such as violence or gangs and I thought it was important to include those in my research.

I think Voyant Tools can be extremely helpful for finding connections and ideas among multiple different sources. This was evident when I used the entire corpus, centered around the 1930’s, to find the common themes among all the readings. This included almost every source focusing on family and the importance of keeping together and trying to survive. Even when the government wasn’t helping to feed and house them. 1 I think the cirrus and trends are two very important tools for people to easily find these connections within the readings. It is also helpful to be able to be connected to the reading through the trends tab. I found it more important to use sources that ranged during the 1930’s, so I only used sources that fell between 1930-1939. I wanted to possibly see the progression during this time period.

After using Voyant Tools, I decided to refine my question to “How did crime affect citizens during the 1930’s?” I think it became very obvious after using this tools to see that family was very important and a lot of crime occurred over protecting the family. I found that many articles included topics on informants. This usually includes normal citizens reporting information to higher organizations such as law enforcement. After looking through some narratives, I found there was a lot of theft and people were fighting with native Americans at the time. It is also interesting that school seems to be very important at this time when families were struggling to make money and provide. Especially when the government was helping to put people to work, it seems weird they would send children to school. 2

https://voyant-tools.org/?corpus=e9ad3641cf6f43466080c5057aa8fcc1&stopList=keywords-75d9cdf97459b59cbe07be393ca9cab9&skipToDocId=c0e715c5d1d85c9b09912946a1661f33&view=Reader

https://voyant-tools.org/?corpus=85e8a5c62062ad9394cffb477f1e05f9&stopList=keywords-a855684c102f9afa4aef341b2c4403aa&whiteList=&view=Cirrus

https://voyant-tools.org/?corpus=85e8a5c62062ad9394cffb477f1e05f9&stopList=keywords-a855684c102f9afa4aef341b2c4403aa&query=informant&view=Trends

Lastly, it seems that crime and violence are correlated with this time period. When survival is most important, people are more likely to commit crime to provide for themselves and others. This includes, robbery, theft, and murder etc. I also think text analysis is very important to make connections and correlation among topics.

Slave Narratives

Through this interview, we can learn about all the hardships that African Americans had to go through during slavery and even post slavery. For example, I learned that after slavery ended, many African Americans ended up on the streets. They didn’t own any property and didn’t have any money, so they would have to sleep in alleys and on posts.1  It is sad to see all the pain from being sold into slavery to not owning any property to being separated from your family. Most people don’t think about all the suffering that these people went through.

I think it is interesting how the two layers of the timeline intersect. It shows how events happening around the world and in the United States can affect what is going on in somebody’s life. For example, Abraham Lincoln was elected president and shortly after, the Civil War broke out and Fountain Hughes received his freedom from slavery. This just shows how everything you do can intertwine with each other. It is interesting to see how historians cover large topics going on in the world, but then don’t cover the small issues or topics that affect so many people.

https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/timeline/latest/embed/?source=1cWqQBZCkX9GpzFtxCWHoqFXCHg-ylTVUWlnrdYMzKUI&font=Bevan-PotanoSans&maptype=toner&width=600&height=600

Personally, I never thought about the fact that young slave boys didn’t receive a pair of shoes until they were at least twelve. It is something that never occurred to me as important until listening to Uncle Fountain. Also, the topic of not being able to spend the little money you made until you were twenty-one was surprising to me.

This interview is useful because it gives a first-hand view of what young slave children endure during their childhood. Fountain lived with his mother and brothers. They each had a job to do on the plantation. It can really make you emotional hearing them describe the harships in their life. However, oral history as a primary source is difficult because many times they don’t remember dates, just the events that occurred. It is always important to consider dates with relativity to history and with oral history, you don’t get that perspective.

I think it is important to listen to the voices of the interviewer and interviewee. First, this helps to understand the different dialects of a person and to possibly think about where they are from. Also, with this is many slaves didn’t receive an education and therefore after being freed they still weren’t educated. It can be heard in the interview different slang terms, due to not necessarily being highly educated.2

This interview can help understand the position that many African Americans were in, in the 1930’s. Their family most likely was not well off and therefore they were living in poverty with little property. This makes it hard to enjoy life and go out and do things because you are always working to make money.

Algorithms

Algorithmic criticism is a daily function that everyone uses which involves human criticism with computers. As a result of algorithmic criticism, many of the ways we do research and organize our thoughts and put them into action happen. This also involves injecting ethics and ideals into algorithms to make them more understandable and fitting to the approach of the viewer. Also, the viewer must stop blindly following algorithms, but actually look into their meaning and the information gained. 1 In order to become better participants/consumers in the digital media we must find the deeper meaning within algorithms and question the outputs and answers given to us, the viewer. 

While women were still considered to be stay at home workers and mothers, there were some that fought to change the view of women. Feminists fought for their roles as workers in factories and technology, even though during this time period men kept most of the jobs. 2 A new phase of powerful women was being born within the film industry. Some women were even making more money than men. Even with this though, women were still portrayed as homeworkers and not the breadwinner for the family. These women however set a legacy that is still present today. Women can work just as much as men and have just as equal rights. These powerful women in the 1930’s set a precedent that is still alive today in the sense that every woman should have the same rights and privileges as men. 

There are some connections that can be made between WPA-era activists and contemporary digital activists. The main connection is the need for these two parties to be a key platform for mass production of a cause. For example, the WPA activists were a platform for employments and jobs through many different arts projects, while the contemporary digital activists are fighting for a cause through the use of the internet and mass media. The WPA used funds and workers to complete public works projects, while the digital activists use technologies to share effective communication for a public effort. If the WPA was necessary today, digital activists would connect easily to promote employment and jobs all over the world.

Music Lessons

The image I selected is from the Work Project Administration. The image shows a teacher practice and teach three students about music and teaching them about a trade within music and production. I selected this image because it shows how people are hoping for the future and being more optimistic. People are also getting back to work in any manners possible, so this woman is working with children as a teacher while her husband is at work. This photo reveals the hope and optimism to get people back on their feet and working again. Also, children are hope for the future and if they are getting involved and excited for something such as music then everybody can be successful.1

These methods of image analysis and annotation make it easier and more efficient to think critically about photos. For example, you can connect different themes and ideas among photos. It is possible to make connections and more easily show the reader some important information, rather than putting a paragraph caption under a photo. Digital images are hard to give the viewer a connection, but with annotations within an image then the viewer can understand and value a photo more. While, I find glitching interesting, I find image annotation more useful because I can connect to certain aspects better with separate annotations.

My Historical Question is “How did the Work Project Administration help citizens get back on their feet and back to work making money? This photo helps show how people are preparing to get back to work and work with children. These methods of image analysis make it easier to answer this question in the sense that analysis will help show the different ideals and answers. Drawing from this, workers were excited to get back to work and many people were excited to work within the Federal Work Projects including music, theater, and writing. These people wanted a better life and would walk over 8 miles a day to get lessons and work. 2

http://jessicadoeshistory.com/cnd/items/show/155

http://jessicadoeshistory.com/cnd/exhibits/show/teacherwithwpamusicclass

Digital Projects

The idea of text searching has been a recent phenomenon within digital media. Before text searching, it could take hours to search through an article or database. With the benefit of text search, the user is able to enter a word or phrase and if that word or topic is within the database or article then it will be pulled up. For example in the database Enslaved Children of George Mason, the user can search any topic and if that topic or item is in the database then it will be pulled up. For example, in this database I searched Virginia and the database brought up 9 different articles discussing Virginia, such as the Trial Bookfor Colony of Virginia. The concept of text search has significantly made it easier to research a topic for school or work and turn hours into minutes while searching for a topic. Also, within dissertations, which are extensive, systematic data sets are able to be compare large amounts of information quickly.[1]

Digital Projects can create significant social change. The interesting thing about digital media is that it can be shared all around the world with many people. Many different projects can lead to social change. For example, charities and organizations can use the new digital technology to connect people and make change. On History pin [2]the creators can use this digital project to create communities and bring social change about topics tied to certain areas.

While digital media is an awesome and amazing tool to use, it has its problems. First, there are certain abilities lost when using digital tools. The ability to hold and feel or smell items and artifacts is a problem that writes must juggle with when trying to share an idea. For example, when discussing coins from the World War II era, it is important to feel the coins because during this time period Germans did not put much metal into coins, so their coins almost felt face and plastic like. This is an important aspect that the writer would want the reader to know, but they can’t actually feel a coin through the computer. It is interesting also that newspapers and old paper artifacts would also want to be felt in order to understand paper fragility and creation during the past. 

[1]“George Mason University Central Authentication Service (CAS).” Central Authentication Service (CAS) – CAS – Central Authentication Service. Accessed September 15, 2019. https://muse-jhu-edu.mutex.gmu.edu/article/527016.

[2]Historypin. Accessed September 15, 2019. https://www.historypin.org/en/.

Blog Post #1

During this first week of class, I have learned many useful and interesting topics surrounding digital Humanities. First, many ideas surrounding technology are just copied from previous ideas in history. For example, in the 1920s, the radiophone dance centered around people surrounding a radiophone and listening to music or speeches. They were required to wear headsets because it was too loud to be able to hear from the radiophone. In class, we discussed the photo about the radiophone in which the dance was held at an Atlanta social club in May 1920 to listen to a band that was playing across town (Dancing by Radiophone). This idea has been carried on in recent years through the new phenomenon known as silent discos. This requires people to gather together and each person has an individual radio and headset. They all dance together, but each person is listening to different genres of music, so the idea is that they are together but each person is happy because they are listening to what they like. Additionally, another interesting topic is in the 1950s when Alan Turing cracks the enigma code and designs the Turing Test. This ultimately leads to the end of World War II, because we were now able to break the German code and understand their movements and goals. Lastly, I find it quite interesting that the New Deal saved IBM from going bankrupt and made the company millions of dollars because now all government jobs were using their products. 

            I hope to learn more about the unique technological ideas that we copy and reuse from our history. For example, the idea of silent discos and eBooks. Secondly, I would like to learn about the effects that Bonnie and Clyde had on the government during the Great Depression and if the people saw them as role models or criminals.

            For this project, I was assigned “Historypin: Connecting communities with local history”. This project focuses on storytelling by partnering with organizations and sharing over 365,951 stories across 2,600 cities (About). They pride themselves in bring people and communities together through the stories and shared experiences of people. I followed Miriam Posner’s philosophy and started at the “about” page to understand the website and ideas it is trying to create. Personally, I feel this project focuses on the map aspect in which people can enter their address and find out the stories about the area and connect to their community or other people. Their process is connecting, equipping, and measuring. First, they use cultural heritage institutions, civic organizations, and community groups to connect people and communities. Secondly, they equip organizations to increase their impact by knowing their area and people. Lastly, they measure and keep statistics for their partners, so they can gain support and knowledge about their project.

(n.d.). About. Retrieved from https://about.historypin.org/about/

(n.d.). “Dancing by Radiophone”. Retrieved from 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Search&limit=20&offset=20

            &profile=default&search=1920s+radio&advancedSearch-

            current={}&ns0=1&ns6=1&ns12=1&ns14=1&ns100=1&ns106=1#/media/File:Club_

            holds_radio_dance_wearing_earphones_1920.jpg

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