Link to Final Project: http://jessicadoeshistory.com/cnd/exhibits/show/the-over-throw–of-the-govern
My final project is about the things during the popular front like communism, the Slave Narratives, The Ballad of Americans, and the comic Wonder Woman. Although there were ways that they were subdued or manipulated for them not to show up in our history they did. Not only did they show up but the government was called out for trying to tamper with them. This spread talks about these difficult things in our history and evolved them to what we know now.
In my final project, one of the things I wanted to include was the Slave Narratives. I’ve discussed them in the most recent blog post I’ve posted; however, I thought it would prove my point even more about things being hidden from us. The fact that they tried to change the story of these people’s lives after all they’ve been through just to make them sound better is scary to me. 1
Then just to included that the narratives were not the only thing intrigued me even more. For my first tool, I chose soundcite. I picked this tool because what could be better than to “hear it from the horse’s mouth” and have the things you’re talking about explaining your point itself. Just like in the last blog post, I think this is great supporting evidence. The second skill I used was picture annotation. This was one of my favorite skill assignments as well as the pictures I used also very clearly shows the viewer real-life examples of what I’m trying to convey to them. The third skill was Voyant tools. When we first did this skill assignment I thought my grade was going to go straight down because it looked like complicated computer programming stuff. However, after seeing how simple it was I loved it!! I loved the different types of graphs it could make and once I became more comfortable with my historical question I wanted to try and implement some clear data.
When I first came to the class I wasn’t thrilled. History isn’t my favorite subject and before this class, I honestly thought “if it’s in the past leave it there”, not anymore. Now I’m excited to fully understand the New Deal 2. This short decade that I often looked over was filled with so many moving parts I was blown away. Before coming to this class all I knew was that Franklin Roosevelt was a president but I couldn’t tell you when he was one. Now I can tell you that he as president in 1933 and reran and got selected for another term. He also created the Federal Writers Project, the Federal Theatre Project, and the Federal Art Project. Those projects then went and made things of their own. The Federal Theatre Project make The Revolt of the Beavers that 1930’s wasn’t a fan of but the class loved 3 . The Federal Writers Project made the American Guide Series which preserved each states individual history while also helping the nation feel more united If those weren’t enough, he also organized the New Deal which helped so many citizens even if it wasn’t an easy task during the time 4.
I also took from this class that we preserve history in so many ways with the ever-advancing technology we have access to. We can preserve it through archives like George Masons. We also can preserve it through memes like the “absolute unit” sheep 5 No matter how we preserve our history, the most important thing I took away from this class was that our time and history is precious. Time is forever ticking away and monumental things are happening every day. We should use what we have to our advantage and preserve as much as we can because before we know it those moments could get lost. Even though I’m not a history type of person, I’m very thankful I took this class. Thank you Professor Jess for giving me new perspectives.
- Sterwart, Catherine A. Long Past Slavery: Representing Race in the Federal Writers’ Project. University of North Carolina Press, 2016. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.5149/9781469626277_stewart.
- All Chapters, THE AMERICAN YAWP, 7 June 2013, http://www.americanyawp.com/text/23-the-great-depression/.
- “Federal Theatre: Melodrama, Social Protest, and Genius: Articles and Essays: Federal Theatre Project, 1935 to 1939: Digital Collections: Library of Congress.” The Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/collections/federal-theatre-project-1935-to-1939/articles-and-essays/federal-theatre-melodrama-social-protest-and-genius/.
- Hirsch, Jerrold. Portrait of America : A Cultural History of the Federal Writers’ Project, The University of North Carolina Press, 2003. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.mutex.gmu.edu/lib/gmu/detail.action?docID=880196.
- Koszary, Adam. “Look at This Absolute Unit.” Medium, Medium, 10 Apr. 2018, https://medium.com/@adamkoszary/look-at-this-absolute-unit-763207207917.
