Author: Antonio Coffee

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Digital Review: Making the History of 1989

Making the History of 1989.  http://chnm.gmu.edu/1989/. Created and maintained by the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media (CHNM) at George Mason University.  http://chnm.gmu.edu/1989/about. Reviewed February 16- February 17.

The Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media (RRCHNM) created the Making the History of 1989 to help educate people about what lead up to the collapse of the Soviet Union by examining the changes happening in the Eastern Bloc. The project does this by giving an overview of each country in the Eastern Bloc and how they eventually fell away from the Communist Party as well as the events that contributed to this widespread shift away from Communism. Unfortunately, the sections for Albania, Romania, and Yugoslavia are missing from the introduction. They are tabs that can be clicked on, but only a blank page is shown in response. Aside from this, the introductory section is well done, and it provides the viewer with all the necessary information to start looking at and analyzing the information in the following sections.

The next section includes primary sources relating to these events. This section presents the viewer with a list of countries to select from, showing the viewer a page with primary sources relating to the country they select. This works well because it does not just list sources under one country, but it lists that source under each country it is related to. The page also shows a “featured” source upon opening to immediately draw attention to an interesting source. The website changes the source each time the page is navigated to. This page is well done, and the only issue with it is the listing of sources under Turkey. When Turkey is selected a page with no sources pops up. Even if there are no sources for Turkey it would perhaps be simpler to not include Turkey.

The third section contains interviews with scholars, focusing on the events that lead to Communism falling apart and how they cover this topic in their classes. The website separates these interviews into segments addressing each question asked. The viewer can sort these segments either by interviewer or by theme of questions. This enables the viewer to focus on a particular topic they are interested in or a certain researcher that they want to hear from. The questions here are well thought out and the answers are very informative to the listener.

Screen allowing the user to choose what segments they want to see, sorted into two categories.

The next section contains six thorough teaching modules that let students dive deeper and explore certain elements of this time period and opens discussion on how these events tie into the larger themes seen in the collapse of Communism. These teaching modules provide a lecture, multiple primary sources, teaching strategies, a lesson plan, and questions for the students to discuss and write about. The module makes sure to note where the research comes from and provides credit to those who helped create it. These modules challenge students to think and add variety, so the class is more than the teacher giving a lecture.

The last section provides twelve case studies that seem to be similar to the teaching modules. They are geared towards educators by providing primary sources, lecture portions, and a reflection section. They seem to contain fewer instructions so the students can focus on examining the sources and drawing their own conclusions for discussion.

The project is a great use of technology considering most of the information and content was created in 2007. There are some sections missing, as discussed above, but there is not a certainty if this is due to old code or if these sections were overlooked. A similar idea to the lesson plans could have been done physically, but this would have made them less accessible. The current format targets educators but provides enough information that it would be useful for anyone interested in this area of European history. The project should consider adding subtitles to the interviews so that people who are deaf or heard of hearing also have access to the information within. The many members, both faculty and students, of the RRCHNM did a great job in creating this project by allowing it to appeal to members of multiple audiences.

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Digital Review: Chicana/o Activism in the Southern Plains

Chicana/o Activism in the Southern Plains Through Space and Time. https://plainsmovement.com/ . Created and maintained by Joel Zapata, Phd. https://plainsmovement.com/about . Reviewed January 25-27, 2020.

The project brings attention to the Chicano/a movement that happened in the Southern Plains, a rural region of Texas. It mainly relies on multiple newspapers, to show information on events of Chicano activism. Viewers must scroll through two pages before reaching the main map. These initial pages contextualize the project by providing history on the Chicano movement and describing the area the Southern Plains encompasses. The author acknowledges that not all instances of Chicano activism in the region are listed yet, as he is continuing research on this topic. The author conveys the information about each event. He created a map of Texas with color coded dots on the Southern Plains. Blue dots show sites of Chicano activism, and red dots represent killings that further motivated Chicano activists. When clicked on, the dots open up to a short description of the event. In addition, a timeline accompanies the map. In addition there is a list on the side of the map with the events also in chronological order.

The author provided three ways, all easy to access and navigate, to find relevant information. The map invites the visitor to explore and discover things at their own pace. The timeline shows the visitor how instances may have impacted each other. The list is a quick way to look for information on a specific event. The author did a great job designing the website so that the viewer could find their information easily. The two pages contextualizing this issue is a great way to start, followed by the well-designed map, and then four pages giving access to the items, information on how the research was done, the resources that made it possible, and an overview of the project and the author. These divisions are easy to navigate for the viewer, on both the computer and mobile browsers. The only possible issue on a mobile browser is that the map feels a bit crowded, but that seems to be more the smaller screen space then the design of the author. The website could also work on improving its accessibility to those who don’t have good vision. It could look at including a narration of each event if a certain button is clicked.

The audience is not clearly defined in the project itself but it seems as if it is attempting outreach to people who don’t know what the Chicano movement was, or those who know what it was but don’t know the impact it had in the Southern Plains. The two sections before the map do a great job of setting the stage for visitors that may be unaware of either history. It is a great invitation to explore a side of history they may not know.

I think that a digital project was the best way for the author to work towards his goal. This project is currently expanding as research on the subject expands. Rather than having to update a physical display every year or two, the author is able to keep adding to his current project. The interactive ability of the map and the timeline would have been hard to combine in a physical display and now viewers are invited to jump in and explore. The map and timeline are also well done and there are no issues when using them. It allows for the condensing and expanding of information as the viewer deems necessary.

Joel Zapata, a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Texas El Paso, created this project. Most of his work and scholarship deals with the borderlands region, the South, the Southwest, and the Southern Plains. His work deals with the existence and history of Mexicans in these regions and how they have impacted them. This project is definitely a great way of continuing this work and it did so in a way that the viewer can enjoy engaging in.

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