The Historian Reanimated!
"GIVE MY CREATION LIFE"
At least that's what I was thinking to myself as I put the final touches on my digital history project and even more recently, my heritage designation project.
These are the reasons I haven't been able to exactly keep up with my blog. That, and the creative writing block I've been having. Honestly, I just haven't had any witty revelations or news to share until now. Now, you get to hear about my projects!
Project I:
Heritage Designation reports are due tomorrow and I have to say, it was an interesting project. I have never been particularly interested in architecture and it may be because where I'm from, I'm just so use to seeing one room school-houses turned into single family homes and old Georgian farmhouses that still maintain their rustic beauty. That's just the nature of the Pennsylvania countryside!
When you're in a city though, especially one undergoing a good deal of development like London, ON, it certainly opened my eyes to learning about the house my project was on.
Trust me, it was a lot of work; even frustrating at times, especially when primary sources are missing or, in some cases there is no information at all (cough, cough, city permits). I got though it though, and I'm really surprised with how engaged I became with the information! It was fun finding out about the history of a city I'm not at all familiar with, and finding out that a good number of important people were residents in my house.
Project II:
When I wasn't staring at microfilm for hours on end, I was staring at my computer screen. In mid-October, I wrote a blog post about a website I found called artsteps.com. I pledged then and there to create an exhibit surround the topic of Music in the Civil War.
Having finished the exhibit, I can't tell you what was more fun, the research, or the making of the exhibit. The main book I used for research was Christian McWhirter's "Battle Hymns". On my 20 to 30 minute bus rides to campus and my RA position, I would read and take notes on my phone, and let me tell you, the book is remarkable! It is well written, engaging, and tells the wild story of how Civil War Music was created, used, and is remembered.
I did note I would have to account for some upload limits and I definitely did. I wanted to make every guide point (basically pausing parts that pop up with a summary of what you're looking at) narrated, as well as have recordings of the songs play when you clicked on the music, but the upload limit is only 4MB. I compromised with the app and currently, there is a narrated intro, 8 drum calls, and a bugle call that plays.
My favorite part about the app is that it is also on mobile, but with the added benefit of being VR! I unfortunately can't test it because my phone does not have the motion sensing capabilities needed for VR, but if yours does, you'll have to tell me how "The Museum of Civil War Music" looks!
Sub-project III:
Surprises are fun! Especially 400 word practice Op-eds! Honestly, I've had my fair share of "newspaper writing". After a reviewing the arts for publication class, I can at least write decent reviews (1, 2, 3). Do I know what an op-ed is though? Nope!
I wrote mine on the anniversary of the KKK receiving their charter from Georgia, but I read somewhere that there needs to be an opinion too? So I took a twisted look at Stone Mountain (where the KKK, as this "grande" new organization had their first cross burning) and the morals of tearing it down.
We'll have to see how that pans out because right now I have no idea if what I did was right!
So you definitely have a look at my Artsteps exhibit (and look at the description, please. It has more information!) because I put a lot of work into it! If you do and I get enough views to go from the "latest" section to the "trending" section, I will have you all to thank!
Festina Lente my Friends,
--Jess--
At least that's what I was thinking to myself as I put the final touches on my digital history project and even more recently, my heritage designation project.
These are the reasons I haven't been able to exactly keep up with my blog. That, and the creative writing block I've been having. Honestly, I just haven't had any witty revelations or news to share until now. Now, you get to hear about my projects!
Project I:
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| Fire Insurance Plans are my new friends! |
When you're in a city though, especially one undergoing a good deal of development like London, ON, it certainly opened my eyes to learning about the house my project was on.
Trust me, it was a lot of work; even frustrating at times, especially when primary sources are missing or, in some cases there is no information at all (cough, cough, city permits). I got though it though, and I'm really surprised with how engaged I became with the information! It was fun finding out about the history of a city I'm not at all familiar with, and finding out that a good number of important people were residents in my house.
Project II:
When I wasn't staring at microfilm for hours on end, I was staring at my computer screen. In mid-October, I wrote a blog post about a website I found called artsteps.com. I pledged then and there to create an exhibit surround the topic of Music in the Civil War.
Having finished the exhibit, I can't tell you what was more fun, the research, or the making of the exhibit. The main book I used for research was Christian McWhirter's "Battle Hymns". On my 20 to 30 minute bus rides to campus and my RA position, I would read and take notes on my phone, and let me tell you, the book is remarkable! It is well written, engaging, and tells the wild story of how Civil War Music was created, used, and is remembered.
I did note I would have to account for some upload limits and I definitely did. I wanted to make every guide point (basically pausing parts that pop up with a summary of what you're looking at) narrated, as well as have recordings of the songs play when you clicked on the music, but the upload limit is only 4MB. I compromised with the app and currently, there is a narrated intro, 8 drum calls, and a bugle call that plays.
My favorite part about the app is that it is also on mobile, but with the added benefit of being VR! I unfortunately can't test it because my phone does not have the motion sensing capabilities needed for VR, but if yours does, you'll have to tell me how "The Museum of Civil War Music" looks!
Sub-project III:
Surprises are fun! Especially 400 word practice Op-eds! Honestly, I've had my fair share of "newspaper writing". After a reviewing the arts for publication class, I can at least write decent reviews (1, 2, 3). Do I know what an op-ed is though? Nope!
I wrote mine on the anniversary of the KKK receiving their charter from Georgia, but I read somewhere that there needs to be an opinion too? So I took a twisted look at Stone Mountain (where the KKK, as this "grande" new organization had their first cross burning) and the morals of tearing it down.We'll have to see how that pans out because right now I have no idea if what I did was right!
So you definitely have a look at my Artsteps exhibit (and look at the description, please. It has more information!) because I put a lot of work into it! If you do and I get enough views to go from the "latest" section to the "trending" section, I will have you all to thank!
Festina Lente my Friends,
--Jess--
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