Digital Humanities – Spring 2018

What is this digital public history exhibit about?

This digital public history exhibit is an exploration of advertising in Colonial America (250 years ago this week!). They are showing what was advertised in history; interestingly enough a lot of the advertisements have to do with slavery and advertising slaves.

Who made it, and why?

Carl Robert Keyes, the associate professor of history at Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts created the Adverts 250 Project. He started this project to make this public history more accessible for everyone. Being a history professor, he is interested in spreading historical knowledge that people may have overlooked that help shape our nation. These advertisements show: what was being advertised, how it was advertised, and how this had impacts on our history.

What kinds of primary sources did you find?

I found newspaper clippings, and photographs during my search through of the website. The newspaper clippings look scanned in, and are interesting to read and view. Many of the sources are advertisements from newspapers because they did not have advertisements on Television or Radio 250 years ago.

Overall, what did the digital public history exhibit do well? What did it not do well?

This exhibit is aesthetically pleasing, and uploads often to the site. Every day they upload an advertisement from Colonial America, and an advertisement specifically regarding slaves each day. This blog however does not bring much of a discussion about by just looking at these advertisements. I feel as though the excerpts from newspapers could be explained or put into context more, and some of the pictures could have used a steadier hand so we could read the material easier. I think if there were articles or writings to go along with each advertisement to show why it is important for someone to look at it, the project and exhibit would be a better resource.

I think this is a good start to a public history exhibit, but it definitely could be more specific and educational for viewers.

Thinking about digital humanities more broadly, what is gained, and what is lost, when representing the past through this digital public history exhibit?

Accessibility is definitely gained through this project. I never would have thought, or had time, to access all of these advertisements from two hundred and fifty years ago. I think it is really accessible, and could be used as a resource when trying to find information about our Colonial Days. I really think the slavery advertisements are important and I do not know where else I could have accessed these ads other than this website. I do think the shock value may be lost a little bit because it is over the internet and just in  digital form. It may have a more emotional impact if I could hold the newspaper clipping it came from, but seeing as these advertisements were from colonial America, that may not be an option any more.

Emily Hatch

The Adverts 250 Project website is a page all about slavery. Everyday they post something new, whether it’s a picture from the past or an article from the same date we at today. This website is saving the history and stories of a troubled time in America. The Adverts 250 Project is conducted by Carl Robert Keyes, he was a professor at Assumption College in Massachusetts. This is a great site for learning about and experiencing primary sources about slavery. Many students use this site daily during class to learn more in depth about slavery and is a great tool to have whether someone is doing a research paper or just scrolling through learning more about America’s past.

Slavery was a major part of America’s past. Adverts 250 Project does an excellent job of documenting as much information and sources as they can to hold for older generations to learn about. They can learn all about slavery and many of the faces who were unfortunate enough to be a part of it all through a website they can bring up on their computers at home. This is very convenient for professors who can’t take a field trip to a museum, they can bring it up on the projector for the whole class to see.

 

 

What is this digital public history exhibit about?

This digital public history exhibit is about advertising in the 18th century. The exhibit posts advertisements everyday that were published 250 years ago in colonial newspapers . On the top of the page it states, “An Exploration of Advertising in Colonial America 250 Years Ago This Week.”

Who made it, and why?

The Adverts 250 Project is managed by Carl Robert Keyes, an associate professor of history at Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts. It was created to explore the history of advertising during the 18th century and analyze them in great detail. The digital exhibit also highlights the marketing items and/or examine issues related to research and historical sources.

What kinds of primary sources did you find it?

The sources the exhibit has are newspaper cut outs from the day 250 years ago, there really isn’t a variety of sources.

Overall, what did the digital public history exhibit do well? 

I believe the digital exhibit achieved the goal they set out which was to explore advertising in the 18th century and I like how it is every single day instead of just a mash up of different newspaper cutouts. The navigation was easy and the page is pleasing to look at. In addition, I enjoyed the fact that they categorized the posts by month and year which makes navigating through the page even easier. Overall, I like the exhibit and the purpose it was made for.

Overall, what could be improved in the digital public history exhibit? 

The biggest thing that I can see that the page should improve on is their archives because while it is easy to navigate and you can see the posts from each month there isn’t a tab or place where a viewer can go see all the sources or research tools that the exhibit has to offer. I think it is a great place to research advertising, but there should be easier access to all sources as well as everything the page has to offer the viewer.

Thinking about digital humanities more broadly, what is gained, and what is lost, when representing the pass through this digital public history exhibit? 

What is lost through this digital exhibit is the emotional connection to the newspaper and the importance of it because this advertisements were tailored for a different time period. However, what is gained is an understanding of advertising during the 18th century and it allows the reader to see how the media would approach the public during those times, in addition, this serves as a great place for students to research and use sources as well as allow teachers to use cutouts for lessons.

 

-JP Ospina

This digital public history project, the Adverts 250 Project, is a collection of advertisements. The advertisements shown are all from eighteenth century America. Mainly, the project began as a slavery project, and mostly sets out to represent and archive the peak of American racism and dehumanization of black citizens who were slaves at the time. Every day, an advertisement from that exact day 250 years earlier is posted. Students at Assumption College, along with some “Accessible Archives”, have assembled this collection in order to reveal primary sources that represent the sociohistorical context of slavery and extreme racism in America. There are many different primary sources, such as advertisements for slaves that are “to be sold”. There are also notices that inform of runaway slaves and offer rewards for the return of said slaves. The language used to describe these slaves is often very dehumanizing, even describing one slave’s appearance as “evil”.

The archive does a good job of directly showing the primary sources on their home page. The market of posting an advertisement from the exact day 250 years earlier is a good strategy as well, because it somewhat immerses the audience into the history and makes it interactive. I thought the “Advertising Adverts 250” tab was a little confusing and I wasn’t exactly sure what order they chose to structure those who featured the project. Also, I feel as though the tab that represented the name shouldn’t have been just about those who featured the project, but more focused on the project itself. Overall, I think this is a good way to try to understand the social context of American society at our exact moment 250 years earlier, and the interactive nature of this project somewhat amends the impersonal nature of a digital archive. However, a digital archive is by nature impersonal, as most technology tends to be. While accessibility is increased exponentially with the use of this program, there is a loss in the sense of authenticity, and this can possibly lead to a diminishing interest, or at the least a reduced impact of the historical significance.

 

–Peter McKasty

Playing pokemon Go is a fun and interesting way of bringing a childhood memory to life. Pokemon Go is a good way of not only exploring new pokemon but also a good way of exploring places in actual life that you never thought existed before. The thing is, I have never been one to go to the campus library unless I needed to pick up a few books or finish a paper for a class. The truth is, knowing that there is a Charmander hiding somewhere behind one of the bookshelves, the library had turned into a nice hangout spot to not only do something for class but also catching pokemon. I believe that Pokemon Go can be used as a great educational tool because if you want to teach your students an interesting life lesson, but don’t know if they are going to come to class just make them interested to coming to class even if that means they can catch a Goldduck or a Charmander on the way there.