Thank you for your patience as I collect resources to share. Have a few recommendations to pass on? Please add your suggestion to the comment field below or email me directly (ltitone).
• • Read Eric Lee’s wonderful article on Mr. Falco’s visit to Packer here.
Websites and blogs:
Interpreting the Past: A Civil War Living Historian’s View on Educating the Public
– Insightful and informative, this post will clarify misconceptions about the world of reenactors. Spend time with as much of the “When the Civil War Passed This Way” blog as you can. John A. Miller’s breath of knowledge about the Civil War and commitment to education are admirable.
– The Brooklyn Historical Society has a magnificent site dedicated to teaching and learning with primary sources. This site contains resources as well as full lessons. This website is a must for all history teachers and budding historians.
Of particular note is Jennifer Wingate’s lesson on Analyzing Patriotic Iconography: Civil War Envelopes.
“This exercise introduces students to illustrated Civil War-era envelopes in order to study the growth of popular imagery in 19th-century American culture. I drew on Steven R. Boyd’s book, Patriotic Envelopes of the Civil War: The Iconography of Union and Confederate Covers (LSU Press, 2010). This accessible book shows how envelope-sized illustrations succinctly and forcefully expressed political themes and attitudes during the Civil War.”
Picturing U.S. History: An Interactive Resource for Teaching with Visual Evidence
– Created for educators and students, historians, artists, writers and just about anyone else with a curious mind this site will provide a wealth of inspiration for your inquiry.
“Historical understanding is like a vision, or rather like an evocation of images.” This insight by the great historian Johan Huizinga taps the essence of historical inquiry—and it succinctly explains why we have created this website. “Picturing U.S. History” is based on the belief that visual evidence is critical to studying the past.
My Life as a Black Civil War Living Historian
– Steward T. Henderson’s reflections are honest and very readable. Read the whole 6-part series of blog posts, but linger on part 4 as it speaks to the culture of living history and reenactment. Great for students.
– This site is the ultimate resource for the preservation of “our nation’s endangered Civil War battlefields”. One might craft a lesson on the necessity of preserving battlefields in contemporary society or entertain a discussion on the rights of landownership of places where war has occurred. If one were to entertain such thoughts, the Civil War Trust site would be go-to resource for maps, links to Civil War blogs and FAQ’s on battlefield preservation. (Please drop me a line if you are interested in collaborating on a preservation lesson. I would love to teach this with you. LT)
* Students: Check out their website for kids.
Ken Burns: Civil War (documentary) / PBS website
– Rich in text, imagery and multimedia resources this site will captivate you for hours.
Books:
Kristyn Dorfman, Chris Rush and Megan Kilgallan have put together a wonderful bibliography. See it here.