My first idea was to design some small examples of re-written books for children, detailing actual accounts of "The Frontier." If I did end up working on this, I think it would almost have to be satirical, rather than an honest-to-goodness proposal for explaining away historical untruths to children. Either way, I would conduct some research on a handful of significant events from history and try to bring their lesser known truths up to the surface. As far as actually implementing these into a website, I think it would be fun to have caricatures have historical figures kind of leading you around the site and interacting with each other, or commenting on the content themselves. A lot of room for self-aware humor from historical characters, or re-imaginings of how they would act today, etc.
Another idea, which might not be as focused (so I probably need to keep brainstorming on it) would be to do some character profiles on the differences between historical figures, their personas and the ways they've been reinterpreted over time. This would be a much more typical scholarly approach to a website. I would be as if I were continuing my Annie Oakley post, but expanding it to cover other historical figures like Buffalo Bill, Sitting Bull. I am really interested in the differences between Bill Cody the man and husband, Buffalo Bill the traveling entertainer and the legend of Buffalo Bill as seen from outside glass cases in museums; so it would be fun to break those down and examine them. There's not as much obvious room for artistic input on this idea though, which is kind of a bummer.
So yeah! I definitely need to put some more thought into it, but this is where my head is at so far.
Peter,
ReplyDeleteYour idea of a child’s guide to the real frontier sounds interesting. Some early mind conditioning (I’ll reserve the term brainwashing for the media driven bombardment kids face) with the truth may go a long way. -Although, it may be about as tough as producing a kid friendly “Schindler’s List on Ice” extravaganza.
I was even more interested in your short blog about Talib Kweli. One of my favorite hip-hop artists is KRS-One. He used to be (may still be) a strong advocate in the anti-violence movement. After a very sheltered life growing up in the Cincinnati suburb, Wyoming, I often would ask how someone could become a gangster or drug dealer. After hearing a few of his recordings, I got it. Unfortunately, it’s tough to hit the top 40 charts without rapping about being “all up in the club”. Similarly, Limerick and Anzaldua will never reach the New York Times bestseller list. This could be another great study of our preference to enjoy cultural myth over painful reality.
-Looking forward to seeing what direction you choose for your website.
Matt
Peter--I love your children's book idea, and I think you could definitely pull it off. Satire is fun. :)
ReplyDeleteYour challenge will be to balance the satirical and the scholarly. You'll want to make sure that the "arguments" you're making about American history, and/or about how children are taught, come through in a clear way. And you'll want to think carefully about how and where to integrate your sources, given the satirical nature of your site.
Peter I really like your ideas for the final website presentation. I think that you have some really original ideas for the final that have a lot of room for good research to be done. I especially think that your idea of splitting up the major characters throughout U.S. history in the Old Frontier that have had a significant impact in shaping the way in which we view the west is a really good idea. If you split you your website to focus in on the numerous characters that we have studied during the semester you have the opportunity to tie it in with numerous readings therefore your wouldn’t have to worry about getting enough information down. The only thing that I would suggest if you decide to base your website on the historical figures is for you to develop a specific audience that you will be addressing so that all of your pages would be written in the same manner.
ReplyDeleteI also happen to agree with you on developing your website where the important historical figures lead the audience around. I also think that it is a really good idea because it will server as a way to entice the reader in your project by including the little extra details the audience would have fun looking at your website. Overall I really think that you have come up with some original ideas. I am really looking forward to seeing your website the most because of your prior experience with design am really interested to see how far you will go with your website.