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Learning the Story
Much has been written in the last 30 years about women and their positive
roles in United States history, yet most often their voices are still
muted in the official school curriculums which deeply influence history
instruction. In order to supplement the curriculum, teachers must look
for opportunities to aid students in developing original and authentic
understandings about women in United States history. These explorations
might be focused on more famous women, such as Abigail Adams and Susan
B. Anthony, or they may center on everyday folks like Ethel Perry.
Many resources detailing the daily life of women exist online, but two
of our favorites are diaries. The diary
of Martha Ballard recounts the life of an 18th century midwife living
in Massachusetts. The site incorporates a variety of tools that allow
users to construct historical interpretations. The Ballard Diary (known
as Do History) is a case study in interpretative digital history.
Using this site a student of history can explore various interpretations
of specific stories.
We developed an online presentation of an eight month
diary written by Julia Johnson Fisher a women living in South Georgia
toward the end of the Civil War. The site breaks the diary into discrete
chunks of text for the purpose of conducting more efficient analyses.
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