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The
Children in Urban America
Web site tells the history of the United States primarily through the
eyes of Milwaukee's children.
Marquette University Professor Jim Marten began the project in 1999 with a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Marten, an American history teacher, taught courses on children's history over the years and wanted to build an intensive collection of resources on the subject.
The site has 5,000 documents and images about aspects of childhood in Milwaukee County. The project focuses on Milwaukee because it's an American "every city," Marten said. The city has participated in most of the economic, political and social transformations that faced U.S. cities over the last century and a half.
The NEH grant provided enough funding to build the Web site, and for continuing research on the subject. Marquette University graduate students compiled most of the documents. "By the summer of 2003, we hope to have as many as 10,000 artifacts on the site," Marten said.
He frequently teaches courses at the university about children's history and uses the site as a text book for students.
Children in Urban America is divided into 7 sections:
The site focuses on Milwaukee County children, but Marten plans to add more information in the American perspectives section about other urban areas of the country by the end of the summer.
Marten hopes to make his research project a traveling exhibit for area schools. By using printed copies of some of the site's documents, students can learn more about what has happened to childhood as society's priorities and expectations changed.
He also hopes to give workshops to teachers to help them utilize the resources. The Web site provides classroom-appropriate materials for students aged middle school through college, including study questions, classroom activity ideas and reading lists.
The site includes special topics, such as growing up as an Italian in Milwaukee, with a detailed introduction and links to useful research.
"Teachers should find it very useful," he said. "We've put together pages on specific subjects with links to more resources. It's all in one place."
Posted March 12, 2002