Web Site Gives Children A Voice In Historical Study
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:
- Schooling: Includes information about curricula at public and
private schools as well as examples of student assignments from various
time periods
- Work: Offers data and images of children at work in homes
and factories, and as newsboys and vendors.
- Health and welfare: Provides health data of Milwaukee County
children in quantitative and qualitative terms.
- Play and leisure: Includes information about traditional and
commercially marketed toys and games throughout the last 150 years.
- Children's history: Studies the effects of larger historical
events on children.
- Through children's eyes: Catalogs material produced by children,
such as letters, drawings, diaries, etc.
- American perspectives: Collects documents and summaries pertinent
to childhood history outside of Milwaukee County.
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