The History Harvest
Reviewed by: Carolyn McDonough
Review started: March 24, 2021
Review finished: April 15, 2021
Site Links
- Project site: https://historyharvest.unl.edu/
- Project YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyAOQ0-U4Ei1_p328LdlZaQ
- Project blog: https://historyharvest.wordpress.com/
Data and Sources
- “Artifacts of everyday people and local historical institutions -- letters, photographs, scrapbooks, objects, and stories, toward conversations about the significance and meaning of these materials.”
Processes
- Brief identification of artifacts collected appears on the pages blurbs, and each artifact is digitally captured and shared in the free web-based archive for general educational use and study.
Presentation
- Text-based searchable website with YouTube channel that houses “Multimedia Resources” (oral histories and conversations about the material culture and hyper-local histories of Nebraska).
Digital Tools Used to Build It
- Omeka, WordPress blog, YouTube, SoundCloud
- Wappalyzer analysis of https://historyharvest.unl.edu/: jQuery UI, jQuery, and Modernizr JavaScript libraries; Apache web server; Google Font API font script; Google Tag Manager
Languages
- English
Review
The History Harvest is a collaborative, community-based approach to history and the shared experience of giving. The History Harvest is a learning initiative in the Department of History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. As a team-oriented, student-centered, and community-based project, it seeks to create a popular movement to democratize and open American history by utilizing digital technologies to share the experiences and artifacts of everyday people and local historical institutions.
At each “harvest,” community members are invited to bring and share their letters, photographs, objects, and stories, and participate in a conversation about the significance and meaning of their materials. Each artifact is digitally captured and then shared in this free web-based archive for general educational use and study.
The artifact-based approach to this project elevates family and local histories by making them more available and, in the process, challenges the supremacy of traditional elite sources by dramatically expanding the pool of historical artifacts. The History Harvest also provides students a unique and often transformative hands-on experience with historical work.
This site is home to these areas: Core Collections, Browse Collections, Browse Exhibits, Multimedia Resources, and News and Updates. The Core Collections includes the following:
- Eugene Sengstake Collection
- Great Plains Black History Museum Collection
- Janice Cleary Collection
- Native Omaha Days Collection
- Patricia “Big Mama” Barron Collection
- Ralph Orduna of the Tuskeegee Airmen Collection
- Robert E. Smith Collection
The Browse Exhibits includes specialized local Nebraska history such as Omaha’s Little Italy and Lincoln Refugee Communities. There is also an extensive Acknowledgements page of faculty, students, and the developers.