University of Wyoming digital initiative
This excellent website, from the University of Wyoming, presents a number of collections of visual resources on American history. The attractively designed and easy-to-use website has, as of September 2009, eighteen collections with over 20,000 images available. Each collection can be browsed easily, and some limited information is presented on one or two of the collections. The images vary quite greatly from issues over racial segregation and protest in the latter 1960s to collections of ima
Understanding the South, understanding modern America: the American south in regional, national, and
This website, from the School of Arts, Histories and Cultures, at the University of Manchester, presents free online access to details of a conference held at Manchester in May 2008 on 'Understanding the South, Understanding Modern America: The American South in Regional, National, and Global Perspectives'. The website presents information about the conference's programme and some background details. Of more significance, however, is the information presented on each speaker and paper presente
Institute for the study of nomadic civilizations
The Institute for the Study of Nomadic Civilizations is a scholarly and scientific Mongolian organisation which works with UNESCO, the Dept. of Education, Culture and Science of Mongolia, and the Chinese authorities, among others. At June 2009 the Institute has been established for ten years, and it organises projects, expeditions, conferences, summer schools, and issues publications to do with Mongolian life, culture and history. The website has details of all these, along with full details of
Old China hands archive
The Old China Hands Archive is a project hosted by the Oviatt Library Digital Collections, based at California State University, Northridge. The resource primarily consists of a textual introductory page, and digitised images of Tientsin (modern day Tianjin) in the late 1940s. Old China Hands is a term referring to westerners with an experiential knowledge of China, usually through long-term residence or service. Although users will not find a huge collection of photographs, those included here
Macau : a selection of cartographic images
Part of the American Memory collections from the US Library of Congress, the online exhibit of maps of the former Portuguese colony of Macau contains historical maps and views of the island from 1665 to 1991. Maps are grouped by historical period, and the bibliographic information for each image can be displayed by clicking on its thumbnail view. Users can also zoom in on map detail and can download images in MrSID format. The website also features a textual introduction to the collection, inclu
AdViews : a digital archive of vintage television commercials
'AdViews: a digital archive of vintage television commercials' is an online collection from Duke University's Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library. The archive contains... "thousands of vintage television commercials dating from the 1950s to the 1980s ... created or collected by the ad agency Benton & Bowles or its successor, D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles". Videos can be browsed or searched, and when found are linked to on the iTunes service - which means that users must regi
Computerspiele museum
The is the English-language website of the Berlin Computer Games Museum (Computerspiele Museum, run by the Forderverein fur Jugend und Sozialarbeit e.V.). The Museum has staged a number of temporary exhibitions since 2006, and in April 2009 it announced funding for a new permanent Computer Game Museum to be housed in Berlin. The Museum's website is in both English and German, with the English version offering online exhibitions such as the sophisticated 'History of Online Games' subsite (2009,
Worn again
This is the website for Worn Again, an organisation working with leading product designers in order to transform unwanted fabrics into modern, wearable clothes and accessories. Describing itself as an "upcycling" company, Worn Again was established in 2005, initially working with footwear, but has now expanded to include outerwear, bags and accessories. The company aims to transform waste and manufacturing patterns by utilising textile waste to create new products, ultimately leading to a scal
Plastics historical society
This is the website of the Plastics Historical Society, a partner in the JISC Museum of Design in Plastics Digitisation Project. Along with a wealth of information about the Society and its activities, the website contains a Virtual Museum which offers a useful timeline and a variety of exhibits on horn and different types of 20th century plastics. There is a useful 'Caring for Plastics' page which may interest conservators - this can be found in the 'Experiencing Plastics' section. There are
Historians of islamic art association
This is the website of the Historians of Islamic Art Association, formerly known as the North American Historians of Islamic Art (1982-1993), and also as the Historians of Islamic Art (1996-2006). The website contains Association news, details of symposiums and opportunities, an annual list of major publications in the field, and a listing of current and recent exhibitions likely to be of interest to the membership. Past Association newsletters and the membership contact list are only availab
International index to black periodicals
'International Index to Black Periodicals Full Text' is an electronic database that provides access to citations and abstracts from scholarly journals and newsletters published in the United States, Africa and the Caribbean, as well as 'full-text coverage of core Black Studies periodicals'. Access is granted to all interested institutions and individuals on the basis of an annual subscription fee. The index covers a wide variety of humanities and social sciences subjects, including visual arts,
Cartography 2.0 : your guide to animated and interactive maps
Cartography 2.0 is a 2009 website whose authors describe it as a... "free online knowledge base and e-textbook for students and professionals who are interested in interactive and animated maps". This resource will be of interest to graphic designers, as well as those working in the digital humanities. Chapters include: Elements of Design; Map Animation (including a History of Animated Maps); 3D / Virtual Globes; U.I. & Useability; Map Interaction Techniques; Advanced Topics. The content of t
Asia rising : Japanese postcards of the Russo-Japanese war (1904-05)
Asia rising : Japanese postcards of the Russo-Japanese war (1904-05) is an online exhibition of postcards from the Leonard A. Lauder Collection of Japanese Postcards at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. It is one of the units in MIT's Visualizing Cultures online project, which combine scholarly commentary with images to present social and cultural history in a very accessible but authoritative way. A long essay by American historian John W. Dower examines the war and its representation in postcar
Nippon in the world
Nippon in the World is an online exhibition of historical materials and images from the National Diet Library, Japan, accessible in largely parallel Japanese and English versions. The site is divided into three broad sections: scenic mementos of Japan (paintings, illustrations, woodblock prints and photographs covering the 17th to early 20th centuries and by Japanese and foreign artists); a virtual recreation of the Japan pavilion at the Vienna International Exposition in 1873; and modern Japane
Fauna and flora in illustrations : natural history of the Edo era
Fauna and Flora in Illustrations : Natural History of the Edo Era is an online exhibition from the National Diet Library of Japan, accessible only in Japanese. The site is divided into four broad sections: an introduction to the materials in the exhibition; the development of natural history publications; the evolution of uniquely Japanese horticulture; and rare birds, strange animals and curious fish. Each section has enlargeable thumbnails of illustrations embedded in explanatory text. The int
Palestinian refugee women in Lebanon
This PDF document describes an AHRC-funded research project into the experiences of Palestinian women refugees in Lebanon. The project aims to explore the women's sense of 'Palestinian-ness' and how this differs from male refugees. This paper outlines the methodological approach taken as well as the context of study - in terms of the history and status of Palestinian refugees.
Aleppo Codex
The Aleppo Codex home page offers digitised images of and information about this medieval manuscript. The Codex was the oldest known complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible (although parts of it were lost after the manuscript was damaged in 1947). In addition to high-quality zoomable images of the work itself, the site also offers a series of articles. These include a general introduction, plus information about: the Bible text and its transmission; the Masoretes (scribes who aimed to preserve a
North American British music association
This is the website of the North American British Music Association, which aims to study... "British Music from all time periods on the North American continent". At April 2010 there are a useful set of newsletters from 2005 to 2009, and these are freely available in HTML format. The newsletters contain scholarly reviews and conference reports, as well as short essays. Example titles of short essays from the Newsletter include: 'A Royal Course: Examining British Culture and History Through a Mo
Chinese southern diaspora studies
The Australian National University, Canberra, publishes Chinese Southern Diaspora Studies as a freely available online journal each year. The resource covers the activities and history of Chinese speaking communities in Australasia, Southeast Asia, and the Southwest Pacific. From the main page, users can read about the mission statement of the journal, and consult guidelines for potential reviewers and authors. The journal itself is made up of three main sections, featuring more lengthy research
Algemiene Fryske underrjocht kommisje (AFUK)
The Algemiene Fryske Underrjocht Kommisje (AFUK) (General Frisian Education Committee) website is full of useful information and contacts for those who want to learn Frisian or want to know how to use the Frisian language in different social contexts. The site can be accessed in Frisian, Dutch, and English in slightly different versions. The AFUK's main aim is to stimulate the use of Frisian by means of different projects, such as organising Frisian courses (mainly in Friesland) and publishing b
