MATRIX

"Based at Michigan State University, MATRIX is devoted to the application of new technologies in humanities and social science teaching and research. The Center creates and maintains online resources, provides training in computing and new teaching technologies, and creates forums for the exchange of ideas and expertise in new teaching technologies." Current projects include: National Gallery of the Spoken Word, Historical Voices, The Flint Sit-Down Strike, Studs Terkel: Conversations With America, and The Quilt Index.

Historical Voices

HistoricalVoices.org is a "fully searchable online database of spoken word collections spanning the 20th century" housed at Michigan State University’s MATRIX: the Center for Humane Arts, Letters and Social Sciences online.

Studs Terkel

Studs Terkel : Conversations with America presents excerpts from his rich collection of interviews and oral histories. The Chicago Historical Society has created the Studs Terkel Conversations with America web site which is "dedicated to making the works of Studs Terkel accessible to diverse set of users: researchers, students, teachers, and the general public."

Center for Steinbeck Studies

The San Jose State University Center for Steinbeck Studies each year awards the John Steinbeck "in the souls of the people" Award. Recent recipients are Bruce Springsteen, John Sayles, Arthur Miller, Jackson Brown, Studs Terkel, and Joan Baez.

Cultural Literacy 101

NPR Producer Elizabeth Blair's series, Present at the Creation, looks at creative genesis of social and artistic icons - from Monopoly, The Hollywood Sign, "The Raven," and the electric guitar, to Kerouac's On the Road and Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath.

Artistic Intersections

Intersections: Inspiration and Creativity is NPR's look at gamous artists and inspirational debts. The first installment discussed Stephen Sondheim, Van Gogh and John Lennon. Installment number two showcases American composer John Adams' literary influences, among them Emily Dickinson's 'Wild Nights' and John Donne's 'Negative Love'.

Edward Burtynsky depicts the consequences of industrial excess

"These images are meant as metaphors to the dilemma of our modern existence; they search for a dialogue between attraction and repulsion, seduction and fear. We are drawn by desire - a chance at good living, yet we are consciously or unconsciously aware that the world is suffering for our success. Our dependence on nature to provide the materials for our consumption and our concern for the health of our planet sets us into an uneasy contradiction. For me, these images function as reflecting pools of our times." - Edward Burtynsky

David Warlick's Landmark Project

David Warlick has put together a series of sites usefule to educators and students alike. They include: Landmarks for Schools, PiNet Library, writings From Outside the Box and a link to edtechnot.com.

Teaching and Korg

This is an unexpected connecton: while reading this description of Korg's PX4 4-track recorder being used to capture the sounds of Indian school children and local village women learning to read to read I found this link about Teachers Without Borders.

From Mark Twain's guitar to the White Stripes

Found this site called Transom.org and a piece about an interview with the White Stripes while looking for stuff about NPR's Lost and Found Sound because they did a piece once about Mark Twain's guitar.