Professor William J. Mitchell and Ph.D. candidate Anthony M. Townsend examine the rebuilding of the digital telecommunications infrastructure in Manhattan following the 9/11 attacks, look at how telecommunications has changed the structure of a city's recovery from disaster, and consider how digital infrastructure may be better protected in future.
Professors Lawrence J. Vale, Thomas Kochan, and J. Phillip Thompson discuss issues related to the destruction of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina and the recovery of New Orleans. Vale looks at past urban disasters and how these cities have changed and recovered; Kochan contrasts Franklin D. Roosevelt's response to Pearl Harbor with Bush's to Katrina; and Thompson looks at racial tension in New Orleans, prior to and after the hurricane.
April 15, 2012, marks the centennial of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, a disaster that still looms large in popular imagination. Why is the Titanic so well remembered? What sets it apart from the hundreds of disasters at sea that have happened before and after?
Use the centennial as a chance to ask your students how they know what they know about history. Do they know about the ship? Where did they learn about it? From a book or a movie? Your students can bring together the skills of historians and scientists to uncover their own answers about the disaster—from who was on the ship to why it sank to how the story of the Titanic fits into history and the present day.
Where to begin? We've gathered some ideas for places to start your search for resources:
James Cameron's film Titanic has helped keep the disaster in public memory. But does the film say more about 1997 than it does about 1912? Historian Steven Biel shares a critical look at Titanic in a film review reprinted from the Journal of American History.
On September 1, 1894, an incredible fire raged in East Central Minnesota. In only four hours, over 300,000 acres -- 480 square miles -- of Minnesota lay in smoldering ruins.
Come visit the Hinckley Fire Museum to find out what happened, who lived, and who died.
The St. Paul & Duluth Railroad Depot, rebuilt immediately after the fire, houses a range of exhibits and features a dramatic mural of the fire, painted by artist Cliff Letty.
Please note that the museum is open May through mid-October
The Great Fire of 1835 devastated New York City during one freezing December evening, destroying hundreds of buildings and changing the face of Manhattan forever. It underscored the city's need for a functioning water system and permanent fire department. So why were there so many people drinking champagne in the street? Tom Meyers and Greg Young recount the tale of the biggest fire in New York City history.
Part of the Library of Congress American Memory project, this site features 26 films of San Francisco, produced from 1897 to 1916, both before and after the Great Earthquake and fire. Seventeen of the films depict life in San Francisco before the 1906 disaster, including an arrest in Chinatown, a panoramic view of the city from a balloon, and various other scenes of buildings and special attractions in the city.
Seven films describe the earthquake and fire, and two films show a rebuilt city and give a tour of the Panama Pacific Exposition of 1915. Each film includes a roughly 500-word descriptive summary of the contents of the film. The site also includes a 250-word descriptive essay on pre-earthquake San Francisco and an approximately 750-word essay on America at the turn of the 20th century. A selected bibliography notes 32 scholarly works on San Francisco's earthquake.
This site is keyword searchable and contains a subject index and an alphabetical list of film titles. For those exploring San Francisco's history, urban history, or natural disasters, this is a useful site.
The Chicago History Museum presents Chicago, IL, and select national history. Permanent exhibits include Chicago economy, disasters, community life, innovations, leisure, recreation, and history dioramas. Collections consist of more than 22,000,000 prints, photographs, architectural artifacts, archival documents, published materials, paintings, sculptures, oral histories, films, costumes, decorative arts, and industrial artifacts.
The museum offers traditional and interactive exhibits, media presentations, a sensory exhibit for children and families, hands-on activity stations, guided tours, self-guided tours, history tours by boat, step-on guides, 45-minute audio tours, Saturday walking tours, film screenings, teacher workshops, and research library access. Audio tours are available in English and Spanish. The website offers educational games, an artifact spotlight, virtual exhibits, a teacher's guide, unit plans, pre- and post-visit activities, lesson plans, and a curriculum.
The Bandon Historical Society Museum presents the history of Bandon, Oregon and its surrounding area. Exhibit topics include Native American life, the fire of 1936, fishing, logging, and cranberry farming.
The museum offers exhibits.
The Nacogdoches Fire Museum presents local firefighting history. Collection highlights include the city's first commercial fire engine, photographic records of local fires, and firefighting equipment.
The museum offers tours by appointment.
The Shoshone County Mining and Smelting Museum presents the local history of the Silver Valley, Idaho, with a particular emphasis on mining and smelting history. Exhibits cover mining, environmental history, smelting equipment, minerals, metallurgy, medicine, and electricity. Collection highlights include an 1899 Nordberg Air Compressor and scale models of the Bunker Hill and Sunshine Mines. Dating to 1906, the museum structure was built as the residence of Stanley A. Easton (died 1961), manager of the Bunker Hill and Sullivan Mining and Concentrating Company.
The museum offers exhibits and a period sitting room.