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Abridged Scholarly Edition of the 1860 "The Tragedy of Hamlet"

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"The Tragedy of Hamlet" is, first and foremost, a text to be performed. William Shakespeare intended for the text to be seen in performance, not read, and all of the early texts have no reliable connection to Shakespeare's editorial authority. In light of this, from the very earliest printings, editors have chosen to edit the play's text for particular purposes: to make a quick buck, to memorialize a recently deceased friend, to conform to a time period's unique aesthetic, or to attempt to reconstitute what Shakespeare might have intended in an ideal version of the play. This particular edition is focused on the student who wants to read the play quickly. The edition is unabashedly abridged. "The Tragedy of Hamlet" is a long play, and, in a time of increasingly compressed curricula, a maximal edition can often take a long time to get through in class. Nearly all performances of the play, both on stage and screen, feel empowered to reduce the size of the play. The Zeffirelli film cuts the play's text by half. Moreover, if we use"Romeo and Juliet"s prologue as a guide that most of Shakespeare's plays were approximately two hours in length, then that suggests that "Hamlet," which can easily reach four-hour run-times in a "full-text" version, can be cut in half and still be coherent. Therefore, this is a performative textual edition. It cuts the text by 50% but doesn't dumb down Shakespeare's language by modernizing spelling or altering the syntax. In particular, this edition has removed the Fortinbras subplot. Teachers and students should be aware that this removes a significant political theme in the play. It also removes a Hamlet soliloquy and a key foil for Hamlet's character. This edition is based on the 1860 Globe edition because of its free availability. Later editions (both full-text and abridged) might eventually be offered that are based on a critical conflation of early texts in order to arrive at an ideal authorial-intent text. Importantly, this edition has the advantage of including textual annotations to help the student understand difficult vocabulary, syntax, and cultural allusions. In this last regard, the edition attempts to be more useful than other online texts of the play that might be freely available but lack helpful guidance for the reader. Other contextual material are provided to help the student understand early appreciations of the play.

Material Type: Primary Source

Author: William Hughes

Activism in the US

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The United States has a long history of activists seeking social, political, economic, and other changes to America—along with a history of other activists trying to prevent such changes. American activism covered a wide range of causes and utilized many different forms of activism. American sociopolitical activism became especially prominent during the period of societal upheaval which began during the 1950s. The African American civil rights movement led the way, soon followed by a substantial anti-war movement opposing American involvement in the Vietnam War, and later by vigorous activism involving women’s issues, gay rights, and other causes. The United States remains a land of nearly constant change, and activists play a significant role in the ongoing evolution of American democracy. It seems likely that Americans will remain enthusiastic activists in the future. This exhibition is part of the Digital Library of Georgia.

Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Primary Source, Unit of Study

African Storybook

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The African Storybook (ASb) is a literacy initiative that provides openly licensed picture storybooks for early reading in the languages of Africa. Developed and hosted by Saide, the ASb has an interactive website that enables users to read, create, download, translate, and adapt stories. The initiative addresses the dire shortage of children’s storybooks in African languages, crucial for children’s literacy development.

Material Type: Primary Source, Reading

Aging: Bench to Bedside

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This collection focuses on a rapidly evolving field in which the study of both species-specific and ubiquitous aging mechanisms informs the biological process of aging. Yet the field is not without substantial controversy, differing views arise as we come to understand aging across model systems - from bacteria to humans.

Material Type: Data Set, Primary Source

America during the 1918 Influenza Pandemic

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In the spring of 1918, the United States was embroiled in World War I, fighting alongside the English, French, and Russians against the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. In total, 70 million men were at war on multiple fronts across Europe, Russia, the Middle East, and Northern Africa. The tide was finally turning for the Allies after a crushing offensive by German forces mere weeks earlier. Then, a fierce enemy intervened—an outbreak of influenza that would decimate entire regiments and towns, kill civilians and soldiers alike by the millions, and rapidly become a global pandemic. This disease weakened forces on both sides, changing not only the course of the war but also the economies and population stability of every affected nation. In the long term, this particular outbreak would inspire research on an unprecedented scale and lead to advances in science and medicine, forever altering our understanding of epidemiology. From the spring of 1918 to early 1919, no aspect of life remained untouched by the pandemic for Americans at home and on the front. This exhibition explores the pandemic’s impact on American life.  This exhibition was created as part of the DPLA’s Digital Curation Program by the following students as part of Dr. Joan E. Beaudoin's course "Metadata in Theory and Practice" in the School of Library and Information Science at Wayne State University: Bethany Campbell, Michelle John, Samantha Reid-Goldberg, Anne Sexton, and John Weimer.

Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Primary Source, Unit of Study

Authors: Anne Sexton, Bethany Campbell, John Weimer, Michelle John, Samantha Reid-Goldberg

American Aviatrixes: Women with Wings

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Throughout the early twentieth century, women looked to break new ground in ways never before possible, and the sky literally became the limit. As the nation moved into the aviation age, many women saw flying as a way to break out of traditional societal roles. It gave women not just an opportunity for adventure and excitement, but a way to earn a living outside of the home that demanded respect. Aviatrix Ruth Bancroft Law described it, after defeating the cross-country distance record: "There is an indescribable feeling which one experiences in flying; it comes with no other form of sport or navigation. It takes courage and daring; one must be self-possessed, for there are moments when one's wits are tested to the full. Yet there is an exhilaration that compensates for all one's efforts." In this exhibition we explore the early history of aviation and the courageous women who took to the skies—aviatrixes who found freedom, broke new ground, and inspired generations of women along the way. This exhibition was created as part of the DPLA’s Digital Curation Program by the following students as part of Professor Debbie Rabina’s course "Information Services and Sources" in the School of Information and Library Science at Pratt Institute: Megan DeArmond, Diana Moronta, Laurin Paradise.

Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Primary Source, Unit of Study

Authors: Diana Moronta, Megan DeArmond

American Civil Liberties Union. Jessica Gonzales v. U.S.A.

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In the first case brought by a survivor of domestic violence against the U.S. before an international human rights tribunal, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) found that the United States violated the human rights of Jessica Lenahan (formerly Gonzales) and her children. Case Summary and downloadable court documents

Material Type: Case Study, Primary Source, Reading

America's Great Depression and Roosevelt's New Deal

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The stock market crash on October 29, 1929 -- known as Black Tuesday -- was the "worst economic collapse in the history of the modern industrial world." It spread from the United States to national economies across the globe. It ended a decade known for its high-spirited free-spending, called the Roaring 20s, and began almost 10 years of financial desperation that would touch nearly every citizen of the United States. The Great Depression caused bank closures and business failures and by its end, saw "more than 15 million Americans (one-quarter of the workforce)" unemployed. Herbert Hoover, president at the time, did not acknowledge the depth of the crisis and assumed that the American characteristics of individualism and self reliance would quickly bring the nation out of the disaster without a need for federal intervention. But, layoffs and financial desperation at the personal level were growing: "an empty pocket turned inside out was called a 'Hoover flag' [and] the decrepit shanty towns springing up around the country were called 'Hoovervilles'." Three years into the financial crisis, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, running on a platform of federal recovery programs called the "New Deal," easily took the presidential election of 1932.

Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Primary Source, Unit of Study

Authors: Amy Rudersdorf, Emily Gore

Android Apps with AppInventor

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This resource is a Hands-On course to teach Apps Development to students who may not have any programming knowledge. This course has no pre-requisites. It’s time to add the 4th R – Reading, wRiting, aRithmetic and algoRithmic thinking. In a world where the majority of new jobs require science, technology and math skills, it is time our Liberal Arts majors get IT (Information Technology)! While employers recognize and value the importance of liberal education and the liberal arts, they also want liberal arts graduates who are not digitally challenged. Many employers report a “skills gap” as they have trouble finding recent graduates qualified with ample digital skills to fill various positions. Meanwhile, a national educational movement in computer coding instruction is growing at lightning speeds in schools across the US and many consider coding more like a basic life skill (which might someday lead to a great job) rather than an extracurricular activity. App Inventor (AI) serves to narrow this skills gap and increase the versatility of students to become active creators of technology and “digitally” ready for the workplace rather than just being passive consumers of technology. Sales of hand-held devices (smartphones, tablets and phablets) are exploding. These on-line, social, and increasingly mobile computing devices are ubiquitous and offer visual, tactile and personal experiences as never before. Mobile devices in our education landscape are digital and portable - with multimedia capabilities to access the Internet, and are drastically changing the ways we teach and learn. Developing applications for such devices enables digital natives to experience mobile technology as active creators rather than just passive consumers of technology. Learning Goals Learn Apps Development Learn Digital Skills (essential for a Liberal Arts major)

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment, Homework/Assignment, Lecture Notes, Primary Source

Authors: Neelu Sinha, Rama Madhavarao