The Internet History Sourcebooks Project [IHSP] is a world wide web project designed to provide easy access to primary sources and other teaching materials in a non-commercial environment. It was developed and is edited by Paul Halsall with the help of contributors. While browsing the commercial-free page, I found it odd and refreshing that the homepage contained further tips on how to easily navigate the page to get the most out of it. As you continue to scroll down it has the study sections highlighted in blue on the left with outline course information for that section on the right for easier browsing. Once you select a section the contents, sources, and availability to add text are displayed. It allows students to browse top sites on various topics and historical subjects, such as Greek and Egypt. The format that was used is very bland and simple consisting of just text and javascript. It lacks the clutter of high tech digital media and is straightforward and to the point. Navigation seems simple but it is rather difficult to find exactly what you are looking for, being that the site lacks a search bar. For example if you click on Egyptian history, a time line of highlighted important people and events are displayed and further broken down underneath them and hyper linked to other resourceful pages. Once you click on a hyper link it redirects you to a page with primary sources on that particular subject. Each primary source is accompanied by a list of sources on the primary source and subject, editor information and dates on the right margin, information that would probably be deemed necessary on a scholarly paper under the works sites or bibliography page. The search and help page lead you to a similar page with a list of the most commonly asked questions, which may be helpful to some but not most. This page is probably ideal for a history major student that is familiar with the particular history they are searching and knows what he or she is looking for.
The trickiest part of the page is probably the copyright as Fordham provides the space and server to the site but clearly claims that the project is independent of the university and therefore not liable of copyright infringement or accountable for legal action against the project. Any educational use of the materials and pages found within the project website are deemed permissible unless it warrants commercial profit which is then prohibited.
Below is actual copyright note:
© Paul Halsall, 1999.
This text is copyright. The specific electronic form, and any notes and questions are
copyright. Permission is granted to copy the text, and to print out copies for personal
and educational use. No permission is granted for commercial use.
If any copyright has been infringed, this was unintentional. The possibility of a site
such as this, as with other collections of electronic texts, depends on the large
availability of public domain material from texts translated before 1923. [In the US, all
texts issued before 1923 are now in the public domain. Texts published before 1964 may be
in the public domain if copyright was not renewed after 28 years. This site seeks to abide
by US copyright law: the copyright status of texts here outside the US may be different.]
Efforts have been made to ascertain the copyright status of all texts here, although,
occasionally, this has not been possible where older or non-US publishers seem to have
ceased existence. Some of the recently translated texts here are copyright to the
translators indicated in each document. These translators have in every case given
permission for non-commercial reproduction. No representation is made about the copyright
status of offsite links: note that for the Ancient History Sourcebook,
unlike the Medieval Sourcebook and Modern History Sourcebook, many texts
are offsite. This site is intended for educational use. Notification of copyright
infringement will result in the immediate removal of a text until its status is resolved.
Paul Halsall, April 1998-October 2000
It is hard to perceive but quite understandable the need to ask permission for each and every source used as the above stated site covers a very large time period and contains hundreds of sources.
WOMEN&WAR Web design
I am still in the process of writing up text and getting a hold of primary sources for basis of argument. In the very beginning of the class I was contemplating on relying fully on Weebly for a Template but after playing a bit with HTML codes I might use an incorporation of both as I want to maintain high expectations for the page and the design. However, I have thus far included a discussion forum, which is already up and running from Nabble and has already had 21 views! (although yet to have feedback)and added a contact page. So far the site consists of 8 pages: 1.Home, 2.History,3.Present-day, 4.Scientific basis on argument (primary sources on scientific and psychological evaluation and veteran testimonies and opinions)5. Interview, 6. Forum, 7. External Links and Citations (hopefully youtube videos and subject themed sites), and 8. Contact. I am pretty excited and know this will not be my last page design.
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