Educational Resource Library & Archive
Recovering the 1884 Woman’s Literary Department for the 21st Century
A Spatial Introduction to the Sisterhood
This lesson allows students to explore in person or virtually the This Beautiful Sisterhood of Books site and map data of the 1884 World’s Fair located in Audubon Park, New Orleans, LA. The BSB site is a public-facing digital humanities site that works to educate the public about the World’s Fair and give students a space to research and public work. A challenge that the This Beautiful Sisterhood of Books Project faces is disembodiment. The digital site does not always do a good job of showing in a virtual space what occurred historically in a physical space (Audubon Park, New Orleans). In this lesson, students will learn more about the physical site of the World’s Fair and locate the Woman’s Department.
Course
Surveillance, Data, and Society
Topic: Data Literacy, Digital Humanities
Lesson Objectives
Work With Spatial Data
Use and analyze map data from the perspective of user experience.
Locate the Woman’s Department
Explore the physical site of the World’s Fair and find the location of the Woman’s Department.
Gain Authority and Confidence
Gain confidence in knowledge about the project, the Fair and the Woman’s Literary Department to support future data collection and analysis.
Analyze a Map
Use a primary source graphic organizer to contextual a map about the 1884 New Orlean’s World Fair.
Instructions
To implement this lesson, follow these steps.
Step #1 – Before Class – At Home
Review the This Beautiful Sisterhood of Books Project by clicking on the “search” and “learn” menu tabs and exploring the site.
Step #2: On Location or Virtual – During Class
Option #1 – During Class – Explore Audubon Park in New Orleans, LA.
In groups, walk through Audubon Park using this walking tour by “Miki Pfeffer and the University of New Orleans History Department, “Audubon Park: Site of the 1884 Cotton Centennial Exposition Tour.” nd the University of New Orleans History Department, “Audubon Park: Site of the 1884 Cotton Centennial Exposition Tour.” n.d. New Orleans Historical. (https://neworleanshistorical.org/tours/show/14).
As you review the walking tour, write down your findings using the primary source – analyze a map graphic organizer from the National Archives, (https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/worksheets/analyze-a-map-intermediate)
Option #2 – During Class – Explore Audubon Park Virtually
In groups, walk through Audubon Park using this this walking tour by “Miki Pfeffer and the University of New Orleans History Department, “Audubon Park: Site of the 1884 Cotton Centennial Exposition Tour.” n.d. New Orleans Historical. (https://neworleanshistorical.org/tours/show/14).
As you review the walking tour, write down your findings using the primary source – analyze a map graphic organizer from the National Archives, (https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/worksheets/analyze-a-map-intermediate)
Step #3 – At Home
Read and annotate one of the readings from the This Beautiful Sisterhood Bibliography that fits best with your course’s theme. You must include 8-12 annotations throughout the research piece that indicates you have read the entire reading.
As you annotate, respond to the reading while considering the prompt “How does the map tour and the This Beautiful Sisterhood of Books Project demonstrate the concept of space, place? What challenge do digital recovery projects face in terms of creating space, place, and embodiment/disembodiment?”
For more information about “space” and “place” see: Lawrence-Zuniga, Denise “Space and Place“. In Oxford Bibliographies in Anthropology, https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199766567/obo-9780199766567-0170.xml
Instructor’s Note: Annotations may be completed on paper or digitally using tools like Hypothes.is.
Step #4 – During Class or Virtual
Contextualize what you have learned about the 1884 World’s Fair and Woman’s Literary Department so far using the data from the walking tour, chapter, and the This Beautiful Sisterhood of Books Project site.
In groups, as a class, or in an online discussion forum, discuss:
- What is the mission of the BSB site?
- What methods make the BSB site a data project, a digital archive, and a recovery project?
- How does the project use and communicate data?
- What kinds of challenges occured when creating the BSB collection? How did they work around these challenges? Why area these solutions imperfect?
- Explore the photos across the walking tour. What can they tell us about the 1884’s World’s Fair?
- Make recommendations for how the This Beautiful Sisterhood Project can overcome the disembodiment issue while honoring and not simply recreating the walking tour?
Instructor Notes
This lesson serves as a general introduction to using the This Beautiful Sisterhood of Books Project while contextualizing space and place using maps. It can be completed virtually or in person over 1-2 course sessions.