Honors Composition
Spring 1998,
38-110
Marguerite Helmers, instructor
World War I Online
BEGIN BY
BOOKMARKING THIS PAGE!
WHEN YOU ARE BROWSING,
YOU CAN RETURN TO THIS ASSIGNMENT BY CLICKING YOUR BOOKMARKED LINK.
In this session, you will be conducting research on the World Wide Web. Several issues about attaining adulthood during the World War I era are raised by Vera Brittain in the first volume of her autobiography, Testament of Youth. These serious questions include Brittain's indictment of the pre-war, Edwardian Era code of modest and ignorance imposed upon young women; the devastating affects of World War I on the idealistic young men who chose to serve; and the trauma of the war for those who, whether through choice or through medical necessity, remained at home in England.
You should:
In addition to maps and timelines, this site contains interviews with historians about subjects such as suffragettes, trench newspapers, women's contributions to the war effort, and the shortage of doctors.
Assignments: (complete both)
Click on Interviews. Scroll down to Gail Braybon's essay on "Women's contribution to the War Effort." Click on the title, read the essay, and, using the interview as well as what you know of war work from Vera Brittain's Testament of Youth, complete a journal entry on women's war work.
Return to the Great War Homepage. Click on Bookshelf and then click on Explore the Resource Library. Scroll down to Episode 3: Total War. Click. Write into your Research Log the titles of the books under Women's Work and the War Industry. Access our own Polk Library Screen; check to see if either of these books is available at Polk Library.
SITE TWO
Trenches on the Web
This is the largest, most extensive, and regularly updated site on the web. In addition to biographies, photos, posters, and maps, it contains reviews of books and movies. I've found the reading list to be extremely helpful. (There is also a list of "selected tours" of the web site, which shouldn't be missed.)
Assignment: Read the article on The Battlefield Art of Mary Riter Hamilton, which should be accessed by clicking on this link. Be able to discuss who she was, what her motives were for going to the Western Front, and how she memorialized the war. Complete a journal entry on this article.
SITE THREE
Hellfire
Corner
This site is lovingly, diligently, and interestingly compiled by Tom Morgan of the West Midlands (Central England). There is a picture of him with a short biography. Morgan has toured the front and provides photo essays on the battlefields today. One of the interesting features of his site is the inclusion of local history projects that uncover World War I heroes -- and ordinary soldiers. And, although I always discourage link-surfing, I will say that Morgan has very interesting links.
Assignment: Read Tom Morgan's Somme Diary. Take note of the way that Morgan moves from his own experiences looking at the battlefields today to the experiences of the soldiers. What area moves him the most? Complete a journal entry on this diary.
SITE FOUR
Isaac Rosenberg's Poem "Break of Day in the Trenches."
The idea for this site is good, but the layout is a bit odd. Scroll down to read the poem "Break of Day in the Trenches." And when you see, "Contextual Information," click. From here you can see the manuscript variants, or explore the three main areas, ROSENBERG'S LIFE, ANALOGUES, and WORLD WAR I.
Assignment: Read as much about Rosenberg's poem, life, and historical context as you can from the site. In this case, click on all links, for, especially in the poem itself, you will find annotations about what the lines mean. Complete a journal entry and be prepared to talk about the poem in class.