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The purpose of this chapter is to help you think about the role history plays in your own and other people's lives and the way history defines (or challenges) our sense of identity as a people and as a nation. Chapter 9 asks you to consider not only what has happened in the past but also how history is written: who does the writing and from what point of view, what is included/omitted, and how the writing of "history" becomes invested with authority. The Companion Website examines the portrayal of history on the Web and the use of the Internet as a site of communication about history. The first "Checking Out the Web" activity compares various Web sites about the Vietnam War and asks you to think about the different information that is included in each site. The second activity examines the similarities and differences among historical museums on the Web and the ways these museums create the history of their states. The third activity uses photographs from the New Deal as a vehicle for thinking about alternative ways of learning about history. The "Visual Culture" and "Mining the Archives" sections provide additional links to historical museums, photography archives, and general American history sites.
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