reaction to reading for 6 November 2013

We had only one reading that we were charged with this week and two websites to explore.  The theme of these sites and the article in question was commemoration, something that is incredibly hallowed in this world of ours.  The reading was an article from a history blog from the city of Chicago, Illinois entitled ''Commemoration and the Public Historian.''  The site's main theme was the portrayal of the historian as a moral pedagogue of sorts.  The historian, according to the blog, has a moral obligation to teach the public a version of history that is the truest and in a moral sense.  The example used was the occurrence of memorial services of Americans, in Chicago, by Czechs and memorial services, by Americans, of the remembrance of the destruction of the Czech city of Lidice.  Commemoration is an important part of history in itself and of the work of any historian, including a public historian.  To allow no one to forget about past wars, atrocities and more positive events allows history to live on in many forms.  The digital form is one of those shapes.  Digital commemorative sites, such as www.stockport1914-1918.co.uk, which is a First World War commemorative site for British soldiers who were killed in the First World War and were from Stockport, England, are numerous and represent many different groups.  The two sites we were charged with exploring were for the Kent State Massacre of 1970 and 9/11.  The first site showed the pictures of the four students killed by Ohio National Guardsmen and showed activities from a junior college commemorating the massacre.  This is one way to digitally commemorate an event; to put it in blog form.  The 9/11 site is another way; through photographs.  As we step into this modern age, photographs are much easier to take now than they were 20 years ago.  Photographs also speak volumes of historical and emotional words.  Historical photographs are valuable resource tools that anyone should have access to and this archive is a splendid way of giving that access to the people.  Digital archives help commemorate events of any historical significance and they help keep those who perished's memories alive.