Overview
The University of Houston has a Digital History site that covers “The First Americans” to “The 21st Century.” Each time period has sub sections containing an overview and related documents. There are also sections that cover people, events, music, and film of that time period. Despite appearing a bit dated the website contains good information and can be used as a teaching resource or a resource for research in general.
Content
The types of primary sources on this website are images and documents. Secondary sources provided by the website are textbook overviews, biographies and information on entertainment of the time such as music and film. The sources are identified, and links are also provided for some sources such as music from the 1920s. The subject material covered on this website about the 1920s is based around the sources. There is a section “for teachers”, links to more information and quizzes.
Creators
The Digital History website was created through the University of Houston by a professor and their students. While there are surely many creators to credit, the website is suffering a server error, prohibiting access to the portion of the website where credit is given to them.
Search Methods
Locating information on this website is significantly easy. The time periods are sectioned off on the left side of the website, and the subcategories of those time periods are sectioned off on top of the textbox. The website’s format is clearly organized making it easy to follow. One could find the sources their research required on this website without difficulties.
Trustworthiness
The latest website update seemed to be in 2021, which is fairly recent. Despite its recent update the site looks somewhat outdated. However, due to the fact that the website is a University Digital History Project, it’s rated highly in trustworthiness.
Usefulness for 1920s Research
Overall, this website proves useful to research on the 1920s. Primary and secondary sources from the era are more or less in one place, thus one would not have to browse through multiple other sites for the same information. It’s all in one place. Additionally, not every website offers teaching materials. Education in addition to research can be navigated with ease through the resources provided.
Michelle Steidle is a History Major at Ramapo College, graduating with the Class of 2023. She enjoys historical research, long walks on the beach, and a good joke.
