Page 15 – Digital Collections for the Classroom

16th Century, 17th Century, 18th Century, 19th Century, Collection Essays

Shakespeare’s Romans: Politics and Ethics in Julius Caesar and Coriolanus

What is the context for Shakespeare’s Roman plays? What were his sources? Why did classical Rome capture the interest of people in Renaissance England?

Hana Layson with Amelia Zurcher, revised by Dr. William Casey Caldwell
October 17, 2012

19th Century, 20th Century, Collection Essays

Faith in the City: Religion and Urban Life in Chicago, 1870-1920

In 1870, three-quarters of the United States lived in rural areas; by 1920, over half the nation lived in cities. How, if at all, did religious communities change their inherited traditions in the midst of new surroundings?

Christopher D. Cantwell, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Daniel Greene, Newberry Library
September 14, 2012

19th Century, Collection Essays

Lincoln, the North, and the Question of Emancipation

What were Lincoln's arguments against slavery? What distinctions did Lincoln and other white Northerners draw between ending the institution of slavery, saving the Union, and achieving racial equality? What feelings and concerns did writers and artists—both white and African American—express about the consequences of emancipation?

Hana Layson with Kate Masur
July 17, 2012

17th Century, Collection Essays

Marriage and Family in Shakespeare’s England

How did Renaissance writers define the family? What were the obligations of family members to one another? What threats to the family did writers perceive?

Hana Layson with Susan Phillips
July 16, 2012

19th Century, 20th Century, Collection Essays

Art and Exploration of the Poles

What are the connections between the exploration of the North and South Poles and their visual representation?

Diane Dillon and Hana Layson
July 9, 2012

18th Century, 19th Century, 20th Century, Collection Essays

Anti-Statism in U.S. History

What reasons do writers and politicians give for protesting the authority of the federal government? Why do they perceive the State as a threat? How has anti-statist thought changed over time?

Hana Layson with James T. Sparrow
June 26, 2012

13th Century, 17th Century, 19th Century, Collection Essays

The Crusades: Motivations, Administration, and Cultural Influence

Reproduction of a colored medieval manuscript illustration showing three white European knights in armor on horses talking to three bearded, darker-skinned men on foot. The darker-skinned men are barefoot and wear long tunics.

What were Western Christian religious beliefs, political relationships, and personal values during the Middle Ages? How did the motives, organization, and effects of the Crusades change over time? How have writers from the eleventh century on criticized the Crusaders’ goals and actions?

Rachel Rooney with Andrew Miller
June 25, 2012

17th Century, 18th Century, 19th Century, Collection Essays

Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Utopias of the European Renaissance

What is the historical and literary context for Shakespeare’s representation of Prospero’s island and its inhabitants? How did Renaissance writers and artists portray the European exploration of the Americas? How did that exploration inspire their visions of an ideal society?

Hana Layson with Kasey Evans
May 14, 2012

19th Century, 20th Century, Collection Essays

Dissent and Democracy in Modern American History

What forms has dissent taken in U.S. history? What is the role of dissent in a representative democracy?

Hana Layson with Robert Johnston
May 14, 2012

19th Century, 20th Century, Collection Essays

Chicago Defined: Space and Place, Homes and Journeys

How have writers and artists portrayed the city of Chicago? How did they respond to the city’s changing population and character during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries?

M. Brodie Austin with Bill Savage
May 14, 2012