Statement of the humanities themes
When wars or other military activities in America between 1776-1865 are discussed, the conversation often focuses on the contributions of WASP (white Anglo-Saxon Protestant) men, generally as soldiers. At many points, the American army has been reluctant to let non-dominant groups serve as soldiers but has let them contribute in other ways. The purpose of this project is to change the focus to historically non-dominant groups who often found espionage as an available outlet to contribute to militaristic causes.
The intended outcome is to broaden the perspective of Americans when looking back at their history and prompt them to challenge notions of what contributions are valuable.
Humanities questions:
- How did these people contribute to their causes, either willingly or due to external pressure, using acts of espionage?
- How did they end up in this situation? What else was available to them?
- How does this challenge the current narrative of early American warfare?
- What does this tell us about the situation of minorities in their respective eras?
Core target audience
The primary audience is young adults with some technical ability (although not necessarily extensive) who are interested in history. This would particularly appeal to fans of dramatized media like Turn: Washington’s Spies who want to learn more on the subject, as well as history students who want to go beyond the dominant narrative.
Design approach to the project
This project will be a museum-style website with interactive exhibits to be explored. It will include a combination of images, audio/visual elements such as video clips, quotes from primary sources, and text that describes and analyzes the aforementioned elements. Elements of gamification, such as the chance to “unlock” further information by accomplishing certain tasks, will be employed.
