U.S. Institute of Peace: Publications
features analyses and policy recommendations on current international affairs issues, particularly on the prevention and resolution of conflict. Recent publications focus on Iran's internal politics and influence in the Middle East, Iraq’s Interior Ministry, civilian casualties in Afghanistan, democracy in Egypt, why we should still study the Cuban Missile Crisis, the conflict in the Niger Delta, Bosnia and the EU, peace prospects in Lebanon, and more.
EDSITEment
offers subject-based access to top humanities sites, EDSITEment lesson plans, and at-home activities. Subject areas include literature and language arts, foreign languages, art and culture, and history and social studies.
Country Studies/Area Handbooks
presents a description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of countries throughout the world. It examines the interrelationships of those systems and the ways they are shaped by cultural factors.
World Factbook
provides in-depth country profiles with information on geography, people, government, economy, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues. It includes maps of major regions and links to other geopolitical and geographical information.
World History Matters
offers guides and strategies for analyzing images, maps, newspapers, and other primary sources. Case studies (written by teachers) discuss the teaching of 16 primary sources, from Hammurabi's Code to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. A guide to “100 top online primary source archives” presents resources by region and time period. A collection of primary sources on women in world history is included.
Latin America and the Caribbean: Peace Corps
provides lessons around stories, letters, poems, and folk tales from experiences of Peace Corps volunteers. Topics include the geography and cultures of the Dominican Republic, hurricanes, hero worship, conducting interviews, Paraguay, the risks of a one-crop economy (coffee), how best to use one's time in different cultures, why service to others matters, and the common good.
Portals to the World
is a starting point for studying other countries and parts of the world. Learn about the culture, economy, geography, government, history, languages, politics, religions, and other aspects of more than 150 countries, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Along with general information, the site provides links to authoritative, in-depth information selected by area specialists and other staff at the Library of Congress.
Country Background Notes
provides factual descriptions of the world's independent states, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Learn about the people, history, government, political conditions, economy, geography, and foreign relations of China, Georgia, Pakistan, Russia, and some 200 other nations and areas of special sovereignty. Descriptions are regularly updated.
Library of Congress: Exhibits
features background information on current exhibitions at the Library's Thomas Jefferson Building, in Washington, D.C., and a list of the Library's online exhibitions.
Artistic Exchange: Europe and the Islamic World
presents 31 paintings, bowls, and other objects that illustrate the Islamic world's influence on European art. Elements of Islamic art are identified in each of the European pieces, which date back to the Middle Ages.
Smithsonian Education
offers more than 1,200 education resources aligned with standards of learning in every state. Simply enter your state into the search engine to find lesson plans, virtual exhibitions, photos, art work, and research information on the Apollo missions, U.S. presidents, stamp collecting, landscape painting, marine science, minerals and gems, money, shape-note singing, spiders and snakes, and more.
H-NET, Humanities Online
is an interdisciplinary organization of scholars dedicated to developing the educational potential of the Internet. The site includes discussion areas on a growing list of cultural topics, reviews of current titles, teaching resources, news announcement, and job guides.
A Walk Through Time
looks at the evolution of timekeeping—how humans have measured the passage of time throughout history. The site describes and shows depictions of ancient calendars, sun and water clocks, mechanical and quartz clocks, and world time scales and time zones.
