I have to admit that I do not have many ideas as to how to use this application in my classroom. I pulled down the following:
Paris Exposition: main entrance gate by M. Binet, Paris, France, 1900. Main entrance gate by M. Binet. [Place de la Concorde. Main entrance gate by architect Binet.] Brooklyn Museum Archives, Goodyear Archival Collection (S03_06_01_015 image 2004). Retrieved June 29, 2010 from, http://www.flickr.com/photos/brooklyn_museum/2486856102/
I like this image because it is not one of the standard ones attributed to Paris. It is not the Eiffel Tower or the Arch d’Triumph. This way, students will have to do some searching in order to discover what it is, which could lead them to some new ideas for class discussion all their own.
My idea here would be to have my history classes figure out what this was a picture of, where it was, and so forth. Then, they could take pictures of their own and possibly look for some architecturally similar buildings in the Chicago area that we could then post back to Flickr ourselves. I do not know how well this assignment would go over in a college history survey however.
If anyone has any suggestions, I would be more than happy to hear them.
Jim Mc Intyre
The image you found there is indeed quite intriguing. The Eiffel tower in the background may be the only clue to your students.
ReplyDeleteUnless they detect that, I think it may be really difficult for them to figure out what this postcard is showing, especially since the pictured gate must have been taken down after the expo (it's not on the place de la Concorde now).
Did you know that the Eiffel tower was also supposed to be taken down after the 1889 expo?
The 1889 expo commemorated the centennial of the French Revolution. Besides the Eiffel tower, the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais (still extant), were built for the expo (and possibly others, but I don't know). I can see a direct connection to European and American History 101, using an image of one of those in the way you described above. And since the Statue of Liberty is inside a structure by Mr. Eiffel also, you could even extend it in that direction using a picture of the Eiffel tower.