This art history video discusses the Damien Hirst sculpture, "The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living," and issues of interpretation.

This art history video discusses the Historiated capitals from the crossing of the Church of Sant Miquel of the castle of Camarasa (Noguera), early 13th century, stone, 77 x 1.65 x 77.5 cm (Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Palau Nacional, Barcelona).

For every object that ends up in a library or museum collection – whether it’s a manucript, a photograph, or something more approaching the concept of “art” – there is a narrative, a story that gets told. The story a visitor to an exhibit ends up hearing, of course, is dependent upon who is telling the story and the slant of their own perspective. When the subject of the exhibit is Native Americans in the Upper Midwestern United States during the extraordinary upheaval of the 19th century, one must be particularly careful about the story being told since the narrative that largely exists is one of cultural denouement, of endings, as told by a colonizing population to its descendants. The dominant narrative of the demise of traditional Native American culture in the face of colonization, conversion to Christianity, confinement to reservations and economic collapse is, however, not the only story that can be told. The accounts of the lives of Native Americans during the 19th century that are told by Native peoples themselves are strikingly different to those recounted in history books, movies, and all too frequently in museums. Rather than narratives solely recounting destruction and demise, Native stories about Native history tend to focus on what White Earth Ojibwe scholar Gerald Vizenor has called survivance – a narrative incorporating themes of survival and resistance that insist on the inclusion of the Native presence. The following is an exhibit of resources that can be found within the Digital Public Library of America retold through the lens of Native American survivance in the Minnesota region. Within are a series of objects of both Native and non-Native origin that tell a story of extraordinary culture disruption, change and continuity during 19th c., and how that affects the Native population of Minnesota today. This exhibit was created by the Minnesota Digital Library.

For many Americans, their fondest memories revolve around a library card. From searching through the stacks, to getting a return date stamped on the back of a new favorite book, libraries are a quintessential part of how Americans learn and engage with their local communities. Since this country’s founding, public libraries have received broad and consistent popular support for their democratic missions and services. The ability to access free information has become a core ideal of what it means to be an American citizen, despite periods of historic inequality. Libraries help make this access possible by placing public benefit at the center of their work and continually adapting their strategies to meet changing public needs over time. This exhibition tells the story of the American public library system, its community impact, and the librarians who made it possible—from the founding of the first US libraries through the first one hundred years of service. This exhibition was created as part of the DPLA’s Public Library Partnerships Project in collaboration with partners and participants from Digital Commonwealth, Digital Library of Georgia, Minnesota Digital Library, Montana Memory Project, and Mountain West Digital Library.

This art history video discusses Hannah Hoch's "Cut with the Kitchen Knife Dada Through the Last Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural Epoch of Germany", collage, mixed media, 1919-1920.

This art history video discusses Hans Holbein the Younger's "Christina of Denmark", Duchess of Milan, 1538, oil on oak, 179.1 x 82.6 cm (The National Gallery, London).

This art history video discusses Hans Holbein the Younger's "The Ambassadors", 1533, oil on oak, 207 x 209.5 cm (The National Gallery, London).

This art history video discusses Hans Holbein the Younger's "The Merchant Georg Gisze", 1532, oil on oak, 97.5 x 86.2 cm (Gemaldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin).

This art history video discussion looks at the "Holy Thorn Reliquary" (made in Paris for Jean, Duc de Berry), c. 1390s, gold, enamel, ruby, pearl, sapphire, and rock crystal, 30 x 14.2 x 6.8 cm (British Museum, London).

This art history video discussion looks at Winslow Homer's "The Fog Warning (Halibut Fishing)", 1885, oil on canvas, 30-1/4 x 48-1/2 inches / 76.83 x 123.19 cm (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston).

This art history video discussion looks at Winslow Homer's "The Life Line", 1884, oil on canvas, 28-5/8 x 44-3/4 inches / 72.7 x 113.7 cm (Philadelphia Museum of Art).

This art history video discussion looks at Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks", 1942, oil on canvas, 84.1 x 152.4 cm / 33-1/8 x 60 inches (The Art Institute of Chicago).

This art history video discussion looks at a "House Altar" depicting Akhenaten, Nefertiti and Three of their Daughters, limestone, New Kingdom, Amarna period, 18th dynasty, c.1350 BCE (Agyptisches Museum/Neues Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin).

What can photographs of the Civil War tell us about the conflict and developments in the documentation of war? This lesson plan looks at numerous aspects of the Civil War through period photography.

How might history have been different if alternate plans for the Reconstruction of the South had been put into practice? Political leaders and parties in the tense time after the Civil War proposed various plans for Reconstruction. By observing artwork of this period, students will learn how these plans affected the South (and North) and relationships between people of different races and geographic regions.

What can we learn about community and culture from folk art? This guide uses SAAM's collection of folk art as a springboard to activities and questions about art and community history.

Students will analyze documents from the War Department’s Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands — better known as the Freedmen’s Bureau — that Congress established on March 3, 1865, as the Civil War was coming to an end. Using the scale in Weighing the Evidence, students will evaluate the effectiveness of the Freedmen’s Bureau in assisting formerly enslaved persons. Learning Objectives: Students will be able to identify and draw conclusions about the roles of the Freedmen’s Bureau (Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands), critically analyze primary sources, formulate opinions about the effectiveness of the Bureau, and back up their opinions verbally or in writing.

This video segment adapted from the Space Telescope Science Institute shows what the Hubble telescope found when it stared at a single, nearly empty spot in the sky for 10 days in 1995. The unexpected result was a picture of a multitude of galaxies stretching into the distance.

This art history video discussion looks at Jan (and Hubert?) Van Eyck's "Ghent Altarpiece or The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb", tempera and oil on panel, (closed panels), Cathedral of Saint Bavo, Ghent, Belgium, completed 1432. Second Life correspondents Max Newbold and Sez Zabelin, discuss the closed Ghent Altarpiece (see the next video for a discussion of the open altarpiece) on the Vassar campus in Second Life.

This art history video is the second part of the discussion about Jan (and Hubert?) Van Eyck's "Ghent Altarpiece or The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb", tempera and oil on panel, (open panels), Cathedral of Saint Bavo, Ghent, Belgium, completed 1432.