The Musical Games by Anne Young

The Hidden History of Women Game Designers

Nineteenth-century women turned music lessons into interactive entertainment, complete with spinning wheels and ivory counters.

We Descend from the River

Public spaces are often sites of commemoration of events in the nation’s history. But which public is represented in and served by those spatialized celebrations?
Sunday Morning in front of the Arch Street Meeting House, Philadelphia, 1811

Quakers Against Thanksgiving

In colonial America, government “thanksgivings” blurred faith and politics. For Quakers, rejecting them was an act of religious conviction.

The Tamest Grizzly of Yellowstone

Adored by tourists and studied by scientists, a grizzly mother named Sylvia became an emblem of the fragile balance between humans and the wild.
Three colorful shapes against a black background demonstrating the idea of national parks and public lands

The Victory of Public Lands

Most Americans agree on the value of preserving public lands. How did the idea of public lands come about, and how can we ensure they exist in the future?
A view of the landscape seen along the Golden Gate Trail in the Paradise area of Mount Rainier National Park, Washington.

The Promise and Problems of Public Lands: A Reading List

Discover key research on U.S. public lands through scholarly works exploring conservation, Indigenous knowledge, and public policy.
A collage of colorful shapes that include images of different public spaces.

Perspectives on Public Space: A JSTOR Daily Podcast

What is public space? How does it function? Whom does it benefit, and whom does it harm? These are just a few of the questions we put to experts on the subject.
Theodore Roosevelt speaking with reporters

The President and the Press Corps

Theodore Roosevelt was the first White House occupant to seek control over how newspapers covered him.
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Erie_Canal,_Lockport_New_York,_c.1855.jpg

The Erie Canal at 200

Finished in October 1825, the Erie Canal connected increasingly specialized regions, altering the economic landscape of the northeast United States.
A selection of images from the Heinz Gaube Lebanese Architectural Photographs Collection, housed at Notre Dame University-Louaize

Documenting a Disappearing Architecture

The Heinz Gaube Lebanese Architectural Photographs Collection, supported by an innovative mapping project, details threatened buildings across Lebanon.