Original photographs look at pop culture and entertainment in the early part of the 20th century.

Learning module from the Newberry Library uses primary source materials to explore the impact of WWI on the American public and how WWI was promoted or criticized through the popular culture of the day. With questions for discussion.

General overview of African American pop-culture in the mid 20th-century highlighting music, art, theater, and sports.

A great description of the tension in popular culture during the Great Depression with a focus on tradition abutting modernism in the arts and architecture. Read about the new comic book and radio superheroes, and commonality in American...

A sculpture, poster, poem, and a painting that challenge black stereotypes in the early-twentieth century. Links to these precursors to the Harlem Renaissance are provided at the top of the page.

Provides an overview of the traditional culture and lifestyle of Serbian Americans. (Note: Content is not the most current.)

A very interesting look at popular medicine in the late 19th century. Read about home remedies, door-to-door patent-medicine salesmen, painkillers, and advertisements for such remedies. Find links to political cartoons related to popular...

Contains plans for two lessons that ask students to make connections between literary texts and popular culture texts like song lyrics. After checking popular culture texts for literary elements, these elements are then examined in...

As part of the larger site about the year 1896, this article describes the bicycle craze at the end of the 19th century and includes newspaper articles and cartoons about this fad.

This site provides an analysis of stereotypes of Arabs in US pop culture and textbooks, the role of educators in combating these stereotypes, and the effects of such stereotypes on Arab American children. It includes a bibliography for...

A designer's portal featuring writings, news, and critical essays on graphic design, social innovation, urbanism, popular culture, and criticism.

As part of a larger look at the American musical, this brief look at the popularity of the operetta in the last part of the 19th century discusses why it was so popular with the middle class. Included is a short video that discusses...

The songs and movies of modern times have had a major influence on fashion. Coincidentally, many of these important fashion-influencing films of recent times had one thing in common: John Travolta. From the white leisure suits ofSaturday...

Visualize the major events in the last half of the 20th century such as major wars and civil rights issues through the lens of the state of Virginia. In addition, learn about the pop culture of this time specifically in Virginia. Enjoy...

This lesson plan makes a connection to popular culture by asking students to research and analyze contemporary and historic protest songs and to catalogue them in a class wiki.

By reading this section of a chapter on "Jacksonian Democracy," students will be able to explain the legal wrangling that surrounded the Indian Removal Act and describe how depictions of Indians in popular culture helped lead to Indian...

Interactive instructional activity that allows students to view the works and ideas of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau through the popular culture of their time. Students use multiple genres to grasp the concepts of...

Find out about the history of early Negro baseball beginnings in the late 19th century before reading about the advent of the Negro National League in the 1920s. Baseball was the American pastime for everyone in the 1920s and 1930s.

Read about the man who invented the modern-day sport of baseball, Alexander Joy Cartwright. This article talks about the history and development of the sport and gives example the rules in other "versions" of baseball.

This resource describes the history of a dance callled the Castle Walk, which was popular in the early 1900's. Includes information on the orgins of the dance, as well as text and images from a dance manual of the period.

Biography of Bing Crosby. In-depth article on singing and acting career. Crosby entertained the troops during World War II as well as recording one of the most popular war songs, "White Christmas."

Features a biography of the artist and links to art work, video clips and interviews. On this page there are also links to lesson plans and other artist pages.

Looks at the new morality that emerged in the 1920s. It changed the role of women and the perception of African Americans, the latter facilitated by the Harlem Renaissance and its impact on the music and dance of the Jazz Age. Also...

Examines the challenges faced by the average American, by African Americans, and by farmers on the Great Plains during the Great Depression, and the government's response or lack thereof.