SOAS Research Online

Abstract

Commissioned by the MIT Visualizing Cultures Initiative, this digital exhibit and accompanying essay narrate the history of the political struggles of the 1920s and 1930s by examining the visual propaganda -- posters, hand bills, and political cartoons -- produced by the leftist political parties, unions and women's rights activists of the interwar era. Visualizing Cultures weds images and scholarly commentary in innovative ways to illuminate social and cultural history. Founded in 2002 by MIT Professors John Dower and Shigeru Miyagawa, Visualizing Cultures exploits the unique qualities of the Web as a publishing platform to enable scholars, teachers, and others to: (1) examine large bodies of previously inaccessible images; (2) compose original texts with unlimited numbers of full-color, high-resolution images; and (3) use new technology to explore unprecedented ways of analyzing and presenting images that open windows on modern history.