Here are some recommended sites for research in the fields of geography, history, law, political science, and social studies. Also useful is Jensen’s Scholar’s Guide to the WWW with links to a wealth of Internet resources.
Geography
- American Association of Geographers is the most important U.S. professional geographical organizations.
- USGS National Geospatial Data Clearinghouse provides access to USGS geospatial data.
- United States Geological Survey is the principal source of scientific expertize in the earth sciences within the U. S. government.
History
- H-Net lists the H-Net e-mail discussion groups for historians, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities, ranging from H-African history to H-Media, which covers new computerized technologies in the teaching of history.
- History Resources at the University of Kansas provides possibly the most extensive listing of web sites of interest to historians.
- The Historical Text Archives at Mississippi State University contain much material, including texts, bibliographies, and photos, which can be downloaded.
- The Internet History Sourcebooks are collections of public domain and copy-permitted world historical texts as well as relevant web sites.
- The U. S. National Archives contains information about the archival holdings of this institution.
- American Memory Project at the Library of Congress provides digitized primary material, including sound and images, relating to American history and culture and the Exhibits page, which has text and images of recent exhibits ranging from the 1492 Columbian Encounter to Recent Revelations from Soviet Archives.
- History Matters at George Mason University contains materials for primarily for teachers but it is useful for students, too.
- The Organization of American Historians and the American Historical Association are the principal professional association of historians in the United States.
- Association for History and Computing is one of the most important professional organizations among historians seeking to incorporate new technology into their teaching and research.
Law
- U. S. Federal Court’s Homepage is maintained by the Administrative Office of the U. S. Courts as a clearinghouse for information about the judicial branch of the U. S. government.
- Meta-Index for Legal Research from Georgia State University School of Law provides a comprehensive set of search capabilities, including a link to Cornell University School of Law’s collection of the most recent decisions of the U. S. Supreme Court.
- Law School Admission Council Online provides information about the LSAT admissions test and other useful material needed by prelaw students.
- The American Bar Association is the most important professional legal organization in the U.S.
- University of Arkansas School of Law at Fayetteville is one of many American institutions listed on the Yahoo link to law schools
Political Science
- American Political Science Association is the most important political science professional organization in the U. S. A. Its gopher here contains links to many sources for the study of this discipline.
- THOMAS is a good starting point for finding information about the U. S. Congress and legislative and policy processes. This web link at the Library of Congress was set up with great fanfare after the 1994 election to provide citizen access to Capitol Hill.
- Welcome to the White House is the special site set up with great fanfare in the fall of 1994 to provide citizen access to the president and vice president. One can hear an audio clip here of the “First Cat” Socks, the pet of Chelsea Clinton. But there is also a great deal of serious and useful information, including links to most other parts of the executive branch.
- Presidential Libraries from the National Archives links to all presidential libraries from FDR to Clinton.
- International Affairs Resources from the Elizabethtown College contains an extensive listing of sites in this subfield of political science.
Social Studies
- The National Council for the Social Studies is the principal professional organization at the national level for social studies teachers.
- ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Science Education at Indiana University has a wealth of teaching materials.
- Lesson Plans and Resources for Social Studies has links to lesson plans and resources across the Internet.
- Arkansas Council for the Social Studies is the professional organization for teachers in Arkansas social studies classrooms.
- Arkansas Social Studies Listserv provides daily emails of helpful information about new materials and opportunities for Arkansas social studies teachers. This site permits registration to receive these emails. It is also means for a social studies teacher to send a message to or ask a questions of all social studies teachers in the state.
