Place names—their origins, change over time, and reflections of identity—can provide a fascinating and revealing lens through which to explore history. Used with the interactive tools of digital history, the study of place names brings new, deeper, and broader connections to our understanding of patterns of historical change.
Ruth Mostern WHG Project Director
Most of us use the word place without thinking too much about what it means, but for historians, place can be a powerful concept. According to the geographer John Agnew, when we say that something is a place, we are invoking three ideas. First, we are talking about something that has a location. A place exists somewhere on the surface of the earth. Second, we mean that it has a locale. A place is a location that is a setting for social relations. Third, we are referring to a sense of place, which means that some people have had experiences that they associate with that location. In other words, a place is a location in which memorable events have transpired. more...
Students will use the World Historical Gazetteer to make connections between named place and cartographic space, gaining exposure to key skills of...
In this lesson, students studying Japanese language will become familiar with Commodore Perry and his role in Japanese history while learning...
Introduces the concept of Place, and explores place name changes in Asia
This document-based lesson is designed to examine Japanese and Korean attitudes concerning Korean identity and...
Using the example of Dutch 17th century maritime conquest and colonization of Taiwan, this lesson makes...
How have trade, imperialism, and conquest impacted regions of the world over time? Using the World Historical Gazetteer, this...
What is the relationship between territorial claims and changing place names? This lesson examines the...
In this lesson, Japanese learners identify, practice and explore the Katakana pronunciation of foreign names of countries and cities while talking about travel...