Soul of a People/Soul of a Place

FAIN: GE-50202-10

Stone Soup Productions, Inc. (Washington, DC 20036-2504)
Andrea R. Kalin (Project Director: August 2009 to August 2011)

Planning a web-based platform to engage young people in exploring the Federal Writers Project and the world of the 1930s, including virtual reality, gaming, and social networking.

Stone Soup Productions requests $75,000 in NEH funds for planning a comprehensive web-based learning initiative called "Soul of a People, Soul of a Place Digital Chautauqua." Combining new media, virtual reality, gaming techniques, and social networking platforms, "Soul Of A People, Soul of A Place" will provide an in-depth exploration of the 1930s Federal Writers Project, the humanities themes that underpin this episode in American history, and its literary and cultural legacies at the local, regional and national levels. "Soul Of A People, Soul Of A Place" focuses specifically on engaging young people in a Web 2.0 framework that encourages their own creative expression in response to the stimulus of the FWP and the documentary project assets. Our intent is to provide a virtual platform for a modern day version of the kind of creative endeavors undertaken by the Federal writers.