Illustrated guides show how to navigate and use the websites for research projects.
February is African American History Month. Learn about Tucson's African American community in our website In The Steps of Esteban
Curriculum modules mapped to the Arizona Department of Education's Standards-Based Teaching and Learning
A subject-oriented directory to the websites
Using Through Our Parents' Eyes for Research
This section provides examples of how to use Through Our Parents' Eyes as a research resource.
History, Cultural Studies, Anthropology
Through Our Parents' Eyes primary focus is on the history and culture of Tucson and the U.S. Southwest. The project contains a wealth of resources that students writing papers and conducting research in disciplines such as history, cultural studies, and anthropology, will find of great value. The many websites supporting these disciplines contain primary and secondary resources, including oral histories, images of people and places from the 19th and 20th centuries, and electronic texts to books and journal articles. Start with the Our Communities section where extensive resources are available on the regions African American, Chinese American, Mexican American, Native American, and Jewish Pioneers. more >
From the Subject Guide, select the Geography section. Select the Maps of the Pimeria: Early Cartography of the Southwest by Jack Mount. Nnotice that on the left side of the page, the sections are oraginzed by century. You will have several cartographies to select from.
Also linked on the lefthand margin are three digital library collections featuring historical maps: Library of Congress's Geography and Map Reading Room, University of Texas' Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection, and the University of Alabama's Historical Map Archive. Like many of the websites in Through Our Parents’ Eyes, links are provided to further your research. more >
Architecture and Urbanism of the U.S. Southwest was developed John Messina, Research Architect for the University of Arizona Southwest Studies and School of Architecture. Dr. Messian wrote the text and provided slides from his extensive slide collection that were digitized for this website.
Each area of the website contains sections that range from making adobe bricks to modern urban planning. Additional readings and links to related websites are provided so that students may delve more deeply into the subject.
Interested in the renovation of historic buildings? Check out the QuickTime Virtual Reality panorams (QTVR) of the renovation of the historic Fox Theatre. There are many images showing the renovation's progression, including different views of the theater. This site was produced by the UA's Office of Student Computing Resources Virtual Reality Annex. Another Through Our Parents’ Eyes website including QTVR is the Mission San Xavier del Bac.
For biographical information on one of Tucson’s foremost architects, visit Josias Joesler: An Architectural Eclectic. This Tucson architect built his legacy through the construction of over 400 buildings, including St. Philip's In The Hills Episcopal Church, a model of Spanish Colonial Mission Revival Architecture. more >
Students of Judaic Studies can use Through Our Parents’ Eyes to conduct research on Jewish Pioneers of the U.S. Southwest. This website features experiences of Jewish pioneers, in West Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.
If you are interested in learning about the lives of the Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union, there are over twenty personal accounts in the Oral Histories section. The stories here are very personal, and can relate to immigrants from many cultures. more >
Nursing students will want to know the story of the seven Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet who became Tucson's first nurses. Their contributions to Tucson's first hospital, St. Mary’s, are chronicled in A Heritage of Loving Service.
- Browse photo histories of Tucson's ambitious beginnings in healthcare.
- Read histories of the Carondelet Sisters' outreach to Tucson's extended community
Regional Histories & Student Projects
Thanks to the efforts of dedicated volunteers and historians throughout the Southern Arizona region, Through Our Parents' Eyes contains digital histories of events, activities and organizataions unique to Southern Arizona. Books By Edward Soza, Hooves and Rails, and Tubac Through Four Centuries are three outstanding examples.
As a student, you will be interested to see what Regional Histories other students have contributed to Through Our Parents' Eyes. The project hosts a number of websites that were researched and written by students in UA courses. At the bottom of the Subject Guide, look for the link to Student Projects. more >
Native American Studies
Through Our Parents’ Eyes contains a number of discrete websites on Southern Arizona's Native American Community, as well as Native Americans from other parts of Arizona and neighboring states.
Words & Place captures the complex oral traditions of Native American communities in the American Southwest through song and stories. The Pascua Yaqui Connection presents resources about the Tribes' people, ceremonial life, and history. more >
Through Our Parents’ Eyes Electronic Text section contains digital versions of books and articles. Distinguished scholarls and researchers have contributed primary and secondary source materials. The project has been fortunate to have the participation of highly regarded publishers, such as the Arizona Historical Society, The Southwest Center, University of Arizona Press, and University New Mexico Press. more >
Electronic Texts - Books
Digital versions of books feature comprehensive historical works such as Henry Dobyns' Tubac Through Four Centuries, Kieran McCarty's Desert Documentary: The Spanish Years, 1767 - 1821 and Borderman: The Memoirs of Federico José María Ronstadt; unique regional histories such as Trek of the Seven Sisters, the original diary of Sister Monica Corrigan who was one of the seven Carondelet Sisters who made the hazardous journey from San Diego to Tucson in May of 1870, and Roy Drachman, Sr.'s memoir, Just Memoirs that gives readers his look at Tucson throughout much of the 21st century. more >
Electronic Texts -- Articles
Many of the journal articles in Through Our Parents' Eyes are available only here. These titles give you a sense of the broad range of topics that are available. Samples of our articles are:
Hiakim: The Yaqui Homeland
Sojourners and Settlers: The Chinese Experience in Arizona
Mr. Steinfeld Is In Sole Control
I REMEMBER Depression-Era Students at Arizona State Teachers College
Gail Gardner and the Sierry Petes
Henry O. Flipper in the Court of Private Land Claims: The Arizona Career of West Point's First Black Graduate
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