For more information on the exhibit visit here!
To see more images from the exhibit visit here!

Blurb:
“Few people would argue that Caribbean islands have not played pivotal roles in American history. From Columbus’ discoveries to the U.S. Guantanamo Bay prison debate, events on islands of the West Indies have impacted our history. While most of these islands are not that distant, our personal knowledge of them is often scant. With the help of old maps, there are interesting facts to learn and more importantly, connections for us to make. Old printed maps of the Caribbean islands depict not only the geography of the islands but also reflect many of the themes of Caribbean (and American) history as well as cartographic history.

Pearls of the Antilles: Printed Maps of Caribbean Islands shows how maps of the Caribbean incorporate many of the themes of cartographic history found in maps of other geographical areas, from technical developments to increasing diversification in types of maps, and from leading “national schools” in certain time periods to such themes as the growth of a tourist map industry.

Pearls of the Antilles: Printed Maps of Caribbean Islands is located in Special Collections, 6th floor, UT Arlington Central Library and runs through February 9, 2013. Hours are 9 a.m – 7 p.m Monday and 9 a.m – 5 p.m Tuesday through Saturday. This exhibit is free and open to the public. For more information call 817-272-3393.”

Our summer exhibit is up and takes on the subject of politics in Texas, very timely in an election year I’d say. The focus of the exhibit is seeing politics through different “identities”. For example labor union members, women, minorities, families, etc. After all our views on political issues are shaped by how we identify ourselves. The exhibit will be up through the beginning of August so make sure you stop by and get the chance to see it. It will definitely make you think about how politics effect our lives and also how many of the political issues of the past (such as health care and women’s rights) are still subjects we are dealing with today. More info HERE

Blurb: What is politics? When you think of politics, does it apply only to certain parts of your life? Or can everything be considered political?
Every person has multiple axes of identity: gender, sexual orientation, religion, race/ethnicity, political affiliation. As we go through life, we also have more changeable and/or ephemeral identities: student, parent, family member, professional, and so on. This exhibit focuses on political identities in Texas from 1900 to the present and the ways in which politics have become intertwined with our identities. The word politics, like propaganda, often has negative connotations, but it’s really just a descriptive term that can be fraught with complexity and emotion.
Texas “Identity” Politics: 1900 – present shows different groups advocating for their civil rights in relation to various aspects of their identities, such as worker, mother, or citizen. When people advocate for or against any piece of legislation or policy that affects people’s lives in any way, then they are being political.

Images: Cesar Chavez on the picket line at a grocery store with other Farm Worker strikers. Fort Worth, ca. 1969. United Farm Workers Organizing Committee, Fort Worth Boycott Papers, Special Collections, University of Texas-Arlington.

Occupy Austin Texas. 2011.

More info here

Also, on display is Life and Death in the Northern Pass: The Photography of Dominic Bracco II which features images from Ciudad Juárez taken by photojournalist and UT Arlington alumnus Dominic Bracco II.

Both exhibits run through January 14, 2012 and are free and open to the public. Our hours are Monday 9-7, and Tuesday-Saturday 9-5.

Along with wonderful images from our archives we were able to work with private collectors and enthusiasts to display a wide array of physical objects in the exhibit. Six Flags graciously loaned us one of their carousel horse (which always got a wonderful reaction from our younger visitors). Also, on display was a Spee-lunker dressed as Abe Lincoln. An original 1965 map of the park was also on display as well as many employee related items. I hope you had the chance to stop in and see the exhibit while it was up. Images of the exhibit can be found here.

What is a chartered Company?
The chartered company, considered a precursor to the modern corporation, played an important role in the history of cartography. Chartered companies were an effective means to encourage overseas exploration, trade, expansion, and colonial power. Chartered companies often assumed the lead in settlement, land development, and the building and maintenance of transportation networks.
Companies relied upon maps and charts for planning, implementation, and operation. A chartered company’s presence in an area often changed that region’s political, historical, and cultural boundaries.(brochure text)

This exhibit shares the theme of the Seventh Biennial Virginia Garrett Lectures on the History of Cartography, which will take place on October 8, 2010. For more information about that please see http://library.uta.edu/spco/Garrett2010/.
I hope to either see you touring the exhibit or perhaps attending our wonderful lecture series!

In the 1960s, J.W. Jackson began compiling and cataloging multiple boxes of labor records stored in the basement of the Wichita Falls Labor Temple; in the 1980s, when he retired, his purchase of the Carpenters Local 977 union hall prevented the destruction of all of these historic records. This collection was donated to the university in 2009, culminating a 40-year effort to acquire these materials. The records of the numerous Wichita Falls labor unions, as well as J.W. Jackson’s personal papers, provide a window into the impact of labor in a small Texas town.

This exhibit, which highlights records and papers from J.W. Jackson’s donation, also includes treasures from the Texas Labor Archives. Labor union signage, photos, letters, membership materials, posters, and strike signs are just some of the highlights that can be seen in the exhibit.

The exhibit is divided into 3 sections. The first explains what labor unions are and why they are important. The second shows the importance of the labor movement as seen through the life of J.W. Jackson. The last section concludes with accounts of labor events that have impacted Texas history. This exhibit shows that the labor movement, a little-known aspect of Texas history, is nevertheless inextricably intertwined with the legacy of what it means to be a Texan, shaping the makeup of who we as a state are today.

The exhibit was curated by Claire Galloway,and in the near future Claire will be organizing a tour of the exhibit. Anyone are welcomed to attend and I’ll be sure to post it here we get it scheduled. If you need anymore information on the exhibit you can contact me at 817-272-2179 or Claire at 817-272-7511.

“For All Workers: The Legacy of the Texas Labor Movement, 1838-2010″ is open from May 17 through August 7 in the Special Collections Library, located on the 6th floor of UT Arlington’s Central Library. The exhibit is free and open to the public. Summer hours are 9 a.m – 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Call 817-272-27511 for more information.