This page contains the following:
- Background on the origins, purpose, and methodology of this project
- Instructions on how to use the site
- Links to: suggested reading, information on the researchers, and acknowledgements
Background
The three of us undertook this project as part of the course requirements for our Spring 96
seminar on the American South, choosing Stone Mountain Park as our topic because of its role
as an icon of Southern Culture. Our research, including archival work in Alderman Library's rare
books collection, the collection of secondary sources, and a visit to the carving itself, showed us
that Stone Mountain Park has changed as much as Southern Culture has changed over the last
century. Our project attempts to recontextualize both the park and the carving within a larger
framework of changes in Southern culture.
How to use this site
The timeline is Shades of Gray's central organizational and analytical
tool. Seven connected narratives, one for each stop on the timeline, describe the historical
process of commercialization. Within these narratives, there are dozens of links to biographies
of key players, to important documents, and to poignant images associated with the events of the
specific period. On the timeline, the previous and next page functions move the viewer
through in chronological sequence; use the browser's back function to return to this timeline
sequence from the supporting links.
There are also a series of Janus links off of the timeline
narratives. These links, symbolized by the two-headed Janus symbol, 
, connect to especially instructive comparisons between contrating
documents or images.
For repeat visitors, complete listings of the key players, the documents, and the images
are available independent of the timeline. These tables are constantly accessible by the links
(both image and text links, so any browser should be able to navigate easily) on the bottom of
every page and by the menu on the title page.
The previous and next page
functions help facilitate movement through this section as well. On the key player and archive
screens, the buttons scroll through all of the available resources, obviating the need to return to
the contents page after viewing every item.
Suggested Readings
About the Researchers
Acknowledgements
