We start off this week with news and advocacy. Take a look at all the items in the National Humanities Alliance’s October Policy Digest as well as their push for NEH funding, review COSSA’s Washington Update, and in non-Washington related news, check out a map from 1675 up for auction in the UK.  Today, October 29th, is the anniversary of the “Black Tuesday” stock market crash, and we bring you three articles from NPR remembering the event. Have an iPhone? Check out a few apps for historians. And finally, with Halloween taking place this weekend we couldn’t resist brining you a couple of Halloween-related links.

News and Advocacy

• National Humanities Alliance – October Policy Digest
  The National Humanities Alliance recently released its October Update on important news from Washington. The topics covered in this update include: the confirmation hearing of David Ferriero, the Federal Register in XML, challenges in the humanities job market, and political science research funding. For the most up-to-date news from the NHA, see their home page.
• National Endowment for the Humanities – Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 appropriations
  Also from the National Humanities Alliance, see the first item on their current issues in advocacy page, which asks for support in urging “Congress to support $75 million in new funding for NEH in the FY2010 Interior Appropriations bill.” For more information see the NEH letter (PDF) to the House appropriations committee.  Though as of yesterday, Inside Higher Ed reports that compromise on funding may have been reached.
• COSSA Washington Update (PDF)
  The most recent Washington Update from COSSA begins with an article on a recent debate on the Senate floor. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) proposed an amendment to eliminate funding for the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) political science program, and Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) stood up in the program’s defense.
• England’s oldest map goes on sale
  The map “Britannia Volume the First, or an Illustration of the Kingdom of England and Dominion of Wales” dates from 1675 and shows a time when Britain only had 73 roads. It’s up for auction and is estimated to go for about £9,000.

Anniversary of Black Tuesday
This week, NPR remembered the 80th anniversary of the 1929 stock market crash, now commonly referred to as “Black Tuesday.” View three articles they’ve recently posted on the crash and the Depression.

• A Spoonful of Socialism Makes the Capitalism Work
  Robert S. McElvaine, a historian at Millsaps College, parallels the 1929 market crash with last year’s.
• The Crash of 1929
  Travel through the highs and lows of the 1929 stock market crash in NPR’s interactive timeline.
• Remembering The Great Depression’s Sunny Side
  While the Depression affected most in the 1920s and 30s, the full story includes more than suffering during the notorious financially strapped time. Explore how music, food, and entertainment helped Americans “keep to the sunny side of life.”

iPhone Apps for Historians

• National Film Board of Canada – Free Documentaries and Films
  Interested in the National Film Board of Canada’s documentaries and films? View them all online, or download them to your iPhone with their new app.
• Historic Earth – iPhone App
  Browse over 32,000 historic maps with the Historic Earth iPhone app. Even overlay old maps over modern ones. Yep, there’s an app for that. Hat tip.

Halloween

• Not Just Halloween: Festivals of the Dead from around the World
  This EDSITEment feature from 2007 explores Festivals of the Dead from around the world.
• Halloween on the History Channel
  Halloween isn’t just a day full of ghosts, goblins, and oodles of candy. Read about the origin of the spooky day, challenge yourself with pumpkin trivia, play a hidden spirits game, learn about superstitions, and much more.

Contributors: Miriam Hauss Cunningham, Elisabeth Grant, Arnita A. Jones, and Jessica Pritchard

This post first appeared on AHA Today.