Today’s roundup of interesting articles and links from around the web includes important news related to higher education funding, a fun featurette on archive exploration, the visual history of typewriters, and more.

General News:

NEH Emancipation Online Resource Portal: To mark the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, the NEH has created an online resource portal that contains relevant essays, sources and lesson plans.  This database is particularly useful for teachers looking for new resources and interactive websites related to the Emancipation Proclamation.

"The Prevailing Party": Report by Steve Kolowich for Inside Higher Ed on a case relating to the issue of the fair use copyright policy and George State University. The AHA has an in-depth piece on this landmark court case, here.

News relating to Higher Education:

Major tuition break OK’d by Assembly: Marisa Lagos from the San Francisco Chronicle reports on a recent tax measure passed by the California Assembly that would offer students attending the state’s public universities a major tuition break.

Another Cut for Grad Student Aid: While Lagos reports good news for California students, Libby A. Nelson from Inside Higher Ed offers grim news for future graduate students.  Nelson reports that the Education Department has cut the McNair Scholars Program, a federal TRIO program directed toward helping undergraduates preparing to attend graduate school.

Friends of Affirmative Action: In another item from Inside Higher Ed, Scott Jaschik reports that the U.S. Supreme Court has been inundated with briefs on behalf of thirty-nine higher education groups in support of the University of Texas at Austin’s admissions policy, which considers race and ethnicity.

Fun and Entertaining:

Adventures in the Archives: In this new series, Nursing Clio bloggers share their experience in archives and interesting finds.  In addition, bloggers ask readers for feedback, analysis and ideas. 

10 of History’s Most Beautiful Typewriters: A fun and informative look at ten typewriters.  The list includes a machine dating back to 1865, and a “modern” typewriter from the 1850s.

2 Minute Thesis Competition, Sponsored by PhD Comics: Individuals have the chance to enter a two-minute audio clip pitching their thesis (real or imagined).  Entries will be voted on by the public and prizes are awarded.

Where Do Sentences Come From? In this light-hearted and informational piece, author Verlyn Klinkenborg deconstructs the origins of the sentence and offers a step-by-step tutorial on making the writing process pleasurable.  This is of particular relevance for any historians facing the dreaded writer’s block.

Miscellaneous:

At the Prelinger Archives: Watch a short video to spot Jimmy Stewart, Shirley Temple, Eddie Cantor, Katherine Hepburn, Ingrid Bergman and others in support of religious tolerance and the American Brotherhood of Christians and Jews.

After Nehru: In the third and concluding essay (published in the London Review of Books of August 2, 2012) of his triptych on modern India, Perry Anderson (UCLA) brings a provocatively unique perspective to an examination of India’s past and present. The first essay was mentioned in What We’re Reading on July 5, 2012.

A Defense of History: The Huffington Post blog features a post from high school student Anthony Kayruz and his views on why history matters.

This post first appeared on AHA Today.