Resource For Historical Research Research Articles

A Caribbean Visionary and His Literary Collection, Karlene Saundria Nelson

The voices of West Indian writers in the 1950s changed the landscape for Literature emerging out of the West Indies. These powerful literary voices were a means of creating and recording a facet of West Indian history and cultural heritage. West Indian writers wrote their stories through their own eyes. John Hearne was one of the most eloquent voices among them. He became a known voice in the West Indian literary world, using his recognition to facilitate the indigenous West Indian Literature genre’s development. He was also a prominent Jamaican political and social commentator. The John Hearne archive not only produced an important historical picture of the development of the West Indian Literature genre, but West Indian political history, and changes in the cultural and social fabric of the West Indian society, with special emphasis on Jamaica. This paper aims to present this archive as a fundamental body of primary resources for historical research.

Polska Kronika Filmowa as a source for research on contemporary Polish architecture

The materials used by architectural historians to research the post-war period are very limited, and the available archive resources are incomplete and dispersed. In this context, of special significance are other forms of visual materials that documented the spatial reality of the communist period. Documentary films, and in particular the Polska Kronika Filmowa [Polish Film Chronicle] newsreel, can make an an important contribution to and a resource for historical research on contemporary Polish architecture. This text contains methodological reflections on the role of film studying the history of contemporary architecture. It describes the new research options, including the ability to recreate original spatial phenomena, and also the contemporary techniques and technology as well as the educational dimension of the Polish Film Chronicle. In this context, it is especially interesting to compare the documentary material from the Chronicle with other archival material, e.g. drawings, plans and photographs. This method provides an additional opportunity for a fuller and more objective recreation of space in 3D. This “reverse modelling” can be used to restore or preserve the original condition of structures, or even to rebuild ones no longer existing.

Bibliographic Data Science and the History of the Book (c. 1500–1800)

National bibliographies have been identified as a crucial resource for historical research on the publishing landscape, but using them requires addressing challenges of data quality, completeness, and interpretation. We call this approach bibliographic data science. In this article, we briefly assess the development of book formats and the vernacularization process in early modern Europe. The work undertaken paves the way for more extensive integration of library catalogs to map the history of the book.

O jornal como fonte de pesquisa histórica e antropológica: entre o monologismo e a polifonia

A pós-modernidade implicou transformações nos diversos campos do conhecimento acadêmico. Esses câmbios também foram sentidos no campo do jornalismo, aonde uma retrospectiva crítica conduziu a reflexão sobre a forma de compor os produtos midiáticos, abrindo caminho para a construção de um texto jornalístico polifônico. Os jornais impressos, antes desprezados pelos historiadores, passaram a ser reconhecidos como importantes fontes de pesquisa histórica e antropológica. Após analisado e desconstruído, o texto jornalístico permite abordagens em diversos campos de pesquisa, como o das representações ou das construções sociais. O presente ensaio discute esses pressupostos teóricos, aplicando- os em um estudo de caso baseado no conflito ocorrido na Serra da Bodoquena (MS) na década de 1980.

From Committees of RUSA: Best Historical Materials 2015

Each year, the RUSA/CODES History Section Historical Materials Committee selects an assortment of resources that reflect the best resources for historical research. The 2015 list follows. All resources received a final review on November 17, 2015.—Editor

Hocken: Prince of Collectors

Dr Thomas Morland Hocken (1836-1910), born and trained as a medical practitioner in Britain, settled in Dunedin in 1862 and built a very successful medical practice. He soon began researching early New Zealand history and by 1880 was delivering public lectures on the subject. At a time when there were no publicly available collections of primary sources or publications relating to New Zealand in the country, and where the best resources for historical research were in London, Hocken began collecting ephemera, maps, newspapers, pamphlets and books, paintings and drawings, seeking out and copying original documents and saving the reminiscences of old colonists to support his research and publications. Over time his collecting became more comprehensive and he turned his attention to creating a full bibliographical record of New Zealand publications, culminating in the publication of A Bibliography of the Literature Relating to New Zealand in 1908. His last act was to gift his collection to the nation to be held in trust by the University of Otago and available for anyone with a definite purpose of study.

From Committees of RUSA: Best Historical Materials 2014

Each year, the RUSA/CODES History Section Historical Materials Committee selects an assortment of resources that reflect the best resources for historical research. The 2014 list follows. All resources received a final review on November 29, 2014. —Editor

"Everybody Writes": Readers and Editors and Their Interactions in the Polish-Language Press, 1922-1969

IN 1941, ANTONI WACYK, a reader of the Polish-language weekly Ameryka-Echo, wrote in his letter published in “Kącik dla Wszystkich” (Corner for everybody): “Take in your hand any issue of Ameryka-Echo, and you will see that the division into editors and subscribers does not exist here, that everybody writes. And what they write is beautiful. And it does not matter that it is sometimes grammatically incorrect.” Wacyk belonged to the large and diasporic community of readers-writers in the “Corner,” a section for letters from readers, which appeared in Ameryka-Echo between 1922 and 1969. The “Corner’s” international reach, the longevity, vigor, and openness of its readers’ discussions, the variety of topics, and diversity of readers and their interests created a unique public forum, where editors negotiated with readers the boundaries of their control over the section, and readers interacted among themselves without facilitation by the editors. The ethnic press has long been a focus of attention for historians and other social scientists. Recognized by historians as a rich source of information on the structure, developments, and issues in ethnic communities, with the views and opinions of its editors either shaping or reflecting positions of their immigrant audiences, the ethnic press returns time and again as a vital resource for historical research. Yet, we know very little about both the communities of readers and groups of editors, or about the nuances of the editorial process, which often involved readers as co-creators of the newspaper content, mainly through the publication of their letters. According to David Paul Nord, early American journalism had a distinctly participatory character. In the 1830s and 1840s, the newspaper’s function was to generate discussion and agitation, and such journals as William Lloyd Garrison’s The Liberator were often overwhelmed with letters from readers, who commented on issues and took sides in controversies. Other newspapers also attracted loyal communities of readers who supported them through both readership and correspondence. This type of associational press won

Best Historical Materials

Each year, the RUSA/CODES History Section Historical Materials Committee selects an assortment of resources that reflect the best resources for historical research. The 2014 list follows. All resources received a final review on November 29, 2014.--Editor Europeana 1914-1918 www.europeana1914-1918.eu/en Europeana 1914-1918--Untold and Official Histories of WW1 offers substantial digital materials regarding the First World War. The site's news release claims it is the culmination of years of work by 20 European countries. Included are 400,000 rare documents, 660 hours of film, and 90,000 personal papers. The home page has three primary options: a search box, Add Your Story, and Browse. Add Your Story allows users to submit their own materials. Simply attach a digital version of the document you wish to submit and add any additional data, along with information on how you came across it. Browse allows navigation via Type (letters, diaries, photographs, etc.), Subject, and Fronts (Italian, Home, Eastern, and Western). Search results display thumbnails with title and source. Clicking on items provides an individual record showing title, alternate title, description, language, type, medium, linked subject terms, and places. The site's greatest asset is also its primary drawback--documents have been submitted from so many different countries that many are in foreign languages. An excellent, diverse collection of World War I materials, Europeana 1914-1918 offers significant content with the promise of continued growth.--Matthew J. Wayman, Penn State Schuylkill Mapping Gothic France http://mappinggothic.org The Mapping Gothic France project is a collaboration between the Media Center for Art History in the Department of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University, the Visual Resources Library at Vassar College, and the Columbia University Libraries. It attempts to depict Gothic space via an online, interactive 3D experience. Stated goals include establishing links between the architectural space of individual buildings, geo-political space, and the social space of the interaction (collaboration and conflict) between builders and users. The site developers want users to see the relationship of hundreds of Gothic buildings in terms of sameness and difference within a defined historical period of French history. The visuals are spectacular, as are the 360-degree rotational images. The three main tabs, Space, Time, and Narrative, offer ways into the site. Space leads to a map with sites in France and Great Brain, on which crosses identify churches. The Time button takes one to a dynamic map purporting to show the growth of Gothic France. Although available content only goes up to the year 1223 (the death of Philip Augustus), future development will build out the later Gothic. The link to Narrative leads to subsections or subchapters on individual essay themes. Future development will fill out all of the sections as well as that of the Kings of France. Across the top left are four small icons. The one with the S is Stories and Essays: a three part subdivision, one of which relinks to the Narrative section, and a second, Stories of France, contains some book excerpts of interpretations of how France became France. More development will flesh out the criteria for selection as well as the criteria for scholars of the Gothic. The Comparison icon leads to a fun little feature with varying sets of tiles that can be stacked or capered in many different ways. In sum, the site is lovely to look at, and the visuals give insight into the space and size of Gothic France.--Susan L. Malbin, American Jewish Historical Society 1914-1918 Online: International Encyclopedia of the First World War www.1914-1918-online.net The second web site appearing during the one-hundredth anniversary of World War I's opening days, 1914-1918 Online is an English-language virtual reference work on the First World War. …

Internet Resources for Historical Research in Music Education

The amount of primary source material available on the Internet has increased a great deal in the past few years. While the need to roll up our sleeves and dig through dusty files and boxes will (hopefully) never disappear, the World Wide Web can be a useful tool in locating sources that may have otherwise gone undiscovered. The following list provides several web sites and databases I have found useful while conducting historical research in music education. If you know of others, please contact me at pmh3@calvin.edu and JRHME will publish them in a future edition. Happy hunting! Google Book Search http://books.google.com/ This search engine finds books that have been scanned and made available on the Internet. One can, for example, find PDF files of Lowell Mason's Song Garden (bk. 2), the Progressive Music Series, Tuft's and Holt's Normal Music Course, Jepson's Standard Music Reader, and Luther Whiting Mason's National Music Course. Internet Archive http://www.archive.org This site searches digitized material on the Internet. Many sources can be viewed as PDF, HTML, or in flip book format. Examples include volumes of proceedings by the National Education Association and an audio file from the Siegel-Myers School of Music. Mirlyn Catalog at the University of Michigan Library http://mirlyn.lib.umich.edu/F/?func=file&file_name=find-b This search engine identifies a number of digital sources available without a password from the University of Michigan or outside sources. Search results often link back to Google Books or other Internet-based sites, but is sometimes more thorough and organized than the original source. A link to the Hathi Trust Digital Library, for example, located School Music Monthly, published by P. C. Hayden, in digitized format from 1900-1908. Library of Congress Digital Collections www.loc.gov The digital collections offered by the Library of Congress allow historical researchers to view primary source materials in the form of sheet music, audio files, and photographs. Band historians will especially enjoy collections devoted to African American band composers, Civil War band music, and J. P. Sousa. Each of these collections offers complete sets of parts to a number of band and orchestra compositions from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Band Music PDF Library http://www.bandmusicpdf.org/ The Band Music PDF Library offers more than 400 public domain titles from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries for free download. This music may be used for performing, research, or as authentic material for arrangers to set for modern bands. Users are encouraged to create and submit full scores and transposed [D.sup.b] piccolo and [E.sup.b] horn parts for modern instruments. When available, biographical information on composers and arrangers is included with the set of parts. New titles are added each month. The Making of America http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moagrp/ This database is a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection is particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. The collection currently contains approximately 10,000 books and 50,000 journal articles. International Music Score Library Project/Petrucci Music Library http://imslp. …

Hunter Rouse’s Historical Writings and the History of Hydraulics Collection

Hunter Rouse is largely remembered for his seminal role in the development of hydraulic engineering and for his leadership of the Iowa Institute of Hydraulic Research IIHR, now IIHRHydroscience and Engineering , but his legacy is far broader. In his later years, Rouse became increasingly involved in studying the history of fluid mechanics and hydraulics. This interest led him to author two books, many articles, and give numerous lectures on the subject, and to accumulate an unusual collection of rare historic books. The collection holds over 500 volumes with publication dates spanning approximately 500 years. Housed at the University of Iowa, the collection remains a valuable resource for historical research. This forum article describes Rouse’s history-related research and writing and the History of Hydraulics Book Collection that he created.

Nineteenth-Century U.S. Industrial Development through the Eyes of the Census of Manufactures a New Resource for Historical Research

(1999). Nineteenth-Century U.S. Industrial Development through the Eyes of the Census of Manufactures a New Resource for Historical Research. Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History: Vol. 32, No. 4, pp. 177-188.

Resources for Historical Research

Resources for Historical Research

Archives of Roman Catholic Orders and Congregations of Women

THE United States there are over 400 Roman Catholic religious orders and congregations of women.1 They range from autonomous convents of 30 members to organizations of 3,000 or more; they work in every State and in the territorial possessions; they began appearing in the days of President Madison; and they keep records.2 There may be great resources for historical research in their archives. Recently I tried to find out what sort of records sisters have and what they do with them. From the Official Catholic Directory of 1967, I chose at random the names and addresses of 50 such congregations of 500 or more members as subjects of my inquiry. Since sisters generally are very cooperative, 50 promised enough responses to give a sampling of common practices. Five hundred members indicated a fairly complex organization that had been growing long enough to have inactive records. To the secretary general, the official most likely to be responsible for archives, I sent a questionnaire, with a covering letter asking for any further information she could find time to give me. Thirty-nine of the subjects responded. Four have no archives because they are branches of larger groups that absorb whatever inactive records are kept. Four others are "between archivists" and have no one who could answer the questions. Thirty-one filled out the questionnaire and 12 of these sent additional information.