HI203: Social movements in the age of liberalism
background information
Use subject encyclopedias to find quick overviews and valuable background information on a topic. These books contain extensive bibliographies, which will point you to more books and articles.
Encyclopedia of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender history in America
Emerson Reference [X] HQ76.3.U5 E53 2003
The gay and lesbian movement: references and resources
Emerson Reference [X] HQ76.5 .R53 1996
Encyclopedia of American cultural and intellectual history
Emerson Reference [X] E169.1 .E624 2001
Encyclopedia of American social history
Emerson Reference [X] HN57 .E58 1993
Finding books
You can search the library catalog to find relevant books. Try a combination of keywords for your topic. Be creative: think of synonyms.
Sample Keywords
“gay rights”
gay and history
gay and politics
"social movements" and gay
"gay liberation movement"
homosexuality and history and rights
To browse for books, start with these sections.
Call Number Ranges
HN 1 – HN 995 Social history and conditions. Social problems, Social reform
HQ 75 – HQ 76.8 Homosexuality.
Finding articles
Use databases to find relevant articles. Newspaper articles help you get a handle on current events and situations. Journal articles give you an idea of theories and ongoing conversations and debates taking place among scholars. Use the keywords listed above to get started in these databases. However, because the scope of an article is narrower than a book, you will want to be more specific when creating a search. For example, instead of "gay rights," try "gay rights" and Massachusetts.
Newspapers
Lexis Nexis
This database contains newspaper articles, wire services, legal, broadcast, and business news. The news section is most relevant for this course.
Boston Globe
Full-text searchable articles from The Boston Globe. 1980 to present
New York Times Historical Archive
Full-text images of the New York Times from its earliest issues. 1851 to 2003
Journal Articles
Selected websites
Social Movements and Culture
http://www.wsu.edu/~amerstu/smc/smchomefr.html
Contains information and points to further resources on contemporary social movements, including the Gay/Les/Bi/Queer movements. The site is hosted by the American Studies Department at Washington State University at Pullman.
Voices of Civil Rights
http://www.voicesofcivilrights.org/
“AARP, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), and the Library of Congress have teamed up to collect and preserve personal accounts of America's struggle to fulfill the promise of equality for all.”
Citing Sources
Use the How to Cite References guide.
Ask a Librarian
Remember, you can always stop by the Reference Desk if you get stuck.
