HIST 201: Modern American History //


This is a guide on how to begin research related to HIST 201, using selected print and electronic resources in the Greenfield Library at the University of the Arts. Use it as a jumping-off point in your research. Once you have found names, places, titles, etc., you can consult many additional sources not listed in this guide. Send any questions about this topic to Sara MacDonald, Reference Librarian, SMacDonald@uarts.edu.

You may also be interested in LASS 934: 1968.

The following titles are reference books and are a great place to get started. Use them especially for bibliographies.

Our Times: the Illustrated History of the 20th Century.
Lorraine Glennon., editor in chief. Turner Pub., c1995.
REF D422 .O89 1995



Encyclopedia of American Civil Liberties.
Paul Finkelman, editor. Routledge, c2006.
REF E169.1 .S764 2000 v. 1-5
Great for issues such as Communism.
Encyclopedia of Propaganda.
Robert Cole, editor. Sharpe Reference, 1998.
REF HM263 .E53 1998 v. 1-3
Good brief articles with bibliographies.
Encyclopedia of the American Left.
Buhle et al. Oxford University Press, 1998.
REF HX86 .E58 1998
Useful for political parties and movements. Focus is on the U.S.
Violence in America: An Encyclopedia
Ronald Gottesman, editor in chief. Scribner, 1999- .
REF HN90.V5 V5474 1999 v. 1-3
See the index in Volume 3. Contains entries on Cold War, Communism, censorship, Central Intelligence Agency, World War I and II,

Finding books: searching the library catalog

One way to get started in the catalog is to do a keyword search. For example:

This yields a lot of results, but click on a few titles to see the complete record. You'll see subject headings such as :

Start with a keyword search (keep it brief) and then look for subject headings or other terms to narrow down your search and increase relevancy. Here are some possible subject headings to get you thinking about your topic.

COLD WAR

COLD WAR--SOCIAL ASPECTS

COLD WAR--SOCIAL ASPECTS--UNITED STATES

COMMUNISM

COMMUNISM--HISTORY--20TH CENTURY

DETERRENCE (STRATEGY)

GERMANY--POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT--1918-1933

GERMANY--POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT--1933-1945

MANHATTAN PROJECT (U.S.)

MASS MEDIA AND PROPAGANDA

POPULAR MUSIC--POLITICAL ASPECTS

PROPAGANDA

PROPAGANDA, COMMUNIST

PROTEST MOVEMENTS--UNITED STATES--HISTORY

RADICALISM--UNITED STATES

SOCIAL CHANGE--UNITED STATES--HISTORY

SOCIAL MOVEMENTS--UNITED STATES--HISTORY

UNITED STATES. CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

UNITED STATES--FOREIGN RELATIONS--20TH CENTURY

UNITED STATES--FOREIGN RELATIONS--1933-1945

UNITED STATES--FOREIGN RELATIONS--1945-1953

UNITED STATES--FOREIGN RELATIONS--SOVIET UNION

UNITED STATES--POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT--1933-1945

UNITED STATES--SOCIAL CONDITIONS--20TH CENTURY

UNITED STATES--SOCIAL CONDITIONS--1918-1932

UNITED STATES--SOCIAL CONDITIONS--1933-1945

UNITED STATES--SOCIAL CONDITIONS--1960-

WORLD POLITICS--1933-1945

WORLD POLITICS--1945-1989

WORLD WAR, 1914-1918

WORLD WAR, 1939-1945

Magazine and journal articles will always be the best place to look for current information on your topic. Periodical indexes are research tools that allow you to search for articles in journals and magazines.

Search advice: start with a simple search - just a couple words - and see if you need to narrow or broaden it.

Go to the library's Article Databases and Indexes page for a list of the UArts Libraries' subscription databases.

I've found articles I want to read. Now what?
There are different ways to find an article once you retrieve a citation in the index:

  • See if there is a link in the index you're using to a full-text article online and download it or e-mail it to yourself.

  • Check to see if our library holds the journal title. Look up the journal title or the ISSN*** in the catalog and look at the holdings.

    • ***What is an ISSN? ISSN stands for International Standard Serial Number and is a unique number for a magazine or journal (not individual articles, but the magazine/journal title itself). You can use it in the UArts Libraries catalog and in many periodical indexes and databases. Searching with a number is much more precise than typing out a long title.

  • Use WorldCat to make interlibrary loan requests for materials not owned by the UArts Libraries. Please ask staff if you have questions.

Photos, Films, and Artwork: Primary Sources

Would photos, artwork, or films enhance your research and studies? Check out the following sources.

  • Academic Video Online. More than 23,000 complete streaming videos. We recommend using Advanced Search.

  • AP Images. AP Images is a database of news photos dating back to 1826 and is updated constantly. Access is limited to on-campus only. We recommend using Advanced Search.

  • ARTstor. ARTstor is a huge database of art images, including photography, city planning, architecture, and archaeology. Check out the features in Advanced Search.

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