ANTH 471/HGP 471: Nations and Nationalism: Primary Resources

• Nielsen Library History Databases : Search for primary and secondary materials from a variety of resources.

• Nielsen Library Special Collections: The Adams State Archives and Special Collections holds a wealth of one-of-a-kind material on the San Luis Valley and University's history.

• Library of American Civilization: A collection of 4,500 titles focused on all aspects of American life and literature from their beginnings to the outbreak of World War I. It includes books, pamphlets, periodicals and documents, many of which are out of print.

You can often find primary resources within secondary sources. Document readers are edited collections containing contemporary essays that contextualize primary sources. Here are some examples:

• Letter from James Madison Batchelor in Documenting American Violence
• An Act Relating to Habeas Corpus in Fair Trial Rights of the Accused: A Documentary History
• Examples of document readers available from Nielsen Library
• How to cite an indirect source: see last example

You can also find primary resource references and excerpts in books (monographs). Here are some examples:

• Criticism and Fiction in Ethnicity and Cultural Authority
• Integration in the United Kingdom in Nationalism and National Integration
• Examples of monographs available from Nielsen Library
• How to cite an indirect source: see last example

• If you find an interesting citation in a secondary resource, you can use it to track down other resources. 

  • Reading Footnotes: Georgia State University

  • How to mine a footnote: example from Milne Library, SUNY Geneseo

• If you find a book in a citation, you can see if the library has it: 

  • http://adams.edu/library/resources/books.php

• Or, you can check to see if other libraries have it: 

  • http://prospectorhome.coalliance.org/

• If you find a journal article, you can see if the library owns the journal: 

  • http://adams.edu/library/resources/journals.php

• If not, you can order the article here: 

  • https://adamsstate.wufoo.com/forms/p7x2s9/

Here are some factors to consider when determining whether a website contains reliable information:

Authority
Who is responsible for the webpage? What authority or expertise does the author have?

Currency
When was the page created? When was the page last updated?

Motive
What are the goals and objectives of the page? Is the page trying to get you to buy something?

Research
Are there links to other resources? If so, are those resources reliable?

Design
Is the webpage well organized and easy to navigate? Does the page include help or search sections?

• Nationalism - Modern History Sourcebook: Collection of primary sources from the Modern History Sourcebook at Fordham University.

• Nationalism Project: A clearinghouse of primary and secondary resources on nationalism.

• Nationalism and Imperialism: A collection of links related to imperialism and nationalism in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

• Primary Sources on Nationalism: A list of links hosted by San Jose State University related to nationalism in the United States and Europe.