History
To get you started in thinking how your topic might be looked at through the historical lens, let's use the topic of 2001: A Space Odyssey, the 1968 film directed by Stanley Kubrick. Learning more about the film and about its director is vital to building a strong understanding of the topic. This understanding will help you determine what avenues to explore inside of each lens. A secondary resource like the encyclopedia articles 2001: A Space Odyssey (film) This link opens in a new window or primary sources like the film itself This link opens in a new window provide insights into the topic and surrounding issues.
To begin to analyze this film like a historian, what would be some questions that we could ask? Here are some ideas:
- 2001: A Space Odyssey was released in 1968. How does space exploration and technological advancement of the time period affect 2001: A Space Odyssey's idea of what future space travel would look like?
- How does 2001: A Space Odyssey fit into the history of film production?
- How was 2001: A Space Odyssey advertised, and in what ways did that advertisement differ significantly from other films of the time period or before?
Suggested Databases
The list below are some examples of the library's databases that you could use to search for primary and secondary sources on your topic through a historical lens.
- America: History & Life - EBSCO This link opens in a new windowIndex to articles in magazines and journals covering history and culture of the United States and Canada.
- Primary Source Collections by Adam Matthew This link opens in a new windowAdam Matthew publishes unique primary source collections from archives around the world. SNHU Shapiro Library subscribes to the following collections: African American Communities, American History 1493-1945, the Confidential Print: North America collection in Archives Direct, Defining Gender, Empire Online, Everyday Life and Women in America 1800-1920, Race Relations in America, and Socialism On Film. For more information on how to use these database, please see these tutorial videos.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowDatabase of ebooks and archival issues of scholarly journals. SNHU Subscribes to Arts & Sciences Archive Collections I to XV.
If you encounter issues accessing resources, please try clearing your browser's cache and cookies. - Humanities International Complete - EBSCO This link opens in a new windowComprehensive collection of journals in the humanities, with full-text for approximately 1,200.
