LibGuides: HIS 303W International Human Rights: Getting Started

Getting started

This guide is designed to help you get started with your HIS 303W International Human Rights research. In addition to recommending article databases for both history and gender, sexuality, and women's studies topics, it provides guidance on how to look for books in the library's collection (along with some recommendations to get you started) and links to several primary source archives.

If you have any questions as you begin your research, please feel free to reach out to Lara Nicosia (lnicosia@library.rochester.edu) or Justina Elmore (jelmore@library.rochester.edu) – they are the librarians for this class and are always happy to help!

Not finding what you need on this guide? Check out the History and Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies guides linked below for a more complete list of relevant resources.

* History
by Lara Nicosia Last Updated Feb 1, 2024 441 views this year
* Gender, Sexuality & Women's Studies
by Justina Elmore Last Updated Nov 30, 2023 291 views this year

Finding primary sources

ProQuest Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
This database searches a wide selection of historical newspapers from around the world including The New York Times, Times of India, and South China Morning Post.
Atlanta Constitution (1868 - 1984) Atlanta Daily World (1931-2003) Baltimore Afro-American (1893-1988) Baltimore Sun (1837-1992) Boston Globe (1872 - 1985) Chicago Defender (1909-1975) Chicago Tribune (1849 - 1993) Christian Science Monitor (1908 - 2004) Globe and Mail (1844-2014) Irish Times (1859 - 2016) Louisville Courier (1830 - 2000) Los Angeles Times (1881 - 1993) Minneapolis Tribune (1867 - 2001) New York Amsterdam News (1922-1993) New York Times (1851 - 2013) U.S, Northeast Collection (1785 - 2010) Some issues for 1953, 1962-1963, 1965, 1978 were never published due to pressman's strikes. No Sunday issue was published until April 21, 1861. New York Tribune (1841-1962) Pittsburgh Courier (1911-2002) South China Morning Post (1903-1998) Times of India (1838-2008) Wall Street Journal (1889 - 2000) Washington Post (1877 - 2000)
Times Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
One of the most prominent British newspapers throughout history, the Times Digital Archive is a great complement to the ProQuest Historical Newspapers database which contains primarily U.S.-based publications.
Sunday Times Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
The Sunday Times is the largest-selling British national newspaper. Use the Sunday Times archive in conjunction with the Times Digital Archive above.
Despite the similarity of names, The Sunday Times was an entirely separate paper from The Times until 1st January 1967, when both papers came under the common ownership of Times Newspapers Ltd. To this day, The Sunday Times remains editorially independent from The Times, with its own perspective on the news.
Archives of Sexuality & Gender: LGBTQ History and Culture since 1940 Parts 1 & 2 This link opens in a new window
The Archives of Sexuality & Gender contains over 1.5 million pages of primary source materials from major gay and lesbian organizations worldwide.
Chinese Newspapers Collection This link opens in a new window
Provides full-text coverage of 22 Chinese newspapers from 1832-1953.
Foreign Office Files for China This link opens in a new window
A digital collection of the British Foreign Office files for China, from 1949 to 1980.
The files cover critical events in Chinese history, from the foundation of the People's Republic to the Korean War, the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, the death of Mao Zedong, and the arrest and trial of the Gang of Four.

Finding secondary research

JSTOR This link opens in a new window
JSTOR is a great starting place for most topics. Particularly strong in the humanities and social sciences, JSTOR provides access to a wide range of journals from history, area studies, sociology, and more. Watch this short tutorial for tips on getting the most out of your JSTOR search.
Subject areas include African-American studies, anthropology, Asian studies, business, ecology, economics, education, finance, history, literature, mathematics, philosophy, political science, population studies, sociology, statistics. The University of Rochester Libraries currently subscribes to the following multidisciplinary JSTOR Collections: Arts and Sciences I through XV. JSTOR also packages their content in disciplinary collections; however, the only ones of these that we have licensed are the Biological Sciences segment and the first of the Business collections. For alumni access, see also Alumni Library Gateway.
Project Muse This link opens in a new window
Project Muse is a great resource for finding articles on your topic. Like JSTOR, it provides access to scholarly journal articles from a range of humanities and social science disciplines.
Humanities Full Text This link opens in a new window
This database is a great multidisciplinary database with full-text articles from humanities-based disciplines such as art, film, music, and religion. It also includes research from history, traditionally considered a humanistic social science.
Social Sciences Full Text This link opens in a new window
This database is a great multidisciplinary database with full-text articles from social science-based disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, economics, and political science. It also includes research from history, traditionally considered a humanistic social science.
Abstracts included from 1994-current; full text for many articles from 1994-current.
Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Historical Abstracts is a key database for non-U.S. and non-Canadian historical research. This is an abstract database, so if you don't see the full-text for an article, click the red "FindText@UR" button to see if UR provides full-text access through another database (we often do!).
America: History and Life This link opens in a new window
Researching a U.S.- or Canadian-based topic? Be sure to search in America: History and Life. As with Historical Abstracts you may not see the full-text for an article of interest. Simply click the red "FindText@UR" button to see if UR provides full-text access through another database (we often do!).
SocINDEX This link opens in a new window
A robust database of sociological research, SocINDEX will include relevant research for many of the topics in this class. It is an index database so you may not see the full-text for an article of interest. Simply click the red "FindText@UR" button to see if UR provides full-text access through another database (we often do!).
Includes some links to full text.
Women's Studies International This link opens in a new window
If your research is focused on a women's studies topic, you'll want to search in Women's Studies International. This database indexes both articles and books, as well as less traditional resources. If you don't see the full-text for an article, simply click the red "FindText@UR" button to see if UR provides full-text access through another database (we often do!).

Modal - JSTOR - Search Tips (jstorModal)