Doing history research
Workshop for Antisemitism: Theory and Politics
Sahr Conway-Lanz
Curator, Peace Collection
Simon Elichko
Social Sciences & Data Librarian
Workshop Agenda:
- Finding secondary sources:
- Books & library catalogs
- History databases
- Primary sources online
- Working with materials from Swarthmore's Special Collections
- Time to work on your research
Secondary Sources
Including chapters from edited collections, for example:
Engel, David. “Away from a Definition of Antisemitism: An Essay in the Semantics of Historical Description.” In Rethinking European Jewish History, edited by Jeremy Cohen and Moshe Rosman. Liverpool University Press, 2009.
Books
Secondary Sources: Journal Articles
Explore scholarly journals in Browzine and Tripod
Example articles:
Feldman, David. “Toward a History of the Term ‘Anti-Semitism.’” The American Historical Review 123, Issue 4 (October 2018): 1139-1150.
Schüler-Springorum, Stefanie. “The Dark Side of Modernity? Rethinking Antisemitism and Sexuality.” Bulletin of the German Historical Institute 73 (Spring 2024): 99–122.
How to Find Relevant Books
| Search in Tripod Books + Media: | Results |
|---|---|
| "Jews persecutions" OR antisemitism | 3,645 results |
| ("Jews persecutions" OR antisemitism) Czech | 40 results |
| (Jews OR Jewish) Czech | 288 results |
1. Go to swarthmore.edu/libraries
2. Set your Tripod search to Books + Media:
Within your search results, try using filters like Region and Genre.
Deciding which books to read:
useful questions
-
Who wrote it?
- Does the author have training in history?
- What kind of expertise do they have about the topic of the book?
-
Who published it?
- University presses such as Oxford, Cambridge, Central European University, Chicago, Indiana, Purdue, Rutgers, Wisconsin
- Non-university presses that often publish scholarly books include Routledge, Berghahn, Rowman and Littlefield, Springer/Palgrave
-
Can you find any book reviews?
- For some books, you'll see book reviews linked in the Tripod record.
- If you don't see book reviews linked, search Tripod for the book's title.
Change your search scope
to Books + Media + Articles
Two key things to know about using the libraries:
- How to access Swarthmore + TriCo books
- Borrowing beyond TriCo: EZBorrow, interlibrary loan, requesting article and chapter PDFs
Borrowing & Reading Books
Follow links to read online
You can read books online and borrow physical copies from the TriCo libraries.
If you login to Tripod, you'll see the option: Request Physical Copy.
Book will be brought to the library front desk. Works for Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr, and Haverford books.
Tutorial: How to find your book in McCabe
TriCo
Login to Tripod to request delivery (arrives 1-2 days)
E-Z Borrow
Borrow from academic libraries in PA, NJ (arrives in ~1 week)
Borrow books, journals, microfilm, DVDs, etc. from all over the world. (arrives in 1-3 weeks)
Penn Drexel Temple NYU Rutgers
Swat Haverford Bryn Mawr
Oxford Columbia University of Amsterdam
Harvard Stanford Museum of Natural History
You can access library materials from TriCo and beyond
You can request PDFs of articles & book chapters not owned in the TriCo.
Workshop Agenda:
-
Finding secondary sources:
- Books & library catalogs
- History databases
- Primary sources online
- Working with materials from Swarthmore's Special Collections
- Time to work on your research
History Databases
Finding journal articles and book reviews
Useful databases for finding history research
Let you find articles by time period being discussed
Historical Abstracts
| Search in Historical Abstracts | Results |
|---|---|
| antisemitism | 2,783 results |
| antisemit* | 3,458 results |
| antisemit* Czech* | 11 results |
| (antisemit* OR Jew*) Czech* | 369 results |
- Start from Tripod or swarthmore.edu/libraries.
- Follow the link to Research Guides.
- Find the History guide, then go to Historical Abstracts. Click the yellow S to connect.
How to get started
| Search | Results |
|---|---|
| (antisemit* OR Jew*) Czech* Language filter: English |
241 results |
| (antisemit* OR Jew*) Czech* Historical Period: 1883–1924 CE |
101 results |
Finding what you need
Workshop Agenda:
-
Finding secondary sources:
- Books & library catalogs
- History databases
- Primary sources online
- Working with materials from Swarthmore's Special Collections
- Time to work on your research
Primary Sources Online
- From the History Research Guide, go to Courses. Find the guide for this course.
- Go to Primary Sources: News
- Connect to ProQuest News & Newspapers
- See if you can use this to find articles published in The Guardian between 1940-1960.
How to search
Workshop Agenda:
-
Finding secondary sources:
- Books & library catalogs
- History databases
- Primary sources online
- Working with materials from Swarthmore's Special Collections
- Time to work on your research
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Workshop Agenda:
-
Finding secondary sources:
- Books & library catalogs
- History databases
- Primary sources online
- Working with materials from Swarthmore's Special Collections
-
Time to work on your research
✓
✓
✓
✓
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Research help & advice
- Make an appointment with Simon
- Email them with questions or to set up a time to talk: selichk1@swarthmore.edu
Help with Swarthmore special collections
- Book a special collections appointment
-
Peace Collection: visit the SCPC website or
contact peacecollection@swarthmore.edu - Friends Historical Library: visit the FHL website or contact friends@swarthmore.edu
- Contact Sahr at sconway1@swarthmore.edu