Primary Sources
Book covers; Cover of the first issue of "The Empty Closet", one of the oldest, continuously published LGBT papers in the U.S.; Harvey Milk at Gay Pride San Jose, 1978 (digitalcollections.sjlibrary.org); Newsweek magazine cover.
What Are Primary Sources:
"Primary sources are original records created at the time historical events occurred or well after events in the form of memoirs and oral histories. Primary sources may include letters, manuscripts, diaries, journals, newspapers, speeches, interviews, memoirs, documents produced by government agencies such as Congress or the Office of the President, photographs, audio recordings, moving pictures or video recordings, research data, and objects or artifacts such as works of art or ancient roads, buildings, tools, and weapons. These sources serve as the raw material to interpret the past, and when they are used along with previous interpretations by historians, they provide the resources necessary for historical research."
(American Library Association, Reference and User Services, History Section)
Featured Source:
You can browse the Collections or the list of Publications available., or use the "Topic Finder" feature. If you search by keywords, be sure to use the Advanced Search mode to limit your search by date and types of materials.
- Archives of Sexuality and Gender This link opens in a new windowThe Archives of Sexuality & Gender provides a robust and significant collection of primary sources for the historical study of sex, sexuality, and gender. The Library subscribes to Module 1, LGBTQ History and Culture Since 1940, Part 1, a collection of primary sources on social, political, health, and legal issues impacting LGBTQ communities around the word), and Module 3, Sex and Sexuality 16th to 20th centuries, a collection of documents allowing scholars to examine how sexual norms and gender roles have changed over time.
Other Collections of Primary Sources at SCU
In addition to the Archives of Sexuality and Gender, featured above, the library subscribes to a few databases of primary sources that could be useful for your research paper, depending on your topic.
- Oxford African American Studies Center This link opens in a new windowProvides access to more than 7,500 articles focusing on African American history and culture. The articles come from major reference sources and are written by leading scholars in the field. Also includes primary sources, images, and maps.
- Black Studies Center This link opens in a new windowFully cross-searchable gateway to Black studies including scholarly essays, recent periodicals, historical newspaper articles, and much more. It combines several resources such as Schomburg Studies on the Black Experience, International Index to Black Periodicals (IIBP), Black Literature Index, and historical black newspapers such as the Chicago Defender (1910-1975) and the Daily Defender (1956-1975).
- Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000 This link opens in a new windowCollection of primary documents and secondary sources related to U.S. women's history. Includes 63 document projects that interpret and present documents, more than 22,000 pages of documents, a dictionary of social movements and organizations , a chronology of U.S. Women's History, and teaching tools and materials.
How to Analyze a Primary Source
Here's a helpful guide (from Carleton College) to help you understand and interpret your primary sources:
Finding Primary Sources
Using OSCAR to find Primary Sources:
You can use the library online catalog, OSCAR, to find published primary sources or books including primary documents If you are interesting in the writings of a specific individual, just do an author search. If you are looking for primary sources on a specific topic, just enter your keywords and add one of the following words, depending on what you are looking for: correspondence, papers, speeches, memoirs, personal narratives, documents, sources.
For example, here are some collections of primary sources you can find in OSCAR:
Books (Mostly Ebooks)
Documents of the LGBT Movement [Ebook] by ISBN: 9781440855016Publication Date: 2018-05-25Beginning from the First People, through the influx of European settlers and the slave trade from Africa, to the modern era, this book presents and discusses documents that reflect pivotal moments in the LGBT rights movement in North America. While most would think of the modern Gay Rights Movement as beginning in the 1960s, in reality, the issue of nonheterosexual human behavior within society and the campaign to achieve equality and acceptance have existed far earlier. Beginning with the First People in the Americas and their acceptance of tribal members who did not conform to gender and sexual binary roles, to the expansion west and establishment of the United States as a Republic, to the contentious struggles for equality in the 20th and 21st centuries, this reference traces the development of the Gay Rights Movement through the examination of primary source materials related to the incremental changes toward making America safe for all people. These documents enable readers to reflect on pivotal moments in the LGBT rights and sexual equality movement in the past up to the achievement of marriage equality. A modern chronology traces key events in the Gay Rights Movement across the last 70 years, such as those during the World War II era, the formation of the Mattachine Society in Los Angeles in the 1950s, to the Stonewall Riot in New York in the late 1960s, the elimination of the category of homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1973, the judgment in 2003 by the U.S. Supreme Court that laws criminalizing sodomy are unconstitutional, and the legalization of same-sex marriage in all U.S. states in 2015. Provides a concise yet comprehensive review of the LGBTQ rights movement from the earliest days of human society in what would become the United States to the present Highlights primary document resources that embrace and reflect the diversity found in the LGBTQ community Documents how the Gay Rights Movement emerged within an era of widespread antigay persecution, when it would seem that an uprising to achieve equality be least likely
Documenting Intimate Matters [Print Book in the Library] by Call Number: HQ18.U5 D63 2012ISBN: 9780226257464Over time, sexuality in America has changed dramatically. Frequently redefined and often subject to different systems of regulation, it has been used as a means of control; it has been a way to understand ourselves and others; and it has been at the center of fierce political storms, including some of the most crucial changes in civil rights in the last decade. Edited by Thomas A. Foster, Documenting Intimate Matters features seventy-two documents that collectively highlight the broad diversity inherent in the history of American sexuality. Complementing the third edition of Intimate Matters, by John D'Emilio and Estelle B. Freedman--often hailed as the definitive survey of sexual history in America--the multiple narratives presented by these documents reveal the complexity of this subject in US history. The historical moments captured in this volume will show that, contrary to popular misconception, the history of sexuality is not a simple story of increased freedoms and sexual liberation, but an ongoing struggle between change and continuity.
Gender Issues and Sexuality [Ebook] by ISBN: 9781414403250Gender Issues and Sexuality provides insight into the personal, social, and political issues of gender and sexuality---issues that range from intimate matters of personal belief to matters that profoundly shape modern society. Included are approximately 175 full or excerpted documents---speeches, legislation, magazine and newspaper articles, essays, memoirs, letters, interviews, novels, songs, and works of art---as well as overview information that places each document in context. Entries are organized into chapters that feature a general overview of the chapters subtopic. The following standard subheads are included in each entry: Date Source About the Author Introduction Primary Source Significance Further Resources All titles contain an introduction to its topic, a chronology of major events associated with the topic, and a general index.
Letters to One [Ebook] by ISBN: 9781438442983Publication Date: 2012-09-01Collection of letters written to the first openly gay magazine in the United States.
Newspapers and Magazines
- OpinionArchives This link opens in a new windowProvides access to the complete archives of 16 leading journals of opinion, including Dissent, Commentary, Harper's, and The New Yorker.
- Independent Voices This link opens in a new windowA four-year project to digitize over one million pages from the magazines, journals, newsletters, and newspapers of the alternative press archives of participating libraries spanning the 1960's to the 1980's. Starting with collections by feminists and the GI press, the collection will grow to include small literary magazines, underground newspapers, LGBT periodicals, the minority press (Latino, Black and Native American) and the extreme right-wing press.
- ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times with Index This link opens in a new windowProvides searchable digitized issues of The New York Times. Indexing coverage is from 1851 to 4 years ago. Full text is available online from 1851 to 4 years ago.
- ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Los Angeles Times This link opens in a new windowFull text of the Los Angeles Times newspaper from 1881 to present.
- San Francisco Chronicle: 1865-1984 This link opens in a new windowFull text of the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper from 1865 to 1984.
- Proquest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post This link opens in a new windowArchive of the Washington Post newspaper (1877-1998).
- Bay Area Reporter ArchivesThe Bay Area Reporter is the oldest continuously published lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer weekly newspaper in the United States and is the highest circulation publication serving the LGBTQ communities of the San Francisco Bay Area.
- The Empty ClosetThe Empty Closet is one of the oldest continuously published LGBT papers in the United States. It was begun at the University of Rochester by Bob Osborn and Larry Fine, the founders of the UR student group, Rochester Gay Liberation Front, and later transferred to the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley (GAGV).
Primary Sources on the Web
Many primary sources have been digitized and made available on the web. You have to be careful, though, because often the source of the document is not provided. You need to evaluate each web site carefully to determine if it is reliable. In general, you can just add the words "primary sources" to your search to locate such documents on the web. The following sites are likely to be reliable and provide interesting sources relevant to this class. This is just a small sample of what's available.
Digital Transgender Archives (College of Holy Cross)
The purpose of this archive is to increase accessibility of transgender history by providing an online hub for digitized historical materials from around the world. The primary focus is on materials prior to 2000.
Lesbian Herstory Archives
Oral histories, videos, and documents from lesbian history.
LGBTQ Religious Archives Network
Oral histories or early LGBT religious leaders
Gay Activists Alliance - FBI Documents
GLBT Historical Society (San Francisco)
Available digital collections from the Society
HIV and AIDS, 30 years ago
Oral histories and other documents related to the cultural, social, and public health implications of HIV/AIDS
ACT UP Oral History Project
The ACT UP Oral History Project is a collection of interviews with surviving members of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, New York..
Queer Music Heritage
- The Global Divide on Homosexuality Persists (Pew Research)Despite major changes in laws and norms surrounding the issue of same-sex marriage and the rights of LGBT people around the world, public opinion on the acceptance of homosexuality in society remains sharply divided by country, region and economic development.