For many, the American Revolution represents the beginning of our history as a society. In the public memory of the past, the preceding colonial years are relegated to Puritan pre-history, as if only after 1776 we began to walk upright. This assertion of public sentiment can be traced through diverse...
Finding Book Reviews of Classic American Literature: Search Tips for Students Using the Archive of Americana
Finding recent scholarship on 18th- and 19th-century literature poses no great challenge to the skilled researcher, who may use a variety of available tools to support such an inquiry. It can be more difficult, however, to discover contemporaneous responses to significant 18th- and 19th-century authors. One useful tool for that...
Start Locally, Think Globally: An Approach to Teaching History
"Why does this stuff matter?" "Why should I care?" Questions like these have accosted most instructors during their teaching career. It can be especially challenging to show students in social studies classes the relevance of what they perceive to be centuries-old clumps of dates, events and timelines. Students in many...
"More Than I Ever Expected" - A Conversation with Jutta Seibert, Villanova University
Jutta Seibert is the Falvey Memorial Library team leader for academic integration as well as the coordinator of the liaison team to the departments of history, sociology and criminal justice at Villanova University. She coordinates the activities of the Library's eight liaison teams; provides research support to students, faculty and...
American Indians in Major League Baseball: Now and Then
Historically, the popular fascination with American Indian baseball players in the Major Leagues has contained an underlying strain of bigotry. Recently, however, sportswriters have been enthralled by the development toward stardom of three such baseball players—Kyle Lohse, Jacoby Ellsbury and Joba Chamberlain. And today researchers and fans can trace the...