| Sophomore Research Seminar--Fall Term, 2008 (Professor B. Peterson)
Colonialism in Africa |
| Contents |
Publication types | Primary sources | Books (and parts of books) | Journal articles
Internet information | Reference books | Style and other miscellaneous issues
Historians distinguish between primary vs. secondary sources. "Secondary" is easier to define: what historians write about past phenomena. Primary sources, however, take many forms--correspondence, diaries, personal narratives, official government records, news reports, and advertisements and other kinds of popular expressions. Primary sources are usually contemporary with the past phenomena under study. Format alone is not the defining measure: a primary source may be an unpublished letter or published in a book as part of a collection of such letters.
The best known examples of secondary sources are books and journal articles. But actual searching usually turns up other formats: papers in collected volumes, chapters, dissertations, and others.
Why is publication format important? There are at least three reasons:
finding the text (physically),
citing it correctly, and
shaping your search strategy to find more.
| Primary sources |
Starting point
First, it would be a great help if Schaffer Library had even more books like its
--Sources of the African Past, by David Robinson and Douglas Smith (1979)
or
--Nigerian Perspectives: an Historical Anthology, by Thomas L. Hodgkin (1960)
These are primary sources already collected and packaged for you to use (if relevant). But mostly you have to find your own. Here are some tips.
Examples of primary sources held by Union College Library (to help you recognize them)
An exploration or expeditionary account:
Tuckey, James Hingston. Narrative of an expedition to explore the river Zaire, usually called the Congo... (1818)A government publication:
Gold Coast. Committee on Constitutional Reform. Report to His Excellency the Governor. (1949)A contemporary expression:
Lumumba, Patrice. Lumumba speaks: the speeches and writings of Patrice Lumumba, 1958-1961 (1963)An anthropological account:
Weeks, John H. Among the primitive Bakongo (1914)An early source published later:
Vaughan, James H. and Anthony H. M. Kirk-Greene. The Diary of Hamman Yaji: chronicle of a West African Muslim ruler (1995, originally 1912-1927)A catalog of primary sources:
Howell, John B. East African community: subject guide to official publications (1976)
Finding more such primary sources using the Schaffer Library Catalog
If the colonial name was changed at independence, try a keyword search first with the colonial name alone (e.g., Tanganyika, Rhodesia, Gold Coast, Bechuanaland, German Southwest Africa, etc.) to get an idea of how much colonial-era material on the country is in Schaffer Library, whether primary or secondary. "Eyeballing" a list is sometimes better than trying to score a perfect search.
Or, for more precision, try the keyword search method in Schaffer's online catalog using this pattern:
Hints:
-The first line may of course contain any country's name, or even "Africa". Try twice, once with the colonial name and once again with the independent name, e.g. "Nyasaland" and "Malawi".
-The * is a wild-card symbol that executes the search on all endings of the stem, including singulars, plurals, adjectival endings...
-Try other terms in the second line, like papers or source* or archiv* or narrative* or colonial or government or administration ...
Finding primary source materials beyond Schaffer Library
- Execute precisely the same above searches in the ConnectNew York site. (CAUTION: The sources listed by the Center for Research Libraries ("Ctr Resrch Lib") are NOT available to us, even though Connect NY screen says "available".) However, all other ConnectNY participating libraries do lend their books.
- Pick items from the reference lists in secondary sources that you find. Check this library, but obtaining them on Interlibrary Loan or on the Internet is at least a possibility.
- Browse the reference bibliographies section of Schaffer Library. Many African countries are covered in the call number areas of
Ref Bibliog Z 3500+ and Ref Bibliog DT 1+. These bibliographies typically list primary (as well as secondary) sources. Check this library, but btaining them on Interlibrary Loan or on the Internet is at least a possibility.
- Websites with applicable full-text primary source historical documents:
Africa South of the Sahara / Primary Sources (http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/history/hisprimary.html
Stanford University's site linking to scores of African historical primary source sites, although they are in alphabetical order and thus need to be skimmed.
Colonial History of French West Africa (http://courses.wcupa.edu/jones/his311/archives/)
A site set up for a course at West Chester University, Pennsylvania, here find full-text primary source historical documents (or at least substantial summaries) from Mali, Senegal, and from French colonial administration offices.
National Archives of the United Kingdom (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/)
Long known as Britain's Public Record Office, the British National Archives' "Documents Online" site features a download service for many public documents of historical use, some free and some for small fees.
Experience Rich Anthropology--E.R.A. (www.era.anthropology.ac.uk)
The Center for Social Anthropology and Computing, University of Kent, England, offers digitized field notes and articles drawn from work done in Cameroon, Nigeria, Zambia, South Africa, and elsewhere.
H-Net: H-Africa, African Studies Collections (www.h-net.org/~africa/collections)
The site links to over 25 digitized collections of primary source materials (though many are photos).
Histoire de la colonisation belge du Congo (www.cobelco.org)
French-language extracts from original documents on forced labor and testimonies of early settlers.
Internet African History Sourcebook (www.fordham.edu/halsall/africa/africasbook.html) In this Fordham University site, scroll down to "European Imperialism" or "The Fight for Independence" and open any relevant documents. All are primary save those marked "2nd" (meaning secondary).
OAIster (Open Access-based) (www.oaister.org)
This University of Michigan-based search engine is especially geared to retrieving digitized images from major university and other archive. Note the pull-down menu to search solely for images, or other formats.
Foreign Relations of the United States
1964-1976 (www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/c1716.htm)
1861-1960 (digicoll.library.wisc.edu/FRUS/Browse.html)
Public documents reflecting the USA's policies on Africa and elsewhere are found at these two links, one through the U.S. State Department and the other through the University of Wisconsin. (Paper copies of this whole title are in the Library at call number
JX 233 .A3, in the basement.)
Digital National Security Archive: the Documents That Made U.S. Policy (go to Databases and Indexes, click on "D" and choose this file).
The database includes more than 60,000 declassified documents relevant to American foreign policy on Africa and elsewhere since 1945. Once in the database, click on "Documents" and use the search engine.
In the First Person: an Index to Letters, Diaries, Oral Histories, and Personal Narratives (go to Databases and Indexes, click on "I" and choose this file.)
A database subscribed to by the Library, this file's contents include African material in full text, in many of the forms indicated in the title above. Either use the search box for a specific person's name or, unsure of that, click on "Place", then "Africa", then country name, and then browse.
- Websites pointing to primary source goldmines but that are (sadly) not yet online:
Africa Research Central (www.africa-research.org)
This site is a gateway to African institutions with primary source collections. Most have not digitized their holdings, so the main contribution of Africa Research Central is for directory information. A few limited full-text documents can be found.
Cooperative Africana Microform Project--C.A.M.P. (www.crl.edu/areastudies/CAMP/collections/campguide.htm)
The Center for Research Libraries, mentioned above with ConnectNY, has vast holdings of microfilmed archival materials. This site offers the public (i.e., nonmembers like Union) use of its Africa-related catalogs online. The primary sources are described in item-level detail, but the microfilm cannot presently be borrowed from the Center on interlibrary loan (by Union).
Finding books on your own requires searching the Library's catalog with....
...subject headings:
Major patterns that consistently work are
Country name--history (e.g., Zambia--history or Northern Rhodesia--history)
Country name--politics and government (e.g., Ghana--politics and government or Gold Coast--politics and government)
Country name--social life and customs (e.g., South Africa--social life and customs)
Colonial country name--colonies (e.g., Belgium--colonies)
...keywords:
Place topics of your own devising into the search boxes and the system will look for "intersections."
Reminder: the "*" serves as a wild card, to include singulars, plurals, adjectival endings, etc.
Once you have a listing of interest on your screen, click on the "Full Record" tab to see its subject headings, which are often useful for expanding the search.
When you wish to retrieve your book(s),
- use the online maps,
- browse around in the call number region,
- use the references at the back of the book (or chapter or paper).
And remember, your purpose is not only to find entire books that inform you but also parts of books (e.g., chapters, papers, or paragraphs).
There's more...use ConnectNY (mentioned above) and perform the same Subject and/or Keyword searches in a "universe" of 3,000,000 volumes (beyond Union's 600,000).
A journal article database is a principal route for finding articles for work in this class in colonialism in Africa, and the following would be the best to search:
- JSTOR
The link takes you to the Library's "Databases & Indexes" page. Notice JSTOR on the left side of the page. JSTOR has, just for example, 32 African studies and 100 history journals, most dating back to their beginnings. Hints on use this and these databases below will be covered in class.
- Historical Abstracts
The link takes you to the Library's "Databases & Indexes" page. Click on "History" and notice Historical Abstracts near the top.
- Black Studies Center
The link takes you to the Library's "Databases & Indexes" page. Click on "Africana Studies" and notice Black Studies Center near the top.
- Google Scholar
The link takes you directly to Google Scholar. Use the advanced search engine and experiment with keywords as you did in the library catalog. Some full text is available but, where barred by copyright or subscription, links transferring you to the Library's full-text are given. (Look for "Full Text @ my Library")
For finding any articles in any of the above but not on-line : remember the crucial "Find Journal Titles" link on the Schaffer Library page. Only then (if unsuccessful), request the article on Interlibrary Loan.
A scholarly bibliography is another important way to find articles. The following are good to know about:
- Current Bibliography on African Affairs--Ref Bibliog Z 3501 .C87--holdings are from 1971-1990.
- International African Bibliography--Ref Bibliog Z 3501 .I54--holdings are from 1973-present.
- Use the reference bibliographies section of Schaffer Library. Many African countries are covered in the call number areas of
Ref Bibliog Z 3500+ and Ref Bibliog DT 1+. These bibliographies typically list secondary/scholarly sources like articles, as well as primary and other secondary materials. Some of what is listed may be at Schaffer Library, but if not, obtaining cited articles on Interlibrary Loan or on the Internet is at least a possibility.
For finding any articles in any of the above : remember the crucial "Find Journal Titles" link on the Schaffer Library page. Only then (if unsuccessful) request the article on Interlibrary Loan.
In addition to the sites listed above under Primary Sources, there are some reliable and effective "portals" to a host of online information. The three below have been created by the reputable universities Stanford, Columbia, and Michigan State.
Africa South of the Sahara: Selected Internet Resources (http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/)
African Studies Internet Resources (http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/africa/cuvl/)
An A to Z of African Studies on the Internet (http://www.lib.msu.edu/limb/a-z/az.html)
Should you "google"? Of course, but not as a substitute for all of the above. And please remember to check Website authority by these methods.
- "About" links to clarify the site's origins and sponsorship (or "Home", "Disclaimer", etc.)
- "Officers" or "Directors" (etc.) links to reveal the credentials of the creators or sponsors
- the domain name for a very rough indication of bias or viewpoint (.edu/.gov/.com/.org)
- the root address to reveal a site's parent site
If trying the above steps gets you no clearer understanding of the website's identity and authority, you should not assume that it is reliable (or trustworthy).
Why would you need a reference book or two to get you started when you could just use Wikipedia?
The following examples are authoritative and substantive but concise. Of those three, authoritative counts the most.
- New Encyclopedia of Africa (2008)--Ref DT 2 .N48
- Encyclopedia of African History and Culture (2001)--Ref DT 3 .P27
- Africana (2005)--Ref DT 14 .A37435
- Encyclopedia of African History (2005)--Ref DT 20 .E53
Hint: Notice they all have in common the call number starting with "DT". By going to "DT" in Reference, you will find not only these but dozens more for particular African nations.
Citation Guides (http://www.bucknell.edu/x11812.xml) is Bucknell's excellent Website for finding citation style examples easily from many of the commonly used formats (Chicago, APA, Turabian, etc.)
Other libraries (besides what ConnectNY and ILLiad offer): see Schaffer Library>How to...>Find>Hours/direction: other libraries
Reference help -- you are very welcome to ask...
- any professional reference librarian, at Schaffer Library daily during term until 10pm, or
- me (David Gerhan) in particular, when I'm on duty at the Reference Desk, by email at gerhand@union.edu , or by telephone to the Reference Desk at 388-6281 or my office at 388-6614.
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