Orwell's England

|Background Sources | Secondary Sources: Books | Secondary Sources: Articles | Published Primary Sources |

This webpage provides resources to help you find more information on the themes and topics of the course.

Most of the databases on this page are restricted to UW students, staff and faculty. These are marked with a lock . To connect to these databases from home you will need to first click on the Off-Campus Access link in the upper-right hand corner and login.

Have questions or need research help? Please contact Theresa Mudrock, the history librarian via email at mudrock@u.washington.edu.

Background Sources

Encyclopedias and dictionaries provide background information and can be used to identify key people, events and dates which can then be used as search terms for finding additional information. More importantly, because encyclopedias often cover the major issues surrounding the subject, they can help you narrow your research from a broad “who, what, where, when” topic to a “how or why” question. The books listed here are located in Suzzallo Reference, first floor Suzzallo Library.

Colonialism: an intl, social, cultural & political encyclopedia   Suzzallo Reference -- HV22 .C59 2003 Historical dictionary of the British empire Suzzallo Reference - DA16 .H56 1996 The Oxford companion to British history   Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- DA34 .O93 1997 1997 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography   Suzzallo Reference - DA28 .O95 2004 Reader's guide to British history Suzzallo Reference - DA34 .R43 2003 Twentieth-century Britain: an encyclopedia Suzzallo Reference - DA566 .T835 1995

Secondary Sources - Books

Use the following catalogs to locate books in the UW Libraries and in other libraries around the region, nation and world. Books unavailable at the UW can be requested through Summit (if available at one of the member libraries) or through Interlibrary Loan.

UW Libraries Catalog A listing of the books, journal subscriptions and other material available at the University of Washington Libraries. Summit Joint catalog of more than 25 academic libraries in Oregon and Washington. Books can be requested and shipped to the UW for pick-up. OhioLINK Use OhioLink to access chapters of recent books, use the "Words" search option.

Secondary Sources - Articles

Use research databases to find articles on a topic. Since most databases cover a specific subject area, choose those that best fit your research topic. For a complete list of databases see Research Databases on the UW Libraries Homepage.

To find a copy of the article, use the Check for UW Holdings button available on most databases to locate a copy in the library. If there is no button, search the UW Libraries Catalog for the title of the journal to locate a copy. Be sure to have the complete citation (author, title, journal name, volume, pages and year) of your article.

Articles from journals which the UW does not own can be requested via Interlibrary loan.

Annual bibliography of British and Irish History Major index to books and articles in British and Irish history. Bibliography of imperial, colonial, and Commonwealth history since 1600 Includes both primary and secondary sources. [Suzzallo Reference -- DA123 .B53 2002] Historical Abstracts This is the best database to find articles dealing with modern world history (1450 onward). For American and Canadian history see America History & Life. JSTOR JSTOR is a collection of more than 40 full-text history-related journals. Earlier material in JSTOR can be considered primary sources. Proquest Databases This is a good general beginning database to find articles on all subjects. Includes some fulltext. For another similar database see Expanded Academic Index.

Finding Published Primary Sources

Using Secondary Sources to Find Primary Sources

Secondary sources, scholarly journal articles and books, are a great source for identifying potential primary sources. Find a few articles, books or dissertations related to your topic and then mine the footnotes and bibliography. You will have the best luck finding published primary sources such as books, government reports, newspapers and magazines within the UW Libraries. Use the UW Libraries Catalog to determine if we have the primary source.

Finding Primary Sources -- Books

The UW Libraries has a strong collection of books that can be considered primary sources for history. These include books written during the period for your topic (i.e., during the 1890s), books written by participants, published collections of correspondence and other personal writings, memoirs and reprints of collections of primary source material. Use the following tactics to find primary sources in the UW Libraries Catalog:

Limit your search books published between 1920 and 1940. Search for books written by key participants and organizations. Browse the shelves in the appropriate subject area. Include special subject terms that designate primary sources in your topic search: sources, personal narratives, diaries, correspondence, interviews. Example: spain and civil war and british and personal narratives

Finding Primary Sources -- Articles

The UW Libraries has a good collection of 20th century British magazines and journals including The spectator (Suz Periodicals 051 SP), The New statesman and Nation (Suz Periodicals 051 NEW) and The Economist (Suz Periodicals 330.5 EC). However indexing for these magazines are sketchy -- you may need to browse through issues.

The libraries has complete runs from 1918 through 1940 for three British newspapers: The Times (Microfilm A506 also available online, see link below), Manchester Guardian (Microfilm A597) and South Western Star (Microfilm A8146). Newspapers are housed in the Microform and Newspaper Collections (Mcnews) on the ground floor of Suzzallo. Keep in mind that the only indexing available is for The Times so use that paper to identify potential dates for browsing in the other two newspapers.

Humanities & Social Sciences Retrospective Index, 1907-1984 Index to older American and European (primarily British) journals in the humanities and social science fields. Also see the in-library use only CD-ROM Periodicals Contents Index. PAIS Index to political/economic journals and selected books and government reports from 1915 to the present. Subject Index to Periodicals - Suzzallo Reference AI3 .S78 Index to British and American journals from 1915 to 1961. Times Digital Archive Full-text of the newspaper from 1785-1985.

Finding Primary Sources -- Government Reports

The UW Libraries has a good collection of British government documents including parliamentary debates and papers. For more information about locating government documents check with the Government Publications section, ground floor of Suzzallo.

Indexes BOPCRIS Searchable database of citations to over 16,000 "key British Official Publications 1833-1983." General index to the bills, reports, and papers printed by order of the House of Commons and to the reports and papers presented by command, 1900 to 1948-49 -- Govt Pubs Reference J301 .M3 1960 Index to Parliamentary Papers [CD-ROM, use in Library only] Index to 20th century Parliamentary Papers. Debates and Papers Documents on British foreign policy, 1919-1939 -- Govt Pubs DA566.7 .A18 Parliamentary debates: Commons -- Govt Pubs J301.K22 Parliamentary debates: Lords -- Govt Pubs J301.J22, Sessional papers: Commons 1907-1981 -- Govt Pubs J301.K6252 Sessional papers: Lords 1901-1981 -- Govt Pubs J301.J6

Finding Primary Sources: Microfilm

The following microfilmed collections cover the interwar period. You'll find them in the Microform and Newspaper Collections on the ground floor of Suzzallo. For a list of other history-related collections see this guide.

• Archives of the British Labour Party Minutes, 1900-1961 -- M-531
• The British Archives of the International Brigade to Spain in the Civil War, 1936-1939 -- M-3175
• British Labour Party, Pamphlets and leaflets, 1900-1939 -- M-892

Image: 1937 photograph of the "members of the Artists' International Association beside the ambulance which they raised money to purchase by selling paintings, before it left for the war zone in Spain." Courtesy of King County Library's Corbis Images for Education database.

20 January 2007