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HIST 213: World History, 600-2000

Research guide for HIST 213 (Fall 2023)

Contemporary Views

Source 2: The writings, or recorded accounts, of a person who actively participated in these events

Find contemporary views in the library catalogue

Memoirs, diaries, correspondence, and other types of primary sources that express contemporary views are rarely published in the time of the events they concern. These views are sometimes published later and even translated into English, and can be found in the library catalogue.

Strategy: search for an event (with the exact phrase in quotations) AND a word indicating a firsthand or eyewitness account

autobiography
autoethnography
biography
correspondence
diary OR diaries
"first person"
interview
letters
memoir
narratives
"oral history"
perspective
photography
speech OR speeches

Example: "berlin wall" AND diary 

This strategy also works for locating firsthand accounts by a known individual. 

Example: "Ronald Reagan" AND diary

Other Sources

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