Archive for the ‘Research resources’ Category

Presentation

Tuesday, November 27th, 2007

I think that the presentation was useful, because I was able to see how my paper needs to have more clarity.  I think that it was beneficial to discuss my sources with others, and I think that might have been the best part for me.  I would like to have made a more in depth discussion with people prior to this.  I could have done more to prepare for my presentation, had I been given more of a rubric.

I should have placed more emphasis on the question and answer part.  Getting feedback from people was helpful, but I think I could have gotten more if more people had gone, or realized what an opportunity this was.

I wonder how many other people are in the same boat as I am as far as sources go, but I’ll have to wait a few more classes to figure that out.  I wonder if other people had any sources that I might have found useful (other than Mills and Xenia).  I would have found it interesting to compare my sources to those of other people.

I wish I had been more engaging with my audience, I might have been able to understand more what I need to do, or gauge myself better if I had been more charismatic.  I think I got my thesis across though, which is the important thing.  I should have asked afterwards if everyone got the gist of my argument, or if I needed to clarify that.

Anyone going after me, I think should use the question and answer segment to more effect than I did.  The audience, I think, should also use it to gauge what they need to do, and what they can do to make both their presentations and their papers better.

Eastern European Reading Room

Tuesday, November 6th, 2007

Just wanted to say how helpful the staff of the reading room was.  Also, they need people to go there to remain open (or so I was told) .  They were really fast about getting me my books, I only had to wait two hours.  The only rough part of it was that they don’t allow you to take any kind of closed bag into the reading room (this includes slipskin laptop cases) I don’t know if this applies to purses or not, but I’d just advise cargo pants or something.

Research

Monday, October 29th, 2007

just wanted to recommend a site I knew about from high school:

http://www.archive.org/details/movies

maybe people can find something useful here

Fun with Maps

Thursday, October 18th, 2007

The first map comes from a Yugoslav government map book which attempts to show where the popular uprisings of 1941 occurred in Yugoslavia. First, the term popular has a controversial socio-political connotation that plays against the Nazi and anti-partisan elements that didn’t view their uprising as popular, but rather as a guerrilla uprising. The legend shows the three main colors/symbols used on the map, namely the areas “liberated” by the Yugoslavs whereas the other side at the time and on up until the collapse of the republic. The boundaries of the republic aren’t represented adding to the idea of a universal ethnic cause, whereas these groups and ethnicities were extremely divided and are even so until the present.

The second map is from the Stars and Stripes paper, which is a pro-American military publication. The map of Kosovo was made in February 2000, and attempts to show the political/military boundaries of the NATO occupation for the area. The map shows towns, cities, which nation’s army occupies the areas, strategic areas like airports and waterways, and even ski/recreation area in the north. The map seems too cut and dry to have a political slant. The lines and colors looks like someone just doodled the map for simplicity to the eye as opposed to slightly more in-depth maps like the previous with hills and mountainous areas or the Mercator projection that shows an obvious Eurocentric perspective of the world with less map area given to Africa and Antarctica, and more area shown/blown up of Greenland and Russia and Canada. Arguably without this map and others of the day, I’m certain that where we are now in terms of cartography and exploration would be years behind where we could be if they weren’t made.

Library of Congress

Saturday, October 13th, 2007

Xenia and I went last week to the LOC downtown. It is an easy metro ride and it literally only took 10 minutes to get a researcher card. The main reason I am leaving this post is because if you do decide to go, plan on being there most of the day. They told me it would only take an hour and a half to get the books after I requested them. However, it took somewhere between 3-4 hours for my books to come out. By that time not only did I have to leave, but I felt like I had been chained to a radiator all day. Luckily you can keep your books on hold for 3 days – and one of the librarians gave me a number to call if I needed to extend the holding period.

Just a few suggestions I guess. We arrived there downtown around 9:00 AM, before the flocks of tourists had a chance to get there and make the security guards and librarians cranky – it is probably better to go early, because by the afternoon the place was pretty crowded. Also, the food in the cafeteria was shockingly bad – even for a federal institution – so I would reccomend leaving the library if you actually want palatable food….Anyway, once you actually find the room you are looking for,the librarians are generally helpful (although, I think Xenia had a worse experience than I did since she was in a different room), and will show you what to do, where to go, etc.

Which Came First?

Wednesday, October 3rd, 2007

Here is a link to a rather lengthy blog post by the filmmaker Erroll Morris about two of the most famous photographs of all time–The Valley of the Shadow of Death by Robert Fenton (from the Crimean War). Reading this post, you get a sense for just how painstaking it can be to nail down just one precise detail of your research and how different historians (and curators in this example) can hold diametrically opposite views on a subject like this.

When I accessed the post tonight, it already had more than 880 comments, which also gives you a sense for just how big the audience for a New York Times blog can be and how many people are interested in the history of photography.

Go Wiki!

Friday, September 21st, 2007

Wikipedia was not one of the finalists to make it in the TOP 10 LARGEST DATABASES IN THE WORLD.  The stats may be right and Wikipedia may not be one of the largest (yet!) but it remains among the most accessible database.

Area Library Resources

Wednesday, September 19th, 2007

Library of Congress
One of the best things about being a history major here in the D.C. area is having access to the world’s largest library–the Library of Congress. If it’s in print and in English, the LOC probably has a copy. If it’s in print, was published after 1900, and is in any language, the LOC probably has a copy of that too.

If you haven’t been to the LOC yet, now is the time to go, because using the resources there can really make the difference between an excellent research paper and one that is just very good. Plus, it’s fun to work there. However, it’s not like just walking into Fenwick Library, sitting down at a computer and looking up some books/articles/microfilms. To work in the LOC you need to first register as a researcher (anyone over 17 can) and get a researcher card. And, because it’s the world’s biggest library, you probably should go through one of orientation programs put on by the Humanities and Social Sciences Division.

These orientations are available in the Jefferson Building, Room G-07, from 10:30-12:00 on:

September 24
October 1, 15, 22
November 5, 19, 26

Or they have evening sessions (6:30 – 8:00):

October 1
November 5

(Use the Seond Street (SE) entrance to the Jefferson Building. The Second Street (SE) entrance is open to those holding a Reader Identification Card; all other may enter using the First Carriage entrance.  Reader ID cards can be obtained in the Madison Building, Room 140.)

Registration Required.
Register by phone:   (202) 707-3370
In person:  Computer Catalog Center, Jefferson Building, First floor
Online:  http://www.loc.gov/rr/main/inforeas/signup.php
For more information call:
Kathy Woodrell (202) 707-0945 or Abby Yochelson (202) 707-2138

George Washington University
The Gelman Library at George Washington University has a Slavic, East European, and Asian reading room that has a wealth of resources for the study of 1989 and Eastern Europe. Because we are a member of the Washington Research Library Consortium (WRLC), George Mason students can use the GWU Library, but you have to have your GMU ID card with you to get into the building — because it is in the city, access is limited to those who have an ID.