Resources

• History Database List
• The Labyrinth
• Richard III Society
• Dante
• World War I Document Archive
• History of Germany: Primary Documents
• British Museum
• The Internet Archive is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, it provides free access to researchers, historians, scholars, and the general public. Need moving images to illustrate historical dates? Check out the Prelinger Archives – founded in 1983 by Rick Prelinger it grew into a collection of over 48,000 “ephemeral” (advertising, educational, industrial, and amateur) films. In 2002, the film collection was acquired by the Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division. Prelinger Archives remains in existence, holding approximately 4,000 titles on videotape and a smaller collection of film materials acquired subsequent to the Library of Congress transaction. Its goal remains to collect, preserve, and facilitate access to films of historic significance that haven’t been collected elsewhere. Included are films produced by and for many hundreds of important US corporations, nonprofit organizations, trade associations, community and interest groups, and educational institutions.
• Getty Images represents the collection for stock footage sale. The collection currently contains over 10% of the total production of ephemeral films between 1927 and 1987, and it may be the most complete and varied collection in existence of films from these poorly preserved genres.

History majors can plan on doing a substantial amount of writing over the course of their four years at Colby.

Historical research depends heavily on the writing that people in the past left behind for us to read and interpret. The written word is also the primary means by which historians communicate the findings of their research to others. Good, clear, precise, and concise writing is an essential component of the discipline.

History faculty regularly assign a variety of different sorts of papers in their classes, including response papers, journals, short essays, longer essays, book critiques, historiographical analyses, research proposals, research projects, and so forth. History faculty also evaluate student writing thoroughly. Be sure that you pay close attention to, and make a point of learning from, the comments your professors make on your papers. Doing so will significantly improve your writing.

Good writing takes time, hard work, careful planning, and a willingness to spend time revising and editing your drafts. Polished writing is the final product of a process that may begin with something as simple as jotting down your ideas in a random way. But the benefits of working your way steadily through this process are great: your ability to write well will make you a much better communicator, and will be a great advantage to you when you head out on the job market, in whatever field you choose to pursue.

Commit to learning how to write well!

Here are links to some guidelines from Colby’s History Department faculty that you may find useful (click to download files)

Writing Guidelines (Josephson – Microsoft Word)

Writing Guidelines (Scheck – Microsoft Word)

Writing Guidelines (Taylor – Microsoft Powerpoint)

Writing Guidelines (Leonard – Microsoft Word)

When in doubt, please consult the Chicago Manual of Style, which is the style guide for the American Historical Association. You can consult it online through the Library here.

The History Department faculty take an extremely dim view of plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty, and are vigilant about uncovering them. For the College’s statement on plagiarism and academic honesty, please go here. Go to this page for the Library’s guidelines on information literacy. For individual faculty policies on plagiarism and academic dishonesty, please consult your professors personally.