Iowa Narratives Project: History of a Place
So you're looking to understand more about a particular place...
"A human community, is it to last long, must exert a sort of centripetal force, holding local soil and local memory in place."
- Wendell Berry in The Work of Local Culture
If you've chosen to investigate a local place (somewhere in Iowa City or the surrounding areas) check out the resources listed on the 'Resources' tab. Not sure where to begin with these resources? See the video below for an example of how to use the 'Resources' tab to locate information about your place.
If you've chosen to explore a place outside of the Iowa City and surrounding areas you might start your search for information using the 'Additional Resources' list included below.
Example search
Katie Hassman's example of searching for information about the historical and social context of a place.
Additional resources
- News and NewspapersThis guide contains links to local and non-local news and newspaper resources, including historical newspaper databases. A list of contemporary news websites is provided (see the 'News websites' tab) if you are interested in exploring recent news items relevant to your chosen place.
- Academic Search Elite This link opens in a new windowIf you've chosen to explore a more general or abstract place (e.g., a sidewalk or a bike lane) you might use this database to search for additional perspectives or perceptions about your place/topic. Start by doing a basic keyword search of terms related to your place (e.g., sidewalk, pedestrians or "bike lane", "bike commuting"). Pay attention to terms or phrases that other people use to descirbe your chosen place. These might provide some insight as well as terms to use for subsequent searches.
- JSTOR (Journal Storage) This link opens in a new windowIf you've chosen to explore a more general or abstract place (e.g., a sidewalk or a bike lane) you might use this database to search for additional perspectives or perceptions about your place/topic. Start by doing a basic keyword search of terms related to your place (e.g., sidewalk, pedestrians or "bike lane", "bike commuting"). Pay attention to terms or phrases that other people use to descirbe your chosen place. These might provide some insight as well as terms to use for subsequent searches.
