J400: Sexuality and Culture in Modern Britain
Welcome to the library class page for J400: Sexuality and Culture in Modern Britain. This page can serve as a guide to aid you in your research project.What will you need?
You will need to locate primary and secondary sources for your research project. For information on the difference between the two, please visit the library's Indentifying Primary and Secondary Sources page.
Below are lists of selected materials on this subject matter. Many of them may be familiar to you from your syllabus. To browse additional databases related to the study of history, please visit the Resources by Subject History page.
Primary Sources:
Archival materials
The Kinsey Institute Library
The Kinsey is the library for research in sex, gender, and reproduction. For example, they have the Alex Comfort Collection and Havelock Ellis Collection. Alex Comfort (1920-2000) was a "British biochemist, physician, sex researcher and author of numerous works including The Joy of Sex (1972)." Henry Havelock Ellis (1859-1939) was a "British sex researcher, physician and social reformer."
The Lilly Library
The Lilly is the the rare book and manuscript library on campus, and it is known worldwide. They have strong collection of British materials. If you are interested in researching James Bond, visit their collection Ian Fleming (1908-1964) and their online exhibit The Ian Fleming Collection of 19th-20th Century Source Material Concerning Western Civilization together with the Originals of the James Bond-007 Tales.
Digital collections
Databases can be tricky to search because they often function differently than regular internet searches. For search techniques, please visit the Basic Database Searching Techniques page. Use general or more specific language to broaden or narrow your searches.
When searching the full text of a primary source, it is important to use the language of the era. For example, if you are looking for materials from Oscar Wilde's time, you may not find any resources using the terms "homosexual or homosexuality." "Sexual inversion" was a phrase used at that time. Note British and American English terminology and spelling also varies sometimes.
Some of the databases provide full text access to primary sources, while others index citations. If you find a relevant citation, your title may be available in a different format (print, microform) at one of our libraries.
19th Century British Library Newspapers
Searchable full text of full runs of newspapers specially selected by the British Library to best represent nineteenth-century Britain. "Fuzzy searching" corrects for variations between British and American English. Try limiting the date in addition to using keywords.
British and Irish Women's Letters and Diaries
Collection of full text British and Irish women's personal writings spanning over 400 years (1500-1950). Materials can be browsed by years, places, historical events, and personal events. Personal events include courtship, post-partum depression, pregnancy, and wedding. Subject headings include courtship, domestic matters, marriage, social issues, and womens' rights.
British Newspapers 1600-1900
Comprehensive digital access to historic newspapers, newsbooks, ephemera and national & regional papers from British Isles.
British Periodicals
Searchable full text of British periodicals from the late seventeenth century to the early twentieth.
C19: The Nineteenth Century Index
Index for research into the 19th century, including indexing of the Nineteenth Century Short Title Catalogue, The Wellesley Index, Poole's Index, and Periodicals Index Online. Includes citations of books, periodicals, official documents, newspapers, and archives. The House of Commons Parliamentary Papers are also indexed.
Defining Gender Online
Searchable full-text of European advice literature (1450-1910) covering household management, education, leisure, shopping, sexuality, consumption and sport. Along with full text primary sources, this database provides contextual essays. Topics (click on "view topics" in the upper-right) include adultery, chastity, child birth, conception, Contagious Diseases Act, contraception, female virtue, heterosexuality, homosexuality, lesbian relations, marriage problems, masculinity, midwifery, prostitution, rape, romance, sex, and virginity. And many more!
Empire Online
Contains over 70,000 images of full text original manuscripts (including biographies and chronologies) and printed materials (1492-1962) covering Africa, the Americas, Australasia, Oceania, and South Asia. Along with full text primary sources, this database provides contextual essays. Topics (click on "view topics" in the upper-right) include gender roles, girl guides, harem, inter-racial affair, inter-racial marriage, love, Maori marriage, marriage, morals, polygamy, prostitution, sexual abuse, sexual relations, sexually transmitted disease, sodomy, white slave trade, and women's rights. And many more!
Making of Modern Law
Full text British and American legal treatises 1800-1926. Limit Body of Law to "Treatises on British Law."
Mass Observation Online
Full text field research into the cultural and social life of Britain from 1937 to 1965. See the essays "Mass Observation and Histories of Women" and "Sex, Snobs and Swing: A Case Study of Mass Observation as a Source for Social History." Documents include "Pseudo-Personality in Prostitution" and "A British Sex Survey" (1949). Note additional materials are available in microform from this project, see below.
Nineteenth Century Masterfile
Indexes that cover British and American periodicals in the nineteenth century, including the Index to Periodical Literature, 1802-1906 (or "Poole's") by William F. Poole.
Nineteenth Century Short Title Catalog
Index that attempts to include citations to all works published in Britain, British colonies, and the US, all works in English, and all translations from English (1800-1819). Terms from the subject list include "marriage sexual relations" and "sexual relations ethical aspects."
Times Digital Archive (The Times, London)
The full text of The Times (London) from 1785-1985. Search and limit by date and article type. Use Lexis-Nexis for 1986-today. Limit the publication date to the 1960s and try: beatles OR beatlemania.
Government information
Government documents are located in the Government Information Microforms and Statistical Services (GIMSS; Wells Library, East Tower, 2nd floor). Please consult with a reference librarian at GIMSS for further assistance with government documents.
Guide: Contemporary British Official Publications
Guide: British Parliamentary Papers
The link above takes you take a guide of the library's holdings. Debates, journals, and sessional papers are available in a variety formats depending on the year. Want to search an index of citations for the British Parliamentary Papers? See C19: The Nineteenth Century Index above.
Green Box Page: United Kingdom
Before the internet, government information was stored at GIMSS in green boxes for each country. This is the virtual version of this resource. Note the section on Census/Population, which includes links to Victorian Census Project and Census 2001. At the Census 2001 site, the Office for National Statistics provides a brief UK census history.
Microform collections
Microform collections are usually located at GIMSS (Wells Library, East Tower, 2nd floor). Note there are print guides to all of the microform collections listed here in GIMSS.
Papers from the Mass-Observation Archive at the University of Sussex [GIMSS LB2372.3 .M3829]
To find the IUCAT record, type into the title bar: mass observation archive. You can also read more about this collection on the publisher's website, Adams Mathew Digital, by clicking on the different series. Click the "Description" and "Contents" links on the series pages for more detailed information. Part 10 is entitled "Leisure and Entertainment, 1937-1951."
Sex & Sexuality, 1640-1940: Literary, Medical and Sociological Perspectives [GIMSS HQ21 .S46 1998]
To find the IUCAT record, type into the title bar: sex & sexuality, 1640-1940. You can also read more about the contents of this collection on the publisher's website, Adams Mathew Digital, by clicking on the different parts in the series. Click the "Description" and "Contents" links on the series pages for more detailed information. Parts in this series include:
Part 1: Sources from the Bodleian Library, Oxford and the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, London
Part 2: Romantic friendships and lesbian relationships in literature and history
Part 3: Erotica, 1650-1900, from the Private Case Collection at the British Library, London
Part 4: Erotica, 1650-1900, from the Private Case Collection at the British Library, London
Part 5: Gay Literature from Anacreon to John Addington Symonds from the British Library, London
Women and Victorian Values, 1837-1910 [GIMSS HQ1593 .W5598 1996]
This microform collection features advice books, manuals, and journals for women during the period. To find the IUCAT record, type into the title bar: women and Victorian values. You can also read more about this collection on the publisher's website, Adams Mathew Digital.
Working Women in Victorian Britain, 1850-1910 [GIMSS HD6135 .M86 1993]
This microform collection features the manuscripts of a husband and wife during the period. Arthur J. Munby secretly wed his servant Hannah Culwick. To find the IUCAT record, type into the title bar: working women in Victorian Britain. You can also read more about this collection on the publisher's website, Adams Mathew Digital.
Secondary Sources:
Databases
Databases can be tricky to search because they often function differently than regular internet searches. For search techniques, please visits the Basic Database Searching Techniques page. Use general or more specific language to broaden or narrow your searches.
Articles are often available in full text if you click on the IUlink icon (look for the red and white icon). You will be able to link to the article in full text. Or, you can click the "request article delivery" link to receive an electronic copy of the article in typically 4-7 days.
After you have found citations, or if you simply want to browse the library's holdings, look up your title in IUCAT. Note that you can only search for journal titles, not article titles. Can't find what you want in IUCAT? By clicking on the Services tab above, check out the different services the library has to get you what you need.
British Humanities Index
An abstracting and indexing tool, the BHI includes some 320 UK humanities journals and weekly magazines published in English-speaking countries, as well as UK newspapers (1962 to present). Depending on the age of your topic, this index could double as a way to find primary source materials.
Gender Studies Database
Index with citations to articles, books, conference papers, pamphlets, dissertations and other publications about women and feminism, women's studies and men's studies (1972 to present).
GenderWatch
Full text database with a focus on how gender impacts a variety of subject areas (1970 to present).
Historical Abstracts
This is the premier world history index of articles, books, book reviews, conferences, etc. Try America: History & Life for the American and Canadian counterpart of this index.
MLA International Bibliography
Although MLA is the established literature index, it may provide pertinent information for those interested in literary subjects for this project. For example, some students have expressed an interest in Oscar Wilde.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
50,000 biographies of people who shaped the history of the British Isles and beyond, from the earliest times to the year 2000. References include useful citations to additional primary and/or secondary materials; the link will be in the left sidebar of the entry.
Victorian Studies Bibliography
Annually indexes over 400 journals, representing scholarship in a range of disciplines. The online bibliography covers journals from 1991-2003.
If you crave full text, check out JSTOR and Project Muse. Just keep in mind that your results are limited to the journals in those databases.
Website
1968: Researching the 1960's
This is a helpful guide for those of you interested in studying The Beatles, drug culture, and The Pill. The theme of the library for the past year was 1968, and each floor of the library celebrates an aspect of this dynamic year. The companion website provides resource guides for the decade. Although there is an American emphasis, many of the resources address larger global trends. Topics include popular culture, social movements (including a section for the Feminist Movement), music (including sections for The Beatles and Rock Music Great Britain), dissent in Europe, and drug culture.
Feel free to contact me, your visiting librarian for history Malia Willey: mewilley@indiana.edu, if you have any questions.
