Subject Guides: History: HIST 209

HIST 209 Early Modern European History

This course guide will help you locate secondary sources for your Early Modern Europe (1450-1750) history research paper.

The library has launched a new website and an updated system for discovering library materials. This Library Search guide provides videos and step-by-step instructions on how to use Library Search for your work.

Try phrase searching or combine keywords with AND (to narrow your search results, OR (to expand your search results). Some of these terms may also work as subject searches.

Europe or name of country - intellectual life - civilization - social life and customs - social conditions - economic conditions - century

Example: england AND "social life and customs" AND 16th century

Nobility - aristocracy - country
Religion - politics -history - century - country
Church history - century

Example: religion AND politics AND history AND england AND 16th century

Renaissance 1450-1600
Renaissance - country
Science Renaissance
Science - name of country- history - century

Example: science AND "dutch republic" AND history

Art, Renaissance
Women history Renaissance 1450-1600
Sex role Europe history
Thirty years war 1618-1648
Catholic reformation - counter-reformation - name of country
Calvinism - name of country
Protestant reformation - name of country

Example: catholic reformation AND italy

Identifying Academic Sources

Not all materials in the MacEwan library are suitable for research papers. Academic sources, also known as scholarly, peer-reviewed, or refereed sources, are written by experts to share the latest research, findings, and news in a field. These are the most reliable resources for your research. Using academic sources enhances the credibility and quality of your paper.

Characteristics of Academic Sources

Author: check if credentials are provided and relevant
Publishers: often published by universities or professional organizations
Audience: targeted at those with knowledge in a specific discipline
Content: sources are cited, claims documented, and conclusions based on evidence.

Keep in mind that books featuring numerous glossy images, authored by academics, and published by universities or professional organizations are typically aimed at a general audience and may not be appropriate for your research papers.

Companions to History

Cambridge, Blackwell, and Routledge publish collections of books featuring essays or articles written by scholars. These works provide comprehensive surveys and evaluations of significant topics and historical periods.

Here is a selection of books on Early Modern European History:

Cambridge Histories Online This link opens in a new window
Contains the collection of Cambridge University Press histories, comprised of volumes published since 1960, in subjects such as political and cultural history, literature, philosophy, religious studies, music, and the arts.
Coverage and Currency: 1960 to present
Access: Access limited to Grant MacEwan University IP addresses. Remote login with a MacEwan network user ID and password.
Conditions of Use: Use of this database is restricted to members of the MacEwan University community and to users physically present in the Library. It is the responsibility of each user to ensure that they use this database for individual, non-commercial, educational or research purposes only, and do not systematically download or retain substantial portions of information.
Cambridge Companions Online This link opens in a new window
Contains downloadable essays taken from Cambridge Companions to Literature and Classics, Philosophy, Religion, and Culture. Covers topics and figures as diverse as gothic fiction and Arabic philosophy, W.B. Yeats and Martin Luther. Also introduces major writers, artists, philosophers, topics, and periods, with the intent of appealing to student readers. Provides systematic critical accounts, supporting each title with reference features such as a chronology and a guide to further reading.
Coverage and Currency: 1990 to present
Access: Access limited to Grant MacEwan University IP addresses. Remote login with a MacEwan network user ID and password.
Conditions of Use: Use of this database is restricted to members of the MacEwan University community and to users physically present in the Library. It is the responsibility of each user to ensure that they use this database for individual, non-commercial, educational or research purposes only, and do not systematically download or retain substantial portions of information.

A selection of titles from the Cambridge Collections:

eBook Collections

ACLS Humanities E-Book This link opens in a new window
Comprised of a digital collection of humanities ebooks offered by the ACLS (American Council of Learned Societies), in collaboration with publishers and librarians at the University of Michigan’s Scholarly Publishing Office. The titles have been recommended and reviewed by scholars.
Coverage and Currency: 1857 to present
Access: Access limited to Grant MacEwan University IP addresses. Remote login with a MacEwan network user ID and password.
Conditions of Use: Use of this database is restricted to members of the MacEwan University community and to users physically present in the Library. It is the responsibility of each user to ensure that they use this database for individual, non-commercial, educational or research purposes only, and do not systematically download or retain substantial portions of information.
EBSCO eBook Collection This link opens in a new window
Provides access to ebooks on a variety of topics, including the arts, business, education, health, history, literature, language, philosophy, social science, science, and technology.
Access: Access limited to Grant MacEwan University IP addresses. Remote login with a MacEwan network user ID and password.
Conditions of Use: Use of this database is restricted to members of the MacEwan University community and to users physically present in the Library. It is the responsibility of each user to ensure that they use this database for individual, non-commercial, educational or research purposes only, and do not systematically download or retain substantial portions of information.
Note: The ebooks contained herein are subscription only and therefore unstable and not suitable for course adoption.
Ebook Central This link opens in a new window
Provides access to multiple collections of ebooks on a variety of topics, including the arts, business, education, health, history, literature, language, philosophy, social science, science, and technology.
Access: Access limited to Grant MacEwan University IP addresses. Remote login with a MacEwan network user ID and password.
Conditions of Use: Use of this database is restricted to members of the MacEwan University community and to users physically present in the Library. It is the responsibility of each user to ensure that they use this database for individual, non-commercial, educational or research purposes only, and do not systematically download or retain substantial portions of information.

Journal Articles

For obtaining the most current information on a subject, journal articles are the optimal resource. Below is a list of databases that are particularly useful for researching history. Please note that each database offers unique results, so it is advisable to explore all of them comprehensively.

JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Contains academic journals, books, and primary sources in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences.
Access: Access limited to Grant MacEwan University IP addresses. Remote login with a MacEwan network user ID and password.
Conditions of Use: Use of this database is restricted to members of the MacEwan University community and to users physically present in the Library. It is the responsibility of each user to ensure that they use this database for individual, non-commercial, educational or research purposes only, and do not systematically download or retain substantial portions of information.
Historical Abstracts with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Contains information on world history (excluding Canada and the United States) from 1450 to the present, including military history, women's history, history of education, and more. Also includes content in the related disciplines of archaeology, anthropology, and sociology.
Coverage and Currency: 1953 to present
Access: Access limited to Grant MacEwan University IP addresses. Remote login with a MacEwan network user ID and password.
Conditions of Use: Use of this database is restricted to members of the MacEwan University community and to users physically present in the Library. It is the responsibility of each user to ensure that they use this database for individual, non-commercial, educational or research purposes only, and do not systematically download or retain substantial portions of information.
Project MUSE This link opens in a new window
Contains scholarly journals in the humanities and social sciences. Provides full text articles, reviews (books, performance, art, music, etc.), fiction and poetry, and enlargeable illustrations and photographs.
Access: Access limited to Grant MacEwan University IP addresses. Remote login with a MacEwan network user ID and password.
Conditions of Use: Use of this database is restricted to members of the MacEwan University community and to users physically present in the Library. It is the responsibility of each user to ensure that they use this database for individual, non-commercial, educational or research purposes only, and do not systematically download or retain substantial portions of information.
ATLA Religion Database This link opens in a new window
Created by the American Theological Library Association, ALTA contains citations to articles, essays, and book reviews covering all fields of religion.
Coverage and Currency: Indexing 1949 to present
Access: Access limited to Grant MacEwan University IP addresses. Remote login with a MacEwan network user ID and password.
Conditions of Use: Use of this database is restricted to members of the MacEwan University community and to users physically present in the Library. It is the responsibility of each user to ensure that they use this database for individual, non-commercial, educational or research purposes only, and do not systematically download or retain substantial portions of information.
Religion & Philosophy Collection This link opens in a new window
Contains journals and books on topics such as world religions, major denominations, biblical studies, religious history, epistemology, political philosophy, philosophy of language, moral philosophy, and the history of philosophy.
Coverage and Currency: 1911 to present
Access: Access limited to Grant MacEwan University IP addresses. Remote login with a MacEwan network user ID and password.
Conditions of Use: Use of this database is restricted to members of the MacEwan University community and to users physically present in the Library. It is the responsibility of each user to ensure that they use this database for individual, non-commercial, educational or research purposes only, and do not systematically download or retain substantial portions of information.

Selected Titles

Singlewomen in the European Past, 1250-1800 by Judith M. Bennett and Amy M Froide
Includes essays covering topics like the relationships, economic challenges, and employment opportunities of single women, as well as how they were often confused with prostitutes or faced issues like female slavery.
A Tale of Two Granadas by Max Deardorff
Explores how political ideas about citizenship transformed across the Atlantic, eventually allowing some mestizos and indios ladinos (acculturated natives) to gain urban citizenship in Santafé de Bogotá and Tunja. The book also compares this struggle to how descendants of Spain's last Muslims used these evolving ideas of citizenship to avoid discrimination.
Locating Privacy in Tudor London by Lena Cowen Orlin
explores new questions about where private life took place in early modern England, where evidence of it has been preserved, and how its history has evolved. The case study of Alice Barnham (1523-1604), a previously unknown merchant-class woman, illustrates many of these changes in social structure, religion, literacy, and privacy.
Meanings of Manhood in Early Modern England by Alexandra Shepard
Explores the diverse and varied meanings of manhood in early modern England, and their complex and often contested relationship with patriarchal principles, in order to add a new dimension to our understanding of gender relations.
Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll in the Dutch Golden Age by Benjamin B. Roberts
Focuses on the generation of wealthy young men who grew up in the Dutch Republic during the seventeenth century. This account of male adolescence in the Dutch Golden Age highlights how young men, including Rembrandt van Rijn, rebelled against conservative values, creating a new youth culture similar to that of the 1960s.
The Cultural Uses of Print in Early Modern France by Roger Chartier; Lydia G. Cochrane (Translator)
Explores the impact of printing on all social classes during the ancien régime and reveals the surprising ways texts and images were used by audiences with varying literacy levels. Chartier shows that those trying to regulate behavior and thought, on behalf of the church or state, were fully aware of the widespread influence of printed materials.

History

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