Research

Research

Fascinating facts, reliable resources, and delightful databases

Fascinating facts, reliable resources, and delightful databases

, Jesse Whitton, Library Resources, Research
Interested in fascinating facts, reliable resources, and delightful databases? Then be sure to “like” the IU East Campus Library Facebook page for weekly highlights of databases found in our A-Z Index. Here are some recent highlights. History The Gilded Age was just that, Gilded. NOT Golden. From afar, all appeared golden with fancy balls, jewels and mansions, urban industrialization, and rising gross national products. But, under the surface were very real problems such as unsafe tenement housing, political corruption, environmental destruction, and non-regulation of basic goods. The Gilded Age and Progressive Era database contains collections from McKim, Mead & White architectural firm (designers of the Brooklyn Museum), political cartoon collections of Thomas Nast and Joseph Keppler, documents from Standard Oil, and more. On … Continued
Fact-checking in a time of crisis

Fact-checking in a time of crisis

, , Research
When major world events occur, facts can become harder to come by.  In a media climate where 53% of Americans get their news from social media, it is imperative that we as a society learn how to find good quality information when international conflicts can interrupt the flow of news coverage.  Here are some tips on how to stay informed. Double check images. Images are harder to check than text – they require extra effort to decipher their meaning and accuracy, and many people are more willing to believe fake news when there is a visual component.  Fake news sites will capitalize on fear and outrage by reusing images from older events or other locations that are unrelated to the … Continued
Black Archives and Special Collections

Black Archives and Special Collections

, , Jesse Whitton, Research
Celebrate Black History Month by remembering and reflecting on the many people and groups who participated in the fight for civil rights. These Black Archives and Special Collections offer a range of materials from primary source documents to newspaper archives and podcasts. The New York Public Radio Archives & Preservation celebrates Black History Month by assembling a collection of their leading preservation work, series, and sonic artifacts focusing on African American history. Listen to opera singer Marian Anderson, who in 1955 was the First African American to sing at the Metropolitan Opera House, addresses some of the prejudice and segregation she experienced. One instance that Anderson recounts is when she received the Key to the City from the Atlantic City’s … Continued
Misinformation and fake news in 2022

Misinformation and fake news in 2022

, , , Research
2022 has begun and fake news continues. To help reduce misinformation in one’s news diet, your IU East Campus Librarians have some tips. Skip the memes How do you know that meme is real?  Sure, it’s got a goofy picture on it and says things you agree with, but that doesn’t make it truthful.  Memes communicate lots of different kinds of information, not all of which is easily categorizable, according to Molloy College professor Jamie Cohen.  In a meme, context is everything, which isn’t always communicable or understandable to a broad audience.  Memes may also serve as a form of folklore, in that they are transmitted person-to-person.  Memes and folklore, including folk stories, share a lot in common, particularly in … Continued
Early American protest music

Early American protest music

, , Research
What’s a protest song? According to musicologist David King Dunaway, a protest song functions more as a mode for a message, rather than a distinct art form itself.  “It is not popular music… it is not per se folk music…the field of political music includes everything from an electoral song of the 1730s to a punk-rock protest of the 1980s,” he observed in 1987. That means there are a lot of different songs that qualify as protest songs, and we’ll take a brief look at some of the very earliest American protest songs ever written. Yankee Doodle Written around 1755 by a British doctor, Richard Schuckburgh, “Yankee Doodle” has a rather interesting and perhaps unintentionally hilarious history. Although an author … Continued