Milner Library has added a handful of exciting new digital primary source collections from Gale’s Archives Unbound. To better cover the increasingly diverse and globalized research interests of Department of History faculty and students, Milner has purchased access to a variety of primary sources collected from East Asia, Africa, and documents relating to Native American history. Faculty, teaching from a world history perspective, expect their students to utilize primary works that match those global interests. Without strong primary source collections, students cannot fully appreciate the process of writing and working in the field of history. These collections work toward meeting these diverse needs.  

Acquired collections include:  

• Evangelism in Japan: Correspondence of the Board of Foreign Mission 

• Evangelicalism in China: Correspondence of the Board of Foreign Mission

• European Colonialism in the Early 20th Century: French Colonialism in Africa: From Algeria to Madagascar 

• American Indian Movement and Native American Radicalism 

Two of these collections are very familiar to a new Redbird faculty member. Assistant Professor of History Dan Knorr, who started at Illinois State this fall, has used the documents collected in Evangelicalism in China and Evangelicalism in Japan in his own student career. Knorr is excited to use sources he once used as a student in the courses he is now teaching as a professor. “I first encountered the letters of missionaries from the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions as an undergraduate, and they were crucial to building my research experience,” Dr. Knorr said. “They form a core source base for an article I published on a property dispute in China during the 1880s and the basis of a working paper on missionaries’ experiences of the Boxer Uprising. So, it’s a special joy to be able to share this incredibly rich and diverse set of sources with students. The digital format of these letters makes it feasible to use them as a tool for training students in conducting research on a large archive of materials.”  

One of these collections, Evangelicalism in China, will be used as the backbone of one of Knorr’s upcoming courses. “I plan to make the collection the centerpiece of the section of HIS 200 this spring, which will introduce students to archival research skills and the diverse potential uses of sources like these, which can be studied in terms of religious, colonial, diplomatic, and transnational history,” Knorr said. “This collection will also be a boon to advanced undergraduate and graduate students completing research papers on topics related to East Asian history.” 

Not only are these collections resources for a variety of history courses, but they also support countless other research areas around campus. Primary sources can be excellent and extremely valuable tools for those in philosophy, religious studies, politics, Native American studies, and East Asian or European studies.

Users who encounter any issues accessing these resources should email liberesourceshelp@IllinoisState.edu for assistance. A diverse array of electronic resources support all areas of the University’s curriculum and can be discovered via the library’s catalog or in consultation with subject librarians. Faculty are encouraged to provide students with persistent links to digital content rather than sharing files—which may be in violation of copyright and may not be accessible to all users. For assistance creating persistent links, please reach out to liberesourceshelp@IllinoisState.edu. If Milner does not have the materials you need for your research or teaching, please submit the purchase request form or reach out to Associate Dean for Information Assets Rachel Scott.