Increasing polarization around social and political issues challenge on-campus efforts to champion diversity and inclusion, teach critical thinking skills, and foster open dialogue. To help faculty address these challenging issues, Gale has created a suite of highly acclaimed primary source archives to provide historical context for the critical conversations that have captured the world’s attention. With expert academic advisors guiding content curation, these primary source collections offer never-before-digitized accounts from minority, oppressed, and extremist groups and give researchers, faculty, and thought leaders the tools necessary to tackle these topics with greater understanding.

Learn more about which Gale collections work best together to meet your goals by speaking with your Gale representative. 

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Primary Source Archives

Below is an overview of Gale's suite of primary source archives supporting research and instruction on critical conversations. Browse each collection to discover more information:

 

 

Political Extremism & Radicalism in the Twentieth Century: Far-Right and Left Political Groups in the U.S., Europe, and Australia (Scheduled for release in June 2018) - The first digital archive documenting both the far-right and -left political groups in the twentieth century this collection of never-before-digitized primary sources empowers fresh analysis of the development, actions and ideologies of extremist and radical organizations since the 1940s. Selected with guidance from an advisory board of expert faculty, the collections within Political Extremism & Radicalism in the Twentieth Century have been meticulously indexed and made accessible through the Gale Primary Sources platform, which uses powerful technology like data visualizations and cross-archival searching to create a research experience that improves discovery, analysis, and workflow.

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Archives of Sexuality and Gender: LGBTQ History and Culture Since 1940 (2-part series) -This vast resource of rare and unique documentation of LGBTQ history that includes fully-searchable newsletters, government documents, manuscripts, pamphlets, and other types of primary sources. Selection of materials is guided by an advisory board consisting of leading scholars and librarians in sexuality and gender studies. ". . . If you only have purchase power for one LGBTQ product this year, this should be the product you buy." - The Charleston Advisor, January 2017

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The Making of Modern Law: American Civil Liberties Union Papers, Part I - Drawing from the records of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), it focuses on civil rights, race, gender, and issues relating to the U.S. Supreme Court— topics intensely relevant to today’s curriculum and debates at both national and local levels. “…an extraordinary resource for exploring primary source documents of an American institution that has shaped American law in more ways than most Americans realize. Reading through these papers is like opening a time capsule. Recommended for academic libraries and law libraries” - American Reference Books Annual

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The Making of Modern Law: American Civil Liberties Union Papers, Part II: Southern Regional Office - Documents the ACLU’s legal battle to enforce the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in thirteen Southern states. This collection is an indispensable resource for understanding the complete history of the civil rights movement. It is comprised of never-before-digitized materials, this unique collection of case files, correspondence, newspaper clippings, manuscripts, and more. – “Best Database of 2017” by Library Journal

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Women's Studies Archive: Women's Issues and Identities - Traces the path of women’s issues from past to present—pulling primary sources from manuscripts, newspapers, periodicals, and more. It captures the foundation of women’s movements, struggles and triumphs, and provides researchers with valuable insights. - “This online archive provides content that is unique, rich, and highly relevant to historical research as well as to current conversations about politics, social issues, and women’s health…Highly recommended. Undergraduates through professionals/practitioners.” – Choice

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Slavery & Anti-Slavery: A Transnational Archive (4-part series) - The most ambitious project of its kind, the content is carefully reviewed by a renowned board of scholars and thematically arranged.  It covers a wide spectrum of interests related to the history of slavery: legal issues, the Caribbean, children and women under slavery, modes of resistance, and much more. "This project is unequivocally the most important undertaking related to the study of slavery. Essential. Upper-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers.” – Choice

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Indigenous Peoples: North America - This collection comprehensively covers the history of North American indigenous peoples and supporting organizations, enabling intelligent inquiry into the culture and heritage of more than seventy tribes within the United States and Canada. - "Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.” – Choice

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Nineteenth Century Collections Online: Women: Transnational Networks - Covers issues of gender and class, igniting nineteenth-century debate in the context of suffrage movements, culture, immigration, health, and many other concerns. Using a wide array of primary source documents, including serials, books, manuscripts, diaries, reports, and visuals, this collection focuses on issues at the intersection of gender and class from the late eighteenth century to the era of suffrage in the early twentieth century, all through a transnational perspective.

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