- The Medieval Sourcebook
- This is one of the best sites on the web. It has a rich treasury of well-known and not so well-known medieval documents representing many European countries. Possible General Topics: Specific persons (such as Dante, Heloise, or Pope Gregory VII), role of women, early church leaders (views on a particular doctrine--celibacy perhaps?), Islam, national mythology (Song of Roland, Beowulf, Njal's Saga)
- The Kennedy Assassination Home Page
- There are lots of good sites out there with information on the Kennedy Assassination, but this one is our favorite because of the breadth of their collection and the finding aids they feature. You can actually download the home video which was constantly replayed on television stations accross the country that fateful day. (The entire video, not just the clip deemed appropriate for T.V. audiences.) They also offer access to the entire Warren Commission Reports, and a text search function. Again, you'd have to narrow your field of focus to some smaller element of the assassination, but the materials are here for a fine paper.
- Chinese Texts
- There are other asian texts sites out there, some with more bells and whistles, but we like this straightforward list of many, many Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist texts compiled by a college professor for his students. At the end of his link list, you'll also find some handy guides to writing papers, and a discussion list which may give you some ideas and help you explore the world of Asian literature and religious texts. (Possible Topics: Compare several works; analyze attitudes toward government, education, women or war; compare Confucian ideas of government with western political theorists or philosophers such as Locke or Montesquieu)
- The Valley of the Shadow
- We like this collection because it offers a broad range of sources (newspapers, journals, receipts, government records, personal letters) for a very specific area and time period -- two counties during the American Civil War. This kind of collection makes for fascinating comparison studies, and offers the researcher a great depth and variety of sources. (Possible Topics: personal recollections of the civil war; attitudes toward slavery; comparison studies based on demographic data; comparison or analysis of newspaper coverage of an event or events;)
- The WebMuseum
- If you have not had the privelege of visiting this site while surfing, please, please indulge yourself. This is a visually stunning, beautifully crafted and presented collection of great works of art. There is a wealth of historical and biographical information posted here along with large, superb quality scans of famous art. If art is your passion, consider doing a paper on a certain period or artist. (Possible Topics: Nationalism emerging in Eighteenth Century art; westerners as depicted in Japanese art; Cezanne; Gothic art)
- Project Vote Smart
- Not strictly a historical site, but if you did some supplementing with other sources we think you could craft a really interesting paper with the data this source provides. They tabulate and offer statistical counts of votes taken on every issue in the U.S. Government. They also provide a history of current officials' voting records and other information which could be the foundation for a comparison paper, an analysis of party politics on a specific bill or issue, or a even a demographic study of the age, sex, and party of current elected officials. Number crunchers, you'd love this place!
- American Memory
- Another of our all-time favorite resources. The United States governments has a truly phenomenal set of historical (PRIMARY!) sources which are made available here at American Memory. It is well organized, searchable, and divided into collections for ease of use. Whether you want to study the Civil War Photographs of Matthew Brady or the California Gold Rush, these collections will fascinate.
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