Social history

Exploring Corporate Social Responsibility Through the Times Digital Archive

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│By Brendon Ndoro, Gale Ambassador at the University of Cape Town│

When does one acknowledge the impact of their decisions on society? How does one remedy their wrongdoings? When does one act in response to the threat their actions bring upon the welfare and sustainability of society and the environment?

These are a few questions Business Studies students may come across when delving into the world of business ethics. A great starting point to answering questions like these lies in understanding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). CSR is an ongoing practice in the world of business. It is a management concept focusing on the integration of social and environmental concerns into a business’s operations and relationships with various stakeholders.

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In the Footsteps of My Avô: Exploring Angola’s Fight for Independence Through Family History

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|Rosa Ferreira, Digital Product Trainer|

Armando Dias De Castro, my avô – my Portuguese grandfather – was a man full of life. He was warm, funny, always ready with a story or a joke. He was also the kindest man you’d ever meet. But when it comes to his time in Angola, I’ve got nothing. No stories, no memories. If he ever spoke about it, I must have been too small to notice, or the words just never stuck.

My uncle, however, recalls many conversations. That makes me believe my avô must have shared his experiences, at least in fragments, though they slipped past me.

It is this gap – between the grandfather I knew and the silence that lingers – that has drawn me into the archives.

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In Need of Some Good News: Daily Mail Historical Archive, 2017-2021

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│By Emma Harris, Associate Editor, Gale Primary Sources│

The period of 2017 to 2021 spanned both my university education and then being thrust into the adult world of work – a turbulent time for any, exacerbated by a period of news headlines dominated with political fallout, freak weather, and global pandemics. This period saw elections, both in the United Kingdom and the United States, and the likes of Brexit lead to political divides within countries, and not to mention the coronavirus pandemic that absorbed most of our lives considerably from 2020 into 2021.

However, this isn’t to say these years weren’t filled with positive change at all. In fact, there was rather a lot of good news. And when we’re still dealing with the inundation of negative news topics daily – inflation and wars being some of the topics to greet me on the news this morning – sometimes it’s helpful to be reminded of the good news that’s out there too.

So, using the most recent update to Gale’s Daily Mail Historical Archive, 1896-2021, allow me to put some joy back into your day with some of the positive news that came from the last decade.

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Global Development and Humanitarian Aid: The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, 1919-1997

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│By Clem Delany, Acquisitions Editor, Gale Primary Sources│

Note: Links to documents in this blog post will be provided on publication of the digital archive.

Like many people in the UK, my first experience of humanitarian appeals was through charity campaigns at school or through Blue Peter. The first one I strongly recall is sending care packages to Romania. Famine in Ethiopia and the need for wells in Africa also loom large in my memories of this era; if Matt Baker told me to give money I said how much (up to a limit of £2)?

Years later, studying history at University, I took a module on the Greek famine of 1941-1942. It was something I had known nothing about, illustrated with stark numbers of Axis requisitions, of the dead and the starving, and by accounts from survivors.

Primary sources for situations such as famines can be a real challenge for scholars; data is shaky, accounts are limited. Few people in a famine zone are there to count heads or write a dissertation; they are either struggling to survive the disaster or there to provide aid.

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Using Newspaper Articles to Uncover the History of Eating Disorders from the Nineteenth to the Twentieth Century

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│By Lebohang Seganoe, Gale Ambassador at the University of Johannesburg│

As a child, you absorb everything you are taught within the community you are raised in. Because your mind is still developing you rarely question how different someone’s reality might be from your own. I grew up in a society that had strong views on beauty standards. These include that a woman in her prime must have a full face and big curves, and she must look like she is eating well so that her potential spouse can see that she can bear as many children as possible. This post will explore different beauty standards and their impact on women’s bodies.

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Marie Stopes and Family Planning

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│By Alison Foster, Gale Technical Support Executive│

‘A magnificent monster,’ as described by Nature magazine in 1992, Marie Stopes (1880-1958) was markedly renown for successfully opening the first birth control clinic in the world, in London, in 1921. This, and subsequent clinics, gave free advice about reproductive health to married women without the sanction of the medical or health community.

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Representations of Girls in History of Disabilities: Disabilities in Society, Seventeenth to Twentieth Century

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│By Lucy McCormick, Gale Ambassador at the University of Birmingham│ Earlier this year, Gale launched History of Disabilities: Disabilities in Society, Seventeenth to Twentieth Century – a rich digital archive of monographs, manuscripts, and ephemera, sourced from the New York Academy of Medicine. This offers countless avenues for exciting historical research. To provide an example, … Read more

Studying Colonialism in Complementary Archives: Nineteenth Century Collections Online and Decolonization

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│By Louis Venter, Gale Ambassador at the University of the Free State│

If you ask any seasoned historian what makes historical research unique, they will emphasise the crucial role of primary sources, which define and distinguish history from other forms of academic writing. In an ever-digitising world, historians can now access digital scans of genuine archival material from anywhere, eliminating the need to travel to distant archives, and making research more efficient.

Bringing together primary sources from multiple archives can enhance one’s research, and Gale Primary Sources offers two key complementary digital archives that can be used in tandem to study colonialism – Nineteenth Century Collections Online: Europe and Africa, Colonialism and Culture and Decolonization: Politics and Independence in Former Colonial and Commonwealth Territories.

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Exploring Community and Identity in Sexuality and Gender History – Archives of Sexuality and Gender: Community and Identity in North America

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│By Phil Virta, Senior Acquisitions Editor│

Queer history is full of groups and individuals that took a stand against injustices, fought to change discriminatory laws, advocated for acceptance, and spoke out for those who might otherwise remain marginalized.  Studying this history can inspire and educate us as we face ongoing challenges in society such as homophobia, transphobia, attacks on women’s rights, and a willingness to eliminate any mention of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Archives of Sexuality and Gender: Community and Identity in North America (ASG VI) offers interesting perspectives on society, sexual identity, community building, and gender issues.  It presents a history of North American society with materials that cover activism, social justice issues, disabilities, women’s rights, alternative sexualities, sexuality and religion, and ethnic communities.  The collections detail how identities developed in different social conditions, and how communities grew around dedicated, sometimes courageous, individuals and organized groups.

In this venture Gale Primary Sources has partnered with the ArQuives, Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives; the GLBT Historical Society; the Elihu Burritt Library (Central Connecticut State University); and Colegio de México, which represents Canada, the United States, and Mexico.  This archive comprises 28 collections that provide a personal historical perspective, helping researchers get to know the individuals and groups involved. 

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Uncovering a History of Disabilities: Disabilities in Society, Seventeenth to Twentieth Century

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│By Philip Virta, Senior Acquisitions Editor |

Disability studies is a growing field in academia that examines disability as a social, cultural, and political phenomenon. Seeing how far we have come as a society in terms of equal rights for people with disabilities is heartening, yet how has disability been viewed both historically and contemporarily?

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