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HIST 399: Mountains, Masculinity & Empire (Rupakheti): Primary Sources

Fall 2025

Successful Searching

Who(se Voices)?

Similarly to academic articles, there are some very general tools that you can use to search primary sources broadly. However, it is usually more productive to work out in advance....

Who do you want to hear from...

This could be a perspective, a category of people, a specific group/organization, a geographic area or country, etc.

...And where are they? 

Next, figure out where your voices "live" in the historical record. For example: 

  • Perspectives from organizations will likely be found in either organization- or profession-specific newspapers/bulletins, proceedings of meetings/conferences, or collections of a particular organization's papers;
  • The perspectives of an individual could live in the sources above; in interviews with news media; correspondence; or in a personal memoir, among others. 
  • Politicians' perspectives could show up in places such as public addresses; government and diplomatic documents, or in mainstream newspapers. 
  • Religious perspectives are likely to live either in religious-specific publications, in pamphlets put out by a church or related organizations, or in personal memoirs. 
  • etc. 

Remember: not all perspectives are represented equally in the historical record! 

Where Are They?

Now, you need to determine where we have access to that part of the historical record. 

Most primary source collections are categorized by some combination of...

  • Date
  • Geography
  • Genre, and/or
  • Topic

For example, if you are hoping to find news reports on the Anglo-Nepali War, not just any database will do! You need a resource that: 

  1. Provides access to newspapers (ideally, a range of large/establishment and more-local publications); 
  2. Includes resources published in geographic proximity (ideally in Nepal or a neighboring region, although the UK is also an option);
  3. Covers the 19th century and specifically 1815-1816. 

This page of the guide is designed to give you some starting points -- but you can also ask Jennifer or Prof. Rupakheti for a recommendation! 

Searching

  • Keep your searches simple, and be creative with your search terms. How did people in the period you are researching speak and write?  What words would they have used to describe events or ideas? Are there specific names or organizations that you can focus in on? 
     
  • Work with, not against, your search tools. Databases designed for primary sources often will let you narrow your search by features like publication date, geographic location, or type of source. 
     
  • Pay attention to the order of search results.  If your search is very broad or you get a lot of results, sorting by relevance can help you find starting places. But when looking at newspapers or other sources that might build on each other and create a story over time, you may want to sort Oldest to Newest instead! 
     
  • Don't just search -- browse! Keyword searching for primary sources can be imprecise, especially if you don't know exactly what you're looking for. Give yourself time to click in and out of sources you're unsure of, browse through the pages, and look at the context of sources like newspaper articles (what other stories appeared on the same day? what advertisements?) for maximum information. 
     
  • Pace yourself. Primary sources can take longer to find than academic articles. You may also need more time to decipher, digest, and interpret the content of your primary sources. Leave yourself plenty of time to do this work, and ask questions or for assistance earlier rather than later! 

Analyze:

Collections of Primary Sources

Mountaineering Organizations:

These are not the only periodicals out there! A good place to find these and other journals is:

Newspapers & Other Periodicals

For even more options, visit: https://libguides.holycross.edu/newspapers

Documents & Ephemera:

Books:

Print Resources in Dinand: 

Although we often think of primary sources as being located online, some primary sources can also be found in the library. This includes books published during the relevant time period as well as memoirs, collections of essays, and others. 

When searching in the Library Catalog, used the Year of Publication option on the right navigation bar to choose a date range. When using CrossSearch, you can check Catalog Only (under All Filters on the top navigation bar) to focus on books/ebooks, then to only search for items in the library catalog, then use the Published Date option to specify a date range. Remember, though, that publication date isn't a perfect metric -- a memoir originally printed in 1858 but reprinted in 2006, will be listed with a 2006 publication date. 

Think carefully about keywords -- a book written in the 18th century may use very different vocabulary for historical events, people or even countries, than one published today. 

Keyword tips for finding travel literature in Dinand: 

  • Try the name of a specific region (including names they might have been known by in the past). 
     
  • Things of words related to the kind of source you're seeking. For example, terms such as voyage, travel, journey are examples of words that appear often in titles of travel accounts.
     
  • All books in the catalog are labeled with a kind of tag, called subject headings, that tells you what the book is about and brings together all the books on similar topics.  ​You can use these tags by clicking on them or by using them as keyword inspiration. 

Himalayan Database:

The Himalayan database  documents all expeditions in the Nepal Himalaya between 1905 and Winter 2024, covering expeditions to Everest, Cho Oyu, Makalu, Kangchenjunga, and others. For each expedition, the database includes information on the dates of the expedition, the routes and camps used, successes and accidents/deaths, and information about the people who participated. Each record also includes citations to journal articles, books, expedition reports and other sources that you may wish to consult. The database is updated biannually. 

Unlike other online archives, this database has to be downloaded to a computer before you can use it. The following blog post has some good information about how to install the database, and what kinds of information you can glean from it: 

Images, Artifacts & Media

Misc. Web Archives: