Foodways are approached from a variety of disciplines, so below you will find a few representative databases based on your subject of interest. See our Research Guides for a more complete list by subject area.

Interdisciplinary/Multi-Subject Databases

Anthropology

English

History

Nutrition

Identifying relevant primary sources can be challenging, but the most important thing to consider is: What people, organizations, or media outlets would care about your topic? Who would be collecting, curating, and making available the kinds of materials of interest? From there, some strategic web searching is likely your best way forward.

Searching for primary sources online

Archives, special collections, museums, and other institutions are increasingly digitizing their materials and making them freely available online. The most commonly used phrases on sites such as these are 'digital collections', 'primary sources', and 'papers'. A simple search in something like DuckDuckGo or Google for keywords related to your topic and one of those phrases will often lead you to websites with digitized primary sources.

Identifying relevant repositories

Primary sources are not always easily discoverable by search engines, so you might have to think about what institution or organization would have stored and preserved the sources. Questions you might consider:

• Is there an institution or organization directly connected to the topic of interest?
  • For example, searching the internet for African American museum would lead you to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture, which has extensive digital collections. 
• Is there a national library or archives that might collect materials of interest?
  • For example, The Library of Congress is the national library for the United States, as is the British Library for the United Kingdom.
• Is there an institution or organization that has collection strengths relevant to your topic?
  • For example, Michigan State University and Bowling Green State University are well known for their comic book collections, whereas the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas Austin is renowned for its contemporary literature collection. 

Following leads from secondary sources

If you have already found secondary sources on your topic, it can be helpful to see what primary sources the author used in their own research. There are a few different places where you will find this information:

• The footnotes/endnotes throughout the text. Note: You might find abbreviations for sources in the middle of a text, so you will have to find the first reference to the source in an earlier footnote/endnote.
• The beginning of the bibliography. Note: In scholarly history books, there will often be a section on primary sources separate from the secondary sources. In some cases, you will find a brief essay or note on sources.
• The acknowledgements section. Note: Scholars often make note of the archivists, librarians, or institutions that assisted them in their research. This can be a great way of determining institutions that have collection strengths relevant to your topic.

About the Studio

The Studio is located on the 3rd floor of the UTC Library. Just look for the big glass box in the middle of the floor. The Studio more or less specializes in 3 things: stuff, space, and staff. Here's a short overview.

This guide will direct you toward resources that will help you turn your research into all kinds of creative projects.

Getting Help from the Studio

Don't worry if you're not feeling very creative or if you're overwhelmed by all the options for digital media projects. The Studio has six full time faculty and staff members who can help you with any project, from coming up with an idea to executing it. Here are ways that you can get in touch with us:

• Drop in to our Zoom room.
• Chat with us on the library website.
• Email us at libstudio@utc.edu.
• Call us at 423.425.2219.

Digital Media Projects

When it comes to digital media projects, the world is your oyster. The Studio can help you with all kinds of projects. Here are some guides and tools to help you get started.

General Information

Audio 

If you're thinking about creating a podcast or other audio project, these guides and tools will help you from planning to production. To make a podcast, you'll need a place to record, equipment to record with, and software to edit your recordings. 

Graphic Design

You can get really creative with graphic design and really explore the stories and histories behind food. You can use Canva to edit photos and create designs for both print and digital media, and best of all you don't need to be a graphic designer to use it.

Web Portfolios

Web portfolios are a great way to share your content with the world. Google Sites and WordPress both work really well for a web portfolios. You can use a Google Site or WordPress blog as a food blog or to share other types of digital content (like the designs you made using Canva).