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Given the open-ended nature of this project, you will need to start by considering the approach you want to take.
In any case, you will likely need to do some background research (or pre-searching) to identify relevant source material. Questions you might consider:
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.
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.
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.
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:
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 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.
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:
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.
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.
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 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).