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HIS 194S: Special Topics in Ancient Egyptian History

Who Owns the Past?: Object Lives in the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean

Paper 2 assignment and guide info

Assignment prompt: A research study of the history of the object once it leaves its original ancient context, covering ancient/Medieval/etc. period re-use, as well as pre-modern movement and re-purposing of the object.  Changes in function, meaning, and location/display of the object should be addressed in depth.

How to use this page: The links on this page are UCSC-provided (meaning if you are off campus, you need to use your CruzID and Gold password or the VPN). Some of the links are digitized collections hosted by other organizations and available to uses free, online. These sources were selected by professor Sullivan as the most relevant sources for completing this assignment.

Exercise for good search words

Tips for searching in newspaper databases:

  • Start with basics such as the name of the object or museum and build up from there
  • Newspapers are targeted at a general audience, language use can be more basic
  • Language usage changes across time periods
  • Be flexible with your word usage, you will need to switch up your the words you use to search

The short video below demonstrates a useful approach to thinking up new keywords:

Travelers

Newspaper sources

Newspaper databases through UCSC Library

Login Instructions: The 4 databases below are provided by UCSC Library. The following are ways to ensure you are able to use these:  

  • When on campus, use Eduroam wifi
  • Use Library Databases (linked on this guide or from the library website) because this will prompt you to enter your CRUZ ID and Gold Password
  • When using UC Library Search remember to Sign In
  • Finally, when off campus, use the campus VPN (Short video on How to install the VPN)

Search Tips: The newspaper databases look differently, but mostly work the same. Look for an Advanced search option or add additional search boxes. Enter one word per line/box. Use truncation * to shorten a word. Sample Search: My test search was Museums Mummies and Egypt. To use truncation (to captured different forms of that word), try Museum* and Mumm* and Egypt*. Test run this example in each database, once you get the hang of it, apply this to your own search terms.

Newspaper sources through websites (These links do not require login)