Research Guides: WRTR 2304: American Identity: Overview

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Opportunity Insights
Based at Harvard, their mission is to identify barriers to economic opportunity and develop scalable solutions that will empower people throughout the United States to rise out of poverty and achieve better life outcomes.
Opportunity Atlas
Which neighborhoods in America offer the best opportunity for children to rise out of poverty? What's different about those?

American Decades
Helpful in situating your course texts historically and socially. Once you're connected, choose the volume that corresponds with your time period.
American Dream
Tracing the history of "American Dream" in popular culture, the author gives readers a field guide to the evolution of our national identity over the last eighty years. Samuel tells the story chronologically, revealing that there have been six major eras of the mythology since the phrase was coined in 1931.
Democratic Transformations: Eight Conflicts in the Negotiation of American Identity
Invites readers to encounter the fertile contradictions pulsating at the core of American identity.
Chapters: 1.The pursuit of happiness 2.The tyranny of the majority 3.Four score and seven years ago 4.Forty acres and a mule 5.The moral equivalent of war 6.The business of America is business 7.The military-industrial complex 8.The personal is political
Myths That Made America
Examines the core foundational myths which the nation is based upon and which still determine discussions of US-American identities today.

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
A scholarly, multidisciplinary database
America: History & Life (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Any topic regarding U.S. or Canadian history
SocINDEX with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Sociology, including all sub-disciplines & related areas of study
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Psychological publications
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Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new window
Informed, differing views on social issues
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
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From developing a solid thesis, to finding the right information, to evaluating and putting it all together, librarians can help.

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RefWorks
RefWorks is an easy tool that helps you gather citations from library databases and then creates in-text citations and works cited directly in your paper. The Google Docs add on is the easiest to use. This guide links you to RefWorks and teaches you how to use it.