Special Collections & Archives Banner

You are here

Peek in the Stacks: publications

S.F.V.S.C., November 4, 1968

Unrest on campus in the mid-1960s and early 1970s left a lasting impression on San Fernando Valley State College (now CSUN). Special Collections is home to several books and archival collections that discuss this discord, including two books representing different sides of what is known on campus as...

Read more Peek in the Stacks blog entries

Fighting Antisemitism

Antisemitism is a form of discrimination directed at Jewish people or Judaism in general. While most scholars agree antisemitism has generally been less prevalent in the United States than in Europe, there are numerous documented incidents of antisemitic behavior and sentiments in America dating to the Colonial era. While the popularity....

Read more Peek in the Stacks blog entries

The Violet Atkins Klein Papers

In 1999, the Violet Atkins Klein Papers were donated to Special Collections and Archives by Klein's daughter, Jill Block. Professionally known as Violet Atkins or Vi to her friends, the collection documents Klein's professional writings, including novels, short fiction, and scripts for radio and television. It demonstrates the many phases....

Read more Peek in the Stacks blog entries

Tolerance and Community: Virginia Prince and Transvestia Magazine

Vern Bullough, in the manuscript draft for his book Before Stonewall: Activists for Gay and Lesbian Rights in Historical Context, called Virginia Prince "the founder of the transgender movement." Prince was not the only activist for the movement, but she was an important early activist working to change misleading public perceptions through outreach ...

Read more Peek in the Stacks blog entries

The Carl S. Dentzel Collection

The Carl S. Dentzel Collection documents the work and influence of Dentzel throughout his lifetime as a journalist and a community activist, including the renaming of the city of Northridge, coverage of the conflicts abroad between the U.S., Central America, South America, and Europe, and his work with organizations such as the Cultural Heritage Board of the City of Los Angeles, Museum Alliance of the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural...

Read more Peek in the Stacks blog entries

"The Naturall Language of the Hand"

American Sign Language, the predominant sign language used by deaf communities in the United States and much of Canada, began in the 19th century. Prior to its creation, local sign languages were developed and used in the US and around the world. Our knowledge of these early sign languages is contained within contemporary written works that primarily described what are called "manual alphabets," or fingerspelling systems....

Read more Peek in the Stacks blog entries

The Susan B. Nelson Collection

The Susan B. Nelson Collection documents Susan Nelson's professional and personal life, most notably the fundamental role she played in the creation of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The collection details the work of the Friends of the Santa Monica Mountains' Parks and Seashore and the Santa Monica Mountains and Seashore Foundation, which Nelson worked with to realize the dream of an urban park for residents of the greater Los Angeles area...

Read more Peek in the Stacks blog entries

Bach, Segovia, and the Rise of Classical Guitar on the Concert Stage

Johann Sebastian Bach wrote hundreds of works in his lifetime that were forgotten for more than a century after his death. It wasn't until Felix Mendelssohn, well-known composer and pianist of the 19th century, stumbled upon Bach's music by chance and brought it back to the public to enjoy once again, that interest in Bach’s music was reignited. Bach’s music was cherished once again, and many composers ...

Read more Peek in the Stacks blog entries

Four Walls, a Roof, and Neighbors in Close Proximity: Shared Living Spaces in Early 20th Century Los Angeles

Los Angeles’ population rapidly grew in the early 20th century, partially due to the efforts of boosters and the nascent film industry. The Official Los Angeles Key from December 1913 described the city as a space where "opportunity clasps hands with ambition, while enterprise and success are the twin virtues that lure the man of moderate means, as well as the capitalist..."

Read more Peek in the Stacks blog entries

The Oldest Profession

The scholarly study of prostitution began to flourish in the mid-1980s sparked by public health concerns over sexually transmitted diseases, the need for legislative protections against sexualized violence and sex trafficking, and a growing awareness of relationships between sex work, substance abuse, and mental health. The regulation of prostitution in the United States is not ...

Read more Peek in the Stacks blog entries