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Peek in the Stacks: special collections

Spotlight on Early African American Poetry and Fiction

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, African-American poetry and fiction began to develop in two distinctly different ways. As educational opportunities improved in selected areas of the United States, some black writers sought to emulate the traditional forms and themes of classical white authors. Still others began to...

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The Jan Dailey and John Money Correspondence Collection

The Jan Dailey and John Money Correspondence Collection documents the shifting understanding of sex and gender identity in psychology and psychiatry in the late 20th century. The collection contains letters and articles from 1974 to 1996 that focuses on topics such as gender identity...

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The Study of Bondage

Special Collections and Archives holds many books, periodicals, images, illustrations, and manuscript collections that are useful in the study of human sexuality. These resources span a broad array of topics, including both mainstream and what some might consider "alternative" sexual practices. One of the most interesting of these topics is...

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Political and Social Satire in Punch

Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine that specialized in humor and satire. Starting publication in 1841, the magazine took its title from the hunchbacked and hook-nosed Punch puppet of Punch and Judy, ubiquitous figures in the UK and other parts of Europe for many decades. The magazine featured numerous...

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The John Brown Letter

Special Collections and Archives holds a letter from abolitionist, John Brown, to his wife and children dated November 23, 1855. Brown is best known for attempting to to start a liberation movement among enslaved African Americans and for his unsuccessful seizure of the United States Armory located in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859, which is considered a precursor to...

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Thanksgiving Traditions

Thanksgiving is a holiday celebrated in the United States, in which family and friends gather together to have dinner and give thanks. Special Collections and Archives holds several items that relate to how people celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. While some people have family traditions that include...

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Mysterious Universe

The universe is filled with beauty and mystery. We don’t know for sure what is out there, but as curious humans, we have made attempts to know all we can about the parts of our universe. We’ve developed theories about the universe and how it works, we’ve mapped out the stars, we’ve ventured into outer space, we’ve creatively written fiction about the wonders of the universe, and...

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