Independent Voices is an open access digital collection of alternative press newspapers, magazines and journals, drawn from the special collections of participating libraries. These periodicals were produced by feminists, dissident GIs, campus radicals, Native Americans, anti-war activists, Black Power advocates, Hispanics, LGBT activists, the extreme right-wing press and alternative literary magazines during the latter half of the 20th century.
The Archives of Sexuality and Gender from Gale Primary Sources is available to members of the University of Cambridge (on campus, and off campus via Raven) as well as members of the University Library (on campus only).
The Archives of Sexuality and Gender program provides a robust and significant collection of primary sources for the historical study of sex, sexuality, and gender. With material dating back to the sixteenth century, researchers and scholars can examine how sexual norms have changed over time, health and hygiene, the development of sex education, the rise of sexology, changing gender roles, social movements and activism, erotica, and many other interesting topical areas. This growing archival program offers rich research opportunities across a wide span of human history.
With material drawn from hundreds of institutions and organizations, including both major international activist organizations and local, grassroots groups, the documents in the Archives of Sexuality and Gender: LGBTQ History and Culture since 1940, Part I present important aspects of LGBTQ life in the second half of the twentieth century and beyond. The archive illuminates the experiences not just of the LGBTQ community as a whole, but of individuals of different races, ethnicities, ages, religions, political orientations, and geographical locations that constitute this community. Historical records of political and social organizations founded by LGBTQ individuals are featured, as well as publications by and for lesbians and gays, and extensive coverage of governmental responses to the AIDS crisis. The archive also contains personal correspondence and interviews with numerous LGBTQ individuals, among others. The archive includes gay and lesbian newspapers from more than 35 countries, reports, policy statements, and other documents related to gay rights and health, including the worldwide impact of AIDS, materials tracing LGBTQ activism in Britain from 1950 through 1980, and more.
The Archives of Sexuality and Gender: LGBTQ History and Culture Since 1940, Part II provides coverage of the development, culture, and society of LGBTQ groups in the latter half of the twentieth century. It provides new perspectives on a diverse community and the wealth of resources available in the archive allow for creating connections amongst disparate materials.
Since the 1940’s, LGBTQ groups have steadily emerged into society, fighting for equal rights and making their voices heard. Even within the LGBTQ community though, some groups have not been as well represented, or received as much of the limelight, as the more “mainstream” lesbians and gays. LGBTQ History and Culture Since 1940, Part II provides coverage of these groups, including LG student groups, Two-Spirit people, the Jewish LGBTQ community, LG Christian groups, and bisexual, transvestite, and transgender communities.
The Archives of Sexuality and Gender: Sex and Sexuality, Sixteenth to Twentieth Century is a collection like no other. It is made up of more than five thousand rare and unique books covering sex, sexuality, and gender issues across the sciences and humanities and throughout history. It is the variety of titles and subjects in this archive that make the research opportunities intriguing.
The Archives of Sexuality and Gender: Sex and Sexuality, Sixteenth to Twentieth Century looks at gender and sexuality in the centuries leading up to, and inclusive of, the period covered in Parts I and II, providing context to the materials in those collections. It examines topics such as patterns of fertility and sexual practice; prostitution; religion and sexuality; the medical and legal construction of sexualities; and the rise of sexology. It not only offers a reflection of the cultural and social attitudes of the past, but also a window into how sexuality and gender roles were viewed and changed over time.
Archives of Sexuality and Gender: International Perspectives on LGBTQ Activism and Culture examines diversity in underrepresented areas of the world such as southern Africa and Australia, highlighting cultural and social histories, struggles for rights and freedoms, explorations of sexuality, and organizations and key figures in LGBTQ history. It ensures LGBTQ stories and experiences are preserved. Among many diverse and historical 20th century collections, materials include: the Papers of Simon Nkoli, a prominent South African anti-apartheid, gay and lesbian rights, and HIV/AIDS activist; Exit newspaper (formerly Link/Skakel), South Africa’s longest running monthly LGBTQ publication; Geographic Files, also known as “Lesbians in…” with coverage from Albania to Zimbabwe; and the largest available collection of digitized Australian LGBTQ periodicals.
“Photographs Donated by Simon Nkoli.” Simon Nkoli Collection, 1977 to 1998, Gale, a Cengage Company, 1990-2000. Archives of Sexuality and Gender, Gale Document Number DFMYRQ121639016
These databases provide robust support for our faculty, students and researchers at Cambridge along with our print collections. The digital content contains primary sources and secondary sources for Chinese studies in humanities and social sciences. One of our professors commented to the two recent available databases: “these databases are essential to my research and teaching.” And one MPhil student said his dissertation cannot be done without one digital newspaper database.”
CHANT Databases (新漢達文庫) (包括甲骨文、金文、先秦兩漢、魏晉南北朝、竹簡、類書、説文解字) – give full-text access to all traditional texts from the Pre-Han (pre 220AD) period up to the Six Dynasties (581 AD)
CNKI/CAJ-CJP Serials Databases （中国知网期刊库）- from Tsinghua University, this database contains academic journals, conference proceedings, newspapers, reference works and patent documents
Duxiu（读秀）- contains over 2 million core Chinese monographs and journals, and 500 yearbooks published in mainland China
Late Qing Full-text Database (1833~1911) (晚清期刊全文数据库) – developed by Shanghai Library, this database contains 304 journals published during the late Qing Dynasty from 1833 to1911
Erudition Ancient Books (爱如生古籍库) – includes pre-20th century texts with full-text and images from a variety of subject areas organized into four sections: Philosophy and Science, History and Geography, Art and Literature, and General Works
Shen Bao Digital Archive (申报 1872-1949）- this archive gives a unique insight into the transition of China from the nineteenth century until Mao
Taiwan Electronic Periodical Services (台灣電子期刊服務網) – this full-text database covers many of the journals published in Taiwan in humanities and social sciences
More information about these databases is available from the UL Chinese Section website about e-resources for Chinese.
Kanopy have introduced a new LGBTQ+ collection of films that are available to current members of the University of Cambridge. Access is available via the Databases A-Z and University of Cambridge credentials are needed to create an account on the platform before you can stream the videos.
Films and documentaries available in the Kanopy LGBTQ+ collection include:
Rent – Based on Puccini’s classic opera La Boheme, Jonathan Larson’s revolutionary rock opera RENT tells the story of a group of bohemians struggling to live and pay their rent in the gritty background of New York’s East Village. “Measuring their lives in love,” these starving artists strive for success and acceptance while enduring the obstacles of poverty, illness and the AIDS epidemic. Kumu Hina – Imagine a world where a little boy can grow up to be the woman of his dreams, and a young girl can rise to become a leader among men. Welcome to Kumu Hina’s Hawai’i. An incredible docu-drama that unfolds like a narrative film, KUMU HINA reveals a side of Hawai’i rarely seen on screen. A Worm in the Heart – Shot in six cities along the legendary Trans-Siberian railway, this documentary follows queer Irish filmmaker Paul Rice and his boyfriend Liam, as they go undercover to meet with members of the LGBTQ+ community in Russia. The Times of Harvey Milk – A true twentieth-century trailblazer, Harvey Milk was an outspoken human rights activist and one of the first openly gay U.S. politicians elected to public office; even after his assassination in 1978, he continues to inspire disenfranchised people around the world.
The Kanopy Gender Studies collection also offers a range of titles looking at gender roles, including: Expanding Gender – These three short documentaries explore the varied identities of trans and gender expansive youth and young adults. Masculinity / Femininity: Concepts of Gender – Masculinity/Femininity is an experimental documentary that challenges normative notions of gender, sexuality and performance. Experimental filmmaker Russell Sheaffer’s Masculinity/Femininity takes over where his short film starring James Franco, Masculinity & Me, left off.
A Bit of Scarlet: Gay Characters in Post-War British Cinema – Any minority craves images of itself, and this compilation of clips from Britain’s post-war cinema archives is a testament to the closeted appearances of gay characters and sentiments. Drag Becomes Him – An intimate glimpse inside the life of internationally acclaimed drag performer Jinkx Monsoon. The film follows the passionate pursuits that transformed a working class boy in a struggling family to an illustrious performer on a global stage.
Access is available via the Databases A-Z and University of Cambridge credentials are needed to create an account on the platform before you can view.
Murder mysteries from the big screen: Cast a Dark Shadow – A British fortune-hunter playboy is killing his rich wives in order to inherit their wealth. Based on the 1952 play Murder Mistaken by Janet Green. (1955) Cowboys – A compilation of six three minute short animated films which comment on contemporary values through a reinterpretation of the myths of the old Wild West. Film three is Murder! – an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. The silent majority get their way. (1992) Deadly Sweet – A French actor finds his business contact lying murdered on the floor. Rather than call the police, he decides to protect the young woman at the scene and nail down the true killers, putting him on a collision course with the London underworld. Loosely based on the novel Il sepolcro di carta written by Sergio Donati. (1967) Jet Storm – Passengers on a trans-Atlantic flight from London to New York discover that one of them believes a fellow passenger is the hit-and-run driver who killed his child and has smuggled a bomb on board and intends to use it. (1959) Jigsaw – A woman is found murdered in a house along the coast from Brighton. Local detectives Fellows and Wilks lead an investigation, methodically following up leads and clues. Based on Sleep Long, My Love by Hillary Waugh (1962) Loving Memory – A brother and sister living in an isolated farmhouse in Yorkshire accidentally run down and kill a cyclist. (1970) Sherlock Holmes – Terror by Night – The film’s plot is a mostly original story not directly based on any of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Holmes tales, but it uses minor plot elements of “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle,” “The Adventure of the Empty House,” “The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax,” and The Sign of Four. (Wikipedia) (1946) Sherlock Holmes – The Woman in Green – The film follows an original premise with material taken from “The Final Problem” (1893) and “The Adventure of the Cardboard Box . (Wikipedia) (1945) The Hawk – A Hitchcockian style thriller of a housewife who thinks her husband is a serial killer. (1993) Wanted for Murder – As the son of a Victorian hangman is driven insane by thoughts of his father’s profession, the young man emulates his father by strangling young women. Based on a play of the same name by Terence de Marney and Percy Robinson. (1946)
The Hitch-hiker – From the USA. The only film noir film to be directed by a woman (Ida Lupino). (1953) Les Vampires – From France. An intrepid reporter and his loyal friend battle a bizarre secret society of criminals known as The Vampires. (1915) Salvatore Giuliano – From Italy. Filming in the exact locations and enlisting a cast of native Sicilians once impacted by the real Giuliano, director Francesco Rosi harnessed the facts and myths surrounding the true story of the bandit’s death to create a startling exposé of Sicily and the tangled relations between its citizens, the Mafia, and government officials. (1961) The Flying Ace – From the USA. A rural crime drama revolving around a pair of rival aviators,THE FLYING ACE illuminates the fact that many films made for African-American audiences were less concerned with race than with making popular entertainment in the traditional Hollywood style. (1926) Judex – From France. This effortlessly cool crime caper, directed by Georges Franju, is a marvel of dexterous plotting and visual invention. (1963)
Murder on the small screen: Cruel Train – Based on Emile Zola’s ‘La Bete Humaine’, this stylish film noir is set in Britain during the Blitz. Dalziel & Pascoe: S2, S3, S4 – Andy Dalziel does not suffer fools gladly. So when the inexperienced, soft-spoken, whiz-kid graduate Peter Pascoe joins his team at Mid-Yorkshire CID, there could be problems. Based on a book series by Reginald Hill. (1996-2007) Maisie Raine: S1 – Detective Inspector Maisie Raine is a no-nonsense policewoman with years of experience and an instinct for people in trouble. (1998)
Father Brown – In the idyllic English countryside of the 1950s, murder and foul play are afoot. Based on the book series by G.K. Chesterton. (2013-) Luther – Idris Elba stars as maverick detective John Luther in this gripping, smart and entertaining thriller. (2010-2019) Quirke – A consultant pathologist in the Dublin city morgue in the 1950s, Quirke is a powerful character more at ease among the cold silent slabs than the company of his fellow men. Based on a book series by John Banville.(2014) Scott & Bailey – Moving and exciting drama series follows the lives of Janet Scott and Rachel Bailey – Detective Constables in a Manchester Major Incident Team led by the formidable DCI Gill Murray. (2011-2016) Death in Paradise – DI Richard Poole is sent to the paradise island of Saint-Marie in the Caribbean to solve an impossible murder. A book series was created by Robert Thorogood based on the TV series. (2011-)
The following text is taken from our day 11 of our 2023 Advent Calendar, authored byMelendra Sutliff Sanders, Research Support Librarian / German / Film Studies, Modern & Medieval Languages and Linguistics Library.
Looking for some thought-provoking entertainment?
Have a look at Kanopy’s collection of award-winning films and documentaries.
Once you’ve logged in, you can stream 100s of award-winning films and television shows. It’s easy to search for specific titles. Or, if you’re open to suggestions, check out the Browse options.
All films have close captioning and can be viewed from anywhere in the world.
Electronic Collection Management 