Library Research Guides: CINEMA & MEDIA STUDIES: Home

Media History: Primary Sources

British Newsreels, 1911-1930: Culture and Society on Film This link opens in a new window
Thousands of newsreels (short-form, visual news content intended to inform and entertain the public, in black and white and entirely silent) originally shown in cinemas across Britain.
Dates: 1911 - 1930 CE
Broadcasting America: The Rise of Mass Media and Communications This link opens in a new window
The papers in this resource provide insight into the impact of broadcasting innovations on advertising, consumer culture, global conflicts, and the Space Race. Most material spans the 1920s to the 1970s.
Socialism on Film: The Cold War and International Propaganda This link opens in a new window
Documentaries, newsreels and features showing the world as seen by Soviet, Chinese, Vietnamese, East European, British and Latin American filmmakers, ranging from the early 20th century to the late 1980s.
Victorians on Film: Entertainment, Innovation & Everyday Life This link opens in a new window
Early British films that provide a glimpse into the lives of the late Victorians and Edwardians as well as insights into early filmmaking innovations and the development of the early film industry. Films capture variety acts and fantastical stories, historical events and figures, and scenes of everyday life.
Dates: 1895-1913 CE
Popular Culture in Britain and America, 1950-1975: Rock and Roll, Counterculture, Peace and Protest This link opens in a new window
Primary sources documenting a period of dramatic change, with a focus on music, politics, fashion, student activism, women's liberation, gay and lesbian rights, consumerism, and other areas. Materials include video, advertisements, pamphlets, magazines, government documents, posters, memorabilia, and more.
Dates: 1930s-1990s CE

Cinema & Media Studies at Wellesley

Department of Cinema and Media Studies

Contents of this guide

This guide will help you find resources for researching film, television, and new media. It aims to point you to the most useful starting points for your research.

Key Resources

Film & Television Literature Index with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Articles on film and television theory, writing, production, cinematography, reviews, and more, 1914 to present. Can be searched together with MLA International Bibliography and Communications & Mass Media Complete. Click "Choose Databases" above the search box to add these databases.
MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
Scholarly articles on literature, languages, linguistics, film, folklore, and rhetoric, from all cultures.
Communication & Mass Media Complete This link opens in a new window
Scholarly journal articles and magazine articles in the fields of communications, mass media, journalism, television, film, radio, newspaper publishing, speech, broadcasting, and advertising.
FIAF International Index to Film Periodicals Database This link opens in a new window
Articles on film and television from scholarly and popular film journals as well as a selection of encyclopedia articles and other reference sources.
Readers' Guide Retrospective: 1890-1982 (H.W. Wilson) This link opens in a new window
Index of over three million articles from more than 550 US and Canadian magazines on every topic from science to forestry, social issues to biking.
Dates: 1890-1982 CE

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