HIST3131: Gender and Sexuality in Early Modern Europe Guide Ask Us

When researching a new topic, it's often important to start by gaining an overview, understanding unfamiliar terms, obtaining brief factual information, and testing your own assumptions. The resources listed below offer background and context for studying the history of gender sexuality in early modern Europe. 

Key Sources

Clark, Anna. Desire: A History of European Sexuality. 2nd edition. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2019.

Malti-Douglas, Fedwa. Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender. Detroit: Macmillan Reference, 2007.

Meade, Teresa A., and Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks. A Companion to Global Gender History. 2nd ed. Newark: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2020.

Toulalan, Sarah, and Kate Fisher, eds. The Routledge History of Sex and the Body: 1500 to the Present. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2013.

Wiesner-Hanks, Merry E., and Mathew Kuefler, eds. The Cambridge World History of Sexualities. Volume I, General Overview. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2024.

Wiesner-Hanks, Merry E., and Mathew Kuefler, eds. The Cambridge World History of Sexualities. Volume II, Systems of Thought and Belief. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2024.

Wiesner-Hanks, Merry E., and Mathew Kuefler, eds. The Cambridge World History of Sexualities. Volume III, Sites of Knowledge and Practice. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2024.

To search for books at UNB Libraries, first use the library's online catalogue, UNB WorldCat, which contains materials held at the Harriet Irving, Science and Forestry, Engineering, and Law libraries, as well as the HW Klohn Learning Commons in Saint John. 

Library of Congress Subject Headings

When searching for books in UNB WorldCat, look for subject headings related to your topic and use them to find more relevant sources. Here are a few examples of general subject headings relevant to this course. These can be be combined with other search terms using the advanced search option to reflect your topic's time period and geographic place.

• Contraception—History
• Contraception—Great Britain—History
• Gender identity—Europe—History
• Gender nonconformity—Europe—History
• Lesbianism—Europe—History
• Homosexuality and Christianity—History
• Homosexuality, Male—Europe—History
• Prostitution—Europe—History
• Sex crimes—Europe—History
• Sex customs—Europe—History
• Sex customs—Great Britain—History—17th century
• Sex instruction—History
• Sex role—Europe—History
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases—History

Dissertations & Theses

Browse the bibliographies of PhD dissertations and Master's theses relevant to your topic to locate more sources.

• Dissertations & Theses (ProQuest PQDT) 

Document Delivery

Books and other materials not available at UNB may be available for loan from another institution through our document delivery service. To search for materials not held by UNB Libraries, search UNB WorldCat, and change the default UNB Libraries to Libraries Worldwide. Once you have identified a title that is not locally held, select the red Request Item button and follow the screens. You can also access the document delivery request form directly.

When searching for academic journal articles on the history of sexuality, an indexing and abstracting database is usually the best place to begin. You can also browse specific journals.

Select academic journals with content on the history of sexuality 

• Gender and History
• Journal of the History of Sexuality 
• Journal of Women's History 
• Women's History Review

Primary source collections via UNB Libraries

Help pages and tutorials for the above collections

• Archives of sexuality & gender (Gale)
  • Learning Center
• Wiley Digital Archives - Royal College of Physicians 
  • User Guide (video)
  • User Guide (Flipbook)
  • On this page, Wiley Digital Archives Training Hub, scroll down to the Becoming an Expert with Wiley Digital Archives
• Defining Gender, 1450-1910 (Adam Matthew Digital)
  • Searching Guide

Primary sources in UNB WorldCat

Primary sources are also available in the Library's general collection (in print and online). To find these, use UNB WorldCat to run an advanced search for your topic along with a subject search for "sources". For example, if you would like to find primary sources on prostitution in early modern England, you would search for kw:"prostitution and early modern England" AND su:sources in the UNB WorldCat.

British Historical Newspapers via UNB Libraries

• British Library newspapers - Part I & IV (Gale)
• Eighteenth-Century Journals (Adam Matthew Digital)
• 17th and 18th century Burney newspapers collection (Gale)
• 17th and 18th century Nichols newspapers collection (Gale)
• Times Digital Archives (Gale)

Accurate, properly formatted footnotes, reading lists, and bibliographies are hallmarks of good academic research. Through citing, you acknowledge the source of any ideas you mention in your writing, document your research, and provide the information your readers need to track down your sources.

The standard citation style for History is Chicago:

• Chicago Manual of Style Endnote/Footnote Format
  (You will be asked for a student login.)
• Chicago Documentation Examples
• The Chicago Manual of Style (eBook link via UNB Libraries includes the 17th and 18th editions)

For guidance on use of generative AI tools in academic work see this Academic Integrity Guide.

Cite, Annotate, and Collect

Zotero is a free, citation management software that collects, manages, and cites research sources. It's easy to use and works with your web browser. Zotero can export your citations directly to Microsoft Word or Pages with only a click of the mouse and now enables you to annotate PDFs.

Pocket is a great app for bookmarking and managing links. It allows you to save web pages for later viewing and makes them available without an internet connection. Since Pocket automatically syncs files across your devices you don't have to worry about switching between devices. Free and available for iOS and Android.

Evernote is a cloud-based repository for anything you don't want to forget. Sortable "notebooks" can save webpages, files, PDFs, text notes, and images. A tagging and organizing structure makes it easy to find what you're looking for. Evernote is freely available for iOS and Android.