Hiya.
I'm taking a class on gender in Victorian Britain and I'm overwhelmed by the ingenious methods historians have used (alongside others of different disciplines) to peak at ideas of masculinity, femininity, and gay and lesbian histories.
I just wanna ask what sources are deemed fair game to be used, and how do they become available for the historical record? In a contemporary sense, what books, novels, pieces of media etc would classify as definitive enough for their inclusion in a historical paper 20 years later? What can be reasonably defined as "popular/significant enough" to count?
I just feel in finding sources for my own paper (and dying in the attempt) I don't know if I have something that's like historically significant perse, and I've always wondered at how letters, diaries etc from the time have been preserved and if similar mechanisms exist today.
Hi - we as mods have approved this thread, because while this is a homework question, it is asking for clarification or resources, rather than the answer itself, which is fine according to our rules. This policy is further explained in this Rules Roundtable thread and this META Thread.
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