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Read reviews of individual sets in the Cultural History series
“From family and food to memory and sexuality, Bloomsbury Cultural History covers an expansive list of themes throughout various periods of recorded history. Its versatility and accessibility appeal to a wide audience, making it especially useful to institutions that support the humanities.” Gricel Dominguez, Library Journal, full review
“As with other Bloomsbury products, the interface and navigation tools are easy to master… The database has a high quality look and feel, and materials are simple to access. An excellent resource for students and scholars of history, anthropology, archaeology, and cultural studies” Rob Tench, Library Journal
“[Bloomsbury Cultural History] is tightly focused and compact, providing an excellent starting point for users to conduct research about cultural history. The pace of expansion should not overwhelm users and will continue to provide new and updated information, keeping the website relevant for the years to come…
The website does well in presenting the topic of cultural history over time. The small but growing collection of resources are well researched and curated, providing quality and authority that can be difficult to find in other resources. Cultural history from the beginning of written history is an important topic, and the ability to search via time period or theme can show the interchange between world cultures. The ebook collection is predominantly secondary sources, while the image collection is primary sources, which gears this website toward teaching rather than intensive research. At a secondary school level, this site would be useful to introduce the concept of primary and secondary content.
A good effort is made with this resource to include sources from around the world, and with regular updates, the breadth of cultures and depth of coverage should only improve. The content currently available provides a high-quality introduction to cultural history. In addition to new content, the publisher will be adding teaching resources for lesson planning…
The breadth of cultures and time frame, coupled with the excellent curation of resources, sets Bloomsbury Cultural History apart and makes it a useful resource.” Cason Snow, ccAdvisor
“Launched in 2017, this comprehensive resource offers a survey of cultures worldwide, from ancient times to the 21st century, and contains the full text of more than 120 print volumes, including 50-plus works (and counting) in Bloomsbury’s “Cultural History” reference series, available online exclusively through this database…
The content is fascinating… Casual browsers will find themselves scurrying down many a rabbit hole of knowledge, while academics will benefit from this resource’s insights into cultural and social history, art, anthropology, cultural studies, material culture, archaeology, and the humanities…
Original and beautifully designed, Bloomsbury Cultural History shows promise as a one-stop shop for cultural history reference surveys… It offers the best value for liberal arts and honors colleges and should support the research needs—and curiosity—of graduate and undergraduate students and interdisciplinary scholars across a range of institutions, including college prep schools and large public libraries.” Michael Rodriguez, Library Journal
“A superb source of course readings… Researchers at all levels will appreciate the powerful search, user-friendly design, and robust scholarly content.” See full list.
"Teachers of historical theories and methods will applaud Bloomsbury History. Researchers at all levels will appreciate the powerful search, user-friendly design, and robust scholarly content. New content is added regularly, so depth and coverage will continue to improve." Michael Rodriguez, Library Journal, Full Review
“This resource devoted to medieval history stands out from similar offerings with its global approach. The backbone of the collection, the Encyclopedia of the Global Middle Ages, is diverse in both regional coverage—the Maya civilization, Ethiopia, and the Korean Kingdom of Silla are just a few examples—and in theme: religious iconography, mental illness, disability, and queenship, among others. With a clean layout, superb organization, top-notch searchability, stunning images of historical objects, and excellent primary sources, this is an essential database for students seeking a thorough understanding of the period.” Read more
The judges said: “This is a great product that has been curated with a clear understanding of what its users want, and that fills a gap in the market.” See full list.
“One of the strengths of BMS is that it is designed to, and consciously has, a global and interdisciplinary scope.”
“The crown jewel of this platform is the exclusive access to a new resource.”
“BMS has several strengths. The greatest of these is the way it integrates the variety of sources of the Bloomsbury Publishing company into a single, interdisciplinary platform. The mix of primary, secondary, and modern resources is especially useful for students who may still be struggling with these concepts.”
“An additional strength of BMS is its global approach, as opposed to the heavily Eurocentric approach of many competing projects. This is best seen in the Explore Places tab, which divides the world into eight geographic regions representing almost 100 countries."
“Bloomsbury recruited an outstanding editorial advisory board of 20 of the most respected researchers and teachers in the field of medieval studies. Under the watchful eyes of this group, the quality and reliability, as well as future additions, should be maintained at the current high level.” Dr. John Sandstrom, ccAdvisor
“The scope of Encyclopedia of the Global Middle Ages is global, with articles on Kosovo, Korea, Ethiopia, Oceania, Delhi, and the Maya. This inclusivity contrasts with older seminal works—Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages (Brill), Lexikon des Mittelalters (Brepols), Dictionary of the Middle Ages (American Council of Learned Societies), and The Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages—that provided Eurocentric and increasingly dated perspectives. Whereas the Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages lists not a single entry on China, Bloomsbury provides three substantive articles on China’s Tang Dynasty (618–907), Empress Wu Zetian, and trade with the Islamic Middle East … Content is diverse and eye-opening.”
“Bloomsbury Medieval Studies delivers a rich selection of scholarly and primary content, global coverage, and innovative and inclusive research. Its platform is beautifully designed and easy to navigate.”
“Bloomsbury Medieval Studies offers the best value proposition for schools with medieval studies programs, though it should appeal to any library that supports an undergraduate liberal arts curriculum or advanced scholarship in the arts, religion, history, literature, and other academic disciplines.” Library Journal
