Doing Research on Cultural Artifacts A cultural artifact is an object created by man which inherently gives cultural clues about the person who made it and the person who uses it. The artifact may change over time in what it represents, how it appears and how and why it is used as the culture changes over time. Do you have cultural links to this item? How does this item make you feel? Is there a message or background to the item? Are you aware of how your item may have changed over time? What kind of memories or images does it conjure up for you? What are the cultural connections with this item? How is it perceived by other cultures?

To begin research on a cultural artifact start with a keyword search in the online catalog, Voyager, using the term for your object or the word artifact, or the phrase "popular culture" and using a Quick Limit for the Library you want to find the item in. There are several electronic books on popular culture which may be read from home using your internet connection.

You You can also browse the shelves at E169 for books on popular culture in the United States and find, for example:

Title: Encyclopedia of contemporary American culture. 2001.
Location: LAC Reference Room Collection. Call Number: E169.12 .E49 2001

Title: Handbook of American popular culture. 1978-1981.
Location: LAC Book Shelves. Call Number: E169.1 .H2643

You may also search for information about artifacts on the internet or use the Library's Online Databases such as:

Encyclopedia Britannica
ProQuest
SIRS Renaissance or SIRS Researcher

One of the best Internet resources to use is American Memory from the Library of Congress http://memory.loc.gov/amhome.html. "American Memory is a gateway to rich primary source materials relating to the history and culture of the United States. The site offers more than 7 million digital items from more than 100 historical collections."

Library Homepage

http://lib.lbcc.edu/handouts/cultural_artifact.html Compiled 3/2004 by P. Nielson