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HNRS 2110: The Present and The Past

Guide to accompany Honors Course on Migration and Refugees

Let's Get Started!

Collect Your Search Vocabulary

Your Migration Research Project asks you to research a migration topic of your choice. Your final product must have a bibliography. And, for your initial project, you need to produce an annotated bibliography. Before you dive into searching, it's a good idea to jot down a list of keywords describing your topic. You need to know where you are going, right?

Think in terms of big topics and then related or smaller ones to your main topic. It will help you focus.  

  • Refugees AND Africa (Topic and Place)
  • Migrant Labor AND Citizenship (Topic and Topic)
  • Climate Change and Migration (Topic and Topic)
  • Noncitizens AND 20th century (Topic and Time period)
  • Armenian Genocide, 1915-1923 AND Oral History (Event and Format)

 

Professor Orzoff suggests you keep a research diary. Use this to record your keywords. Think in terms of big topics and then smaller or related ones that overlap to help you focus. Such a list or a diagram can help you organize your thoughts and then help you divide your large, small, and related topics into different categories. 

Keep a running list of your search terms for your Migration Research Project

Still hunting for a topic? Other than course readings and topics covered in class, check out the new Border and Migration Studies Online database. It focuses on all borders and migrations, and includes sub topics of history, law, politics, diplomacy, area and global studies, anthropology, medicine, the arts, and more. It's a great place to get ideas AND to find material for your annotated bibliography. 

Set Up Your InterLibrary Loan Account

If you haven't yet used InterLibrary Loan (ILL), you will soon. No library can stock everything its users wish to read, so we lend materials to one another. Using ILL for articles is really fast. You may need to use ILL for your Migration Research Project assignment. And you will most likely need to use it in your other courses. Start early. Start now!
Here's how to register for an account

  • Go to ILL at https://illiad.nmsu.edu
  • Login with user Banner userid and password
  • You will be prompted to fill out the form