Skip to Main Content

Composition and Rhetoric: Online Collections

Online Collections

This page lists online collections related to the study of rhetoric.  The collections will include books, videos, photographs, documents, pamphlets, and many other formats.    These collections will mostly include primary source collections.   For other online resources you may want to refer to some of the other tabs above.

What is a primary source?

A primary source provides direct or firsthand evidence about an event, object, person, or work of art.  Characteristically, primary sources are contemporary to the events and people described and show minimal or no mediation between the document/artifact and its creator.  As to the format, primary source materials can be written and non-written, the latter including sound, picture, and artifact.  Examples include:

  • personal correspondence and diaries
  • speeches and oral histories
  • photographs and posters
  • newspaper ads and stories
  • audio and video recordings

Primary Sources Beta

This database provides access to the primary source databases that the University Libraries subscribe to as well as a large selection of free sites available on the Internet. In most cases the collections referenced here are full text, providing the document or image that you have searched for. In many cases these materials are copyrighted by the provider of the information. The Miami University Libraries make no determination of fair use.