Important Scope Note: The following sources provide merely an introduction to research in African American Studies. They are not intended to be comprehensive but rather a starting point. Because African American Studies usually involves interdisciplinary research, it also will be useful to consult additional subject guides, such as "English Language and Literature," "History, " or "Psychology." For help selecting the best resources talk with a Reference Librarian.
Ready Reference Sources
History and Culture
- African American Women: A Biographical Dictionary. 1993 - Nearly 300 biographies of African American women throughout history. Limited bibliographies and an appendix of "career categories" are included.
CT 213 N74 1993 Ref
- Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience. 1999
DT 14 A37435 1999 Ref
- Black Women in America 2005
E 185.86 .B542 2005 Ref
- Chronology of African-American History. 1991
E 185 H64 1991 Ref
- Directory of Oral History Collections. 1988-Organized by state, however, subject and interviewee indexes are included.
D 16.14 S54 1988 Ref
- Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History. 5 vols. 1996 -Good source with which to begin, to place a subject (person, place or event) in context. Extensive appendix includes tables, charts and statistical data.
E 185 E54 1996 Ref
- Encyclopedia of African-American Society. 2005.
- Encyclopedia of Civil Rights in America. 3 vols. 1998 -Articles on topics ranging from singular events to patterns of discrimination throughout U.S. history. Category and court case indexes are included.
E 185.61 E544 1998 Ref
- Encyclopedia of Multicultural America. 2000.
- Notable Black American Women. 2 vols. 1992 -Over 800 biographies of of African American women who are "diverse by geography, history, and profession." Substantial bibliographies and an occupation index are included.
CT 213 N68 1992 Ref
Literature
- African writers. (2 vol.)
PL8010 .A453 1997 Ref
- Postcolonial African writers : a bio-bibliographical critical sourcebook.
PL8010 .P585 1998 Ref
- The companion to African literatures.
PR9340 .C65 2000 Ref
- Afro-American Ficiton Writers After 1955 (DLB)
PS 153 N5 A34 1984 Ref
- Afro-American Writers Before the Harlem Renaissance (DLB)
PS 153 N5 A393 1986 Ref
- Afro-American Writers After 1955: Dramatists and Prose Writers (DLB)
PS 153 N5 A39 1985 Ref
- Afro-American Writers, 1940-1955 (DLB)
PS 153 N5 A386 1988 Ref
- Afro-American Poets Since 1955 (DLB)
PS 153 N5 A38 1985 Ref
- Afro-American Writers from the Harlem Renaissance to 1940 (DLB)
PS 153 N5 A396 1987 Ref
- Selected Black American, African, and Caribbean authors : a bio-bibliography.
PS153.N5 P3 1985 Ref
- Contemporary Black American Playwrights and Their Plays. 1988 -Encyclopedia format, over 700 articles on playwrights, collaborators and their works dating from 1950 to the present. A bibliography and appendix include additional playwrights and repositories of their works.
PS 153 N5 P43 1988 Ref
- Early Black American Playwrights and Dramatic Writers. 1990 -Encyclopedia format, covers dramatic works written and/or produced in the U.S. and in Europe from 1800-1950. Bibliography and chronology included.
PS 153 N5 P44 1990 Ref
- Oxford Companion to African American Literature. 1997 -Essays on African American literature, including poetry, fiction, and drama with historical and cultural contexts .
PS 153 N5 O96 1997 Ref
Searching for Books
African American Studies materials may be found throughout the library stacks, depending upon the specific subject you are seeking. You may search for books using the Five College Online Library Catalog by author, title or subject. The following are examples of subject headings that might be useful: "American Drama -- African American Authors ," "African American Women," "African Americans -- Civil Rights," and "Racism." Bibliographies and Indexes
Important Note: Because of the interdisciplinary nature of African American Studies, there are many points of access to the scholarly literature. Generally speaking, it is useful to consult both the African American Studies indexes that cover newspapers and/or journals across disciplines as well as subject specific indexes that come out of various disciplines. In addition to the items listed below, there are bibliographies located in the Z 1361.5 section in the Reference Room that may be browsed.
Interdisciplinary Resources
- African American Periodicals: Primary Sources for Historical Research -Comprehensive list of periodicals held at Mt. Holyoke, good for historical research. Please ask for a copy at the Reference Desk.
- Bibliographic Guide to Black Studies -Annual subject bibliographies, very comprehensive, lists publications cataloged by the New York Public Library for the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, international in scope.
Z 1361.5 A4 S3 Ref
- Ethnic NewsWatch -An interdisciplinary, bilingual, and comprehensive full text database of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Designed to provide the "other side of the story," ENW titles offer additional viewpoints from those proffered by the mainstream press.
- Index to Black Periodicals-Annual index to articles carried in scholarly and general African American periodicals.
Z 1361.5 A2 I48 Ref
- Kaiser Index to Black Resources, 1948-1986. 5 vols. -Bibliographic index to newspapers, journals, books, and vertical files from the Schomburg Center, arranged by subject.
Z 1361.5 A4 K34 1992 Ref
- Current Bibliography on African Affairs - Interdisciplinary index to journal articles, newspapers, government and organizational reports and more from African and international sources.
Z 3501 C8 REF.
Subject Specific Resources
E-Journals
Libraries and Archives
Selected WWW Sites
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