Library Catalog
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Women's and Gender Studies Databases
- Women's Studies International This link opens in a new windowAccess women's studies and feminist journals, newsletters, bulletins, books, book chapters, reports, theses, dissertations, and grey literature. Coverage: mostly 20th century to present. Full text.
- GenderWatch This link opens in a new windowExplore the evolution of the women's movement, men's studies, the transgender community, and the changes in gender roles over the years. This collection includes scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, regional publications, books, and reports from government agencies and non-governmental organizations. Coverage: 1970 to present. Mostly full text.
- LGBTQ+ Source This link opens in a new windowAccess scholarly and popular publications covering lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues. Disciplines covered include civil liberties, culture, employment, family, history, politics, psychology, religion, and sociology. This collection includes an LGBTQ+ thesaurus for enhanced searching. Coverage: 1951 to present. Full text.
History Databases
- America: History & Life This link opens in a new windowExplore the history and culture of North America including the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present. This collection includes secondary source articles, as well as books and book reviews. Note: for world history, use Historical Abstracts. Coverage: 1935 to present. Full text.
- Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new windowExplore the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from the 15th century to the present, including military history, women's history, history of education, history of science, and more. This collection includes secondary source articles from journals, as well as books and book reviews. Note: for United States history, use America: History and Life; for medieval history, use Iter. Coverage: varies. Full text.
Politics and Policy Databases
- Political Science Complete This link opens in a new windowAccess research covering comparative politics, humanitarian issues, international relations, law and legislation, and political theory. Coverage: 1960s to present. Full text.
- CIAO (Columbia International Affairs Online) This link opens in a new windowAccess research, analysis, and scholarship on international politics and related fields, including security studies, global finance, diplomatic practice, humanitarian law, global governance, development studies, and environmental studies. This collection includes working papers, policy briefs, scholarly journal articles, ebooks, and videos. The Economist Intelligence Unit supplies comprehensive country surveys, including in-depth political and economic data and detailed maps. Coverage: 1996 to present. Full text.
Education
- ERIC (Education Resource Information Center) This link opens in a new windowAccess articles, reports, government documents and other unpublished sources not indexed elsewhere, on topics in education and many related fields (child development, psychology, libraries, etc). See also Education Source. Coverage: late 19th century to present. Some full text.
Introduction
The following provides a list of resources to assist with research for AFST 200: Approaches to Africana Studies. Some resources are restricted to people currently affiliated with Dickinson. Because research on Africana Studies can cross over many academic disciplines (such as History, Sociology, or Economics) students are strongly encouraged to consult with a librarian for help with specific topics.
For assistance contact: Malinda Triller Doran, Special Collections Librarian, 245-1462
Africana Studies Databases
- AfricaBib This link opens in a new windowSearch for publications covering topics including Africana periodical literature, African women and women travelers to Africa, Islam in Africa, the Kenya Coast, water and Africa, and education in Africa. Coverage: varies. Citations only.
- African Journals Online (AJOL) This link opens in a new windowExplore African-published scholarly journals, many of which are open access. Coverage: 1990s to current. Some full text.
- World Heritage Sites - Africa (Aluka/JSTOR) This link opens in a new windowAccess primary sources that provide visual, contextual, and spatial documentation of African heritage sites. This collection includes photographs, 3D models, GIS data, site plans, excavation reports, travelers’ accounts, maps, books, articles, and other scholarly research. Coverage: 1500s-2010s, contains primary sources. Full text.
- African Studies AbstractsExcellent annotated index of articles from periodicals, chapters from edited works and collective volumes on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities. Each issue a geographical index, a subject index, an author index, and a list of journals and edited works abstracted in that issue.
Secondary Sources- Journals
General Social Science Databases
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowExplore historical and recent journals, books and images in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, with some natural science coverage. Coverage: varies - historical up to 1-5 years from current date, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Project Muse This link opens in a new windowAccess scholarly journals and ebooks in both the humanities and social sciences. Most journals covered are up to date. Ebooks include titles in Global Cultural Studies, Poetry, Fiction & Creative Non-Fiction. Coverage: historical and current. Full text.
- Social Science Database This link opens in a new windowAccess scholarly journals and dissertations covering social science topics, including anthropology, addiction studies, criminology, urban studies, economics, family studies, social work, international relations, and more. Coverage: 1850 to present. Mostly full text.
Finding Primary Sources
Dickinson College's Archives and Special Collections holds primary sources relevant to this course, including historic books and pamphlets, materials documenting the history of Black Studies at the college, and the records of student activist groups. Below are links to selected digital resources and guides to original documents available for student research. Please note that these guides are not exhaustive. Any student wishing to conduct research using the College's Archives is encouraged to contact Malinda Triller Doran to discuss his or her research interests.
Archives and Special Collections holds many books addressing issues such as race, slavery, abolition, and travel that would be good primary sources for this class. To search for books in our collection, choose "Archives and Special Collections" under the location field in the library catalog and enter your keyword search.
Primary Sources research guide Provides tips for how to identify and find primary sources.
Finding Primary Sources in Databases
- African American Archives This link opens in a new windowExplore original historical documents pertaining to the history of African Americans, mostly in the United States, but also from the Colonial era and the West Indies. Coverage: contains primary sources. This purchase was a gift of Robert J. Weinstein, Dickinson College class of 1941.
- African American Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new windowExplore a cross-searchable collection of historical content from leading African-American Newspapers. Titles included are: Atlanta Daily World (1931-2010), Chicago Defender (1910-1975), New York Amsterdam News (1922-1993), Philadelphia Tribune (1912-2001), Pittsburgh Courier (1911-2010), and Baltimore Afro-American (1893-1988). Coverage: 1893-2010, but varies by title; contains primary sources. Full text. This purchase was made possible in part through a bequest of Eleanor Cogan (Honorary Doctor of Liberal Arts, 2003), library volunteer and longtime friend of the college.
- African American Historical Serials Collection This link opens in a new windowAccess newspapers and magazines, as well as reports and annuals from various African American organizations, including churches and social service agencies. This collection was developed in conjunction with the American Theological Library Association (ATLA). Coverage: 1829-1922, contains primary sources. Full text. This purchase was a gift of Robert J. Weinstein, Dickinson College class of 1941.
- Black Abolitionist Papers This link opens in a new windowAccess articles, documents, correspondence, proceedings, manuscripts, and literary works from African American activists who worked extensively to abolish slavery prior to the Civil War and had an international impact. Coverage: 1830-1865, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century (History Vault) This link opens in a new windowExplore the records of major civil rights organizations, personal papers from activists and observers, and FBI files covering pivotal civil rights leaders and events, as well as legislation from the 1960s, 70s and 80s. This collection also includes other aspects of African American life in the 20th century, like religion, sports, education, and entertainment. It is cross-searchable with other collections via History Vault. Coverage: 20th century, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century (History Vault) This link opens in a new windowExplore the records of major civil rights organizations, personal papers from activists and observers, and FBI files covering pivotal civil rights leaders and events, as well as legislation from the 1960s, 70s and 80s. This collection also includes other aspects of African American life in the 20th century, like religion, sports, education, and entertainment. It is cross-searchable with other collections via History Vault. Coverage: 20th century, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Europe and Africa: Commerce, Christianity, Civilization, and Conquest This link opens in a new windowAccess primary documents including monographs, manuscripts, and newspaper accounts covering key issues of economics, world politics and strategy during the European powers' "Scramble for Africa." This collection is part of Nineteenth Century Collections Online (NCCO). Coverage: late 18th century to 19th century, contains primary sources. Full text.
- NAACP Papers (History Vault) This link opens in a new windowAccess primary sources that document the organization and major campaigns of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). This collection covers topics such as education, voting, court cases, lynching, segregation, employment, housing and discrimination complaints, among others. This collection is cross-searchable with other collections via History Vault. Coverage: 1910s-1970s, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Slavery & Abolition Resource Center This link opens in a new windowAccess books and pamphlets reflecting both sides of the American slavery debate. This collection includes first person narratives, legal proceedings and decisions, anti-slavery tracts, religious sermons, and early secondary works. Coverage: 1787-1920, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Southern Life & African American History, 1775-1915, Plantations Records (History Vault) This link opens in a new windowAccess plantation records that document the business and culture of plantations in various parts of the South. This collection includes lists of slaves, records of bills and receipts, wills and other financial and personal documents. This collection is cross-searchable with other collections via History Vault. Coverage: 1775-1915, contains primary sources. Full text.
College Documents - Selected Inventories
The documents listed in these inventories are a sampling of the types of primary sources found in Archives and Special Collections. To explore any of these resources or to discover more like this, visit the Archives on the lower level of the library or contact Malinda Triller Doran
Your Librarian
Reference Books
- Oxford African American Studies Center (AASC) This link opens in a new windowAccess articles from Africana; the Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619-1895; the Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present; Black Women in America, Second Edition; the Dictionary of African Biography; the Oxford Encyclopedia of African Thought; the Dictionary of Caribbean and Afro-Latin American Biography; and African American National Biography, along with other key resources. Coverage: varies, contains primary sources. Full text.
- African Studies ThesaurusA structured vocabulary of 12,100 English terms in the field of African studies, the African Studies Thesaurus is developed and maintained by staff at the library of the African Studies Centre Leiden
Citing Your Sources
Note: Print copies of citation style manuals are on reserve at the library, and may be checked out for use within the library.
Chicago citation style guidelines and examples
RefWorks citation management software can format your bibliography in the ASA Style. Current Dickinson College students, faculty, and staff can setup an individual RefWorks account. Please refer to our RefWorks FAQ or Contact a librarian for assistance.
Guidelines for citing primary sources from Archives and Special Collections