Ethnic Studies:
African American Studies

Background Information
Taking a few minutes to read about your topic in a specialized encyclopedia, dictionary or handbook may be one of the most effective and time saving research tips in this guide. These can help you define unfamiliar terms, locate quick biographical information, verify dates and events. Encyclopedia articles are often followed by carefully selected bibliographies or lists of references to other works, useful items to have as you begin looking for additional information. The following are located on the Reference shelves behind the Reference Desk area.

If you'd like learn more about research and online resources stop by the Reference Desk, or take a class at the Library.
Encyclopedia of African American Culture and History Ref E185.E54 1996
African-American traditions in song, sermon, tale, and dance, 1600s-1920. Ref NXZ5956.A47S68 1990
Chronology of African-American History Ref E185.H64
Encyclopedia of Civil Rights In America.1998 Ref E185.61.E544
Kwanzaa: everything you always wanted to know but didn't... 1990 Ref GT4403.M39
Encyclopedia of minorities in American Politics Ref E184.A1 E574 2000

Finding Articles
Try starting your search with a periodical index which arranges articles by subject. There are many indexes to choose from that are available online, however many indexes are only accessible in print. These are located in the Reference Area or in the Library Stacks. An often overlooked resource for journal articles are the bibliographies that can be found at the end of related journal articles or in books on your topic. Stop by the Reference Desk for help.

Databases relevant to African American Studies: Go to Ethnic Studies Subject Guide for links to these databases
ABI (business) Alternative Press Index America: History and Life (history)
Criminal Justice Abstracts EBSCOhost: Academic Search ERIC (education)
Ethnic Newswatch GenderWatch Infotrac: Academic Index (1980-present)
Left Index MLA (literature) PsycINFO(psychology)
Sociological Abstracts San Francisco Chronicle San Jose Mercury

Print Indexes
Index to Periodical Articles by and about Blacks.1960-. Ref EZ1361.N39O48
African American newspapers: The 19th Century. Ref PNZ 6944.N39A37 1998

Finding Books
Don't bother looking for the card catalog if you want to locate books at CSUS. The catalogs for finding materials in the library are computerized. These online catalogs are powerful search tools, but to take full advantage of them you may need some help getting started. Stop by the Reference Desk for one on one assistance in learning how to use these systems, or check out the workshops offered throughout the school year.

CSU Sacramento Catalog
EUREKA is CSUS's local online library system. It allows you to locate books, periodicals, government publications, music scores, films and more. EUREKA also provides status information, e.g. if the material is checked out. It does not, however, index journal contents or include the full text of articles. For help locating materials or instruction on using EUREKA or the online databases please ask at the Reference Desk.

Library of Congress Subject Headings
EUREKA along with the majority of the online databases use "Library of Congress Subject Headings" (large red books near the Reference Desk) to catalog books. These subject headings are slow to change and sometimes removed from contemporary usage; they are, however, extremely useful in locating books and articles. Subject headings:
African Diaspora
Africans -- America
Afro American Art
Afro American Women
Afro Americans -- Civil Rights
Afro Americans Intellectual Life		 Afro Americans -- History -- to 1863
Afro Americans Social Life and Customs
Afro Americans and Mass Media
Black Muslims
Black power
Free Afro Americans -- biography		 Gullahs -- History
Minorities -- California
Race Discrimination
Race Relations
Racism -- United States
Afrocentrism
Ethnic groups or geographical locations can be substituted for other groups or locations.
Some names and organizations can also be used in subject searches.

Statistics
Historical Statistics of Black America Ref E185.H543 1995 v. 1-2
Statistical record of Black America Ref E185.5.S8 1997
Historical and Cultural Atlas of African Americans Ref E185.A8 1991

Biographies and Directories
Black Women in America Ref E185.96.B539 1999
African American Biographies Ref E185.96.H38 1994

Bibliographies
A bibliography is a list of books, articles and sometimes other materials such as films and recordings. They can be entire books, within books or at the end of journal articles. These are often overlooked resources that can be a treasure trove of related sources. Some are even annotated, with short descriptions of each entry. A well-organized, carefully selected and annotated bibliography can lead you to the best and most relevant sources on your topic.
Afro-American Fiction, 1853-1976 Ref PSZ1229.N39M37
Afro-American nationalism Ref EZ1361.N39.H47 1986
Black Dance: an annotated bibliography Ref GVZ7514.D2A33 1989
Black Writers: a selection of sketches from Contemporary authors Ref PN490.B53 1989
Blacks in Film and Television Ref PNZ5784.M9G72 1990
Early Black American playwrights and dramatic writers Ref PS153.N5P44 1990
The Harlem Renaissance: an annotated reference guide for student research Ref NXZ5956.A47R64 1998

Style Guides
When you write a research paper, it's important that you credit the scholars and critics who have contributed to your ideas, whatever the format their publications may take (print, sound, film, WWW). There are guides specific to certain fields of study, or your professor or instructor may request a specific bibliographic and citation style. Some Reference Guides that provide more detail on bibliographies and specific style guides are:
APA Style Guide 5th edition Style Manuals and Guides (includes MLA and Chicago)
ASA Style Guide Citing Electronic Resources

WWW
The World Wide Web (WWW) provides a means of connecting to a vast amount of information via the Internet. The range of information is enormous, ever-changing and astonishingly varied. However, just because something comes packaged in a high tech format, doesn't mean it's well researched or accurate. One approach to researching the Web is to start your search using a site that is more likely to focus on scholarly resources and critically evaluate your WWW search results.
African American Perspectives http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/aap/aaphome.html
African Studies WWW (U. Penn) http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/AS.html
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture Finding Aids http://digilib.nypl.org/dynaweb/ead/scm/
The Blackstripe http://www.blackstripe.com/

Created and maintained by Kathryn Blackmer Reyes, Ethnic Studies & Multicultural Librarian. Univ. Library Rm. 3032, 3rd floor. 916.278.7784. Last Modified: August 7, 2003