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Africana Studies
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Researching Africana Studies
Welcome to the Africana Studies research guide. This guide brings together resources for starting your research in the following subject areas:
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African American studies
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African diasporic studies
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African history and contemporary issues
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Caribbean Studies
Please contact your Africana Studies subject librarians for assistance! We are happy to help and we also research Africana Studies topics ourselves. We can help you:
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develop keywords and refine your topic
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gather background information
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get started on your research
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help you learn about citation tools
This page is a work in progress and we are developing more pages on African History, Religious Studies and Theology, Activism, and Women & Gender Studies, though these topics are already touched upon through the sources throughout this guide. If you would like to make a suggestion or for us to prioritize work in a particular topic area, please reach out.
New Primary Source Databases in Africana Studies!
Based on suggestions from Africana Studies faculty, the library subscribed to the following databases in December 2020. Please contact one of the Africana Studies librarians if you would like a demo or assistance using any of these databases.
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African American Newspapers – Series 1 & 2 This link opens in a new windowExplore the nation's past in unprecedented ways. Search and browse American newspapers published across three centuries.
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African American Periodicals: 1825-1995 This link opens in a new windowExplore African American history, culture and society in the 19th and 20th centuries.
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African Americans and Jim Crow This link opens in a new windowAfrican Americans and Jim Crow: Repression and Protest, 1883-1922. Crucial documents covering the lives of African Americans during the rise of segregation and Jim Crow.
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African Americans and Reconstruction Hope and Struggle (1865-1883) This link opens in a new windowCrucial documents covering the lives of African Americans in the years following the Civil War.
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Civil Rights in America: From Reconstruction to the Great Society This link opens in a new windowPremier archive of official publications and primary source material related to civil rights in the United States from the 19th century through the 20th century.
Antiracist Readings
Getting Started
Search keywords in the following sources to define your research question and gather key background information. As you browse the topic overviews in the following sources, be on the lookout for important keywords (names, places, events, etc.) relevant to the heart of your developing research question. You may also notice references and bibliographies to specific books and articles for continuing your reading.
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Oxford African American Studies Center This link opens in a new windowComprehensive collection of scholarship available online to focus on the lives and events which have shaped African American and African history and culture.
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Opposing Viewpoints in Context (Gale) This link opens in a new windowCovers current social issues, from offshore drilling to climate change, health care to immigration. This cross-curricular research tool supports science, social studies, current events, and language arts classes.
