Reference Sources (Background)
Locating Books
Locating Articles (Databases & Indexes)
Websites
Evaluating Sources
Citing Sources
For additional sources, see the English & Literary Criticism page.
|
|
Reference Sources (Background)
The following list gives some representative reference titles relating to African-American literature and is not exhaustive.
African American Writers (2001, 2 volumes)
Ref PS 153 .N5 A344 2001
Entries on major African American writers, with biographical sketches, critical passages, and selective bibliographies. Also provides a chronology of African-American literature.
Black Literature Criticism (1992, 3 volumes)
Ref PS 153 N5 B556 1992
Biographies, bibliographies, and extensive criticisms for each author included.
Contemporary Literary Criticism (1973 to present, 102 volumes)
Ref PN 771 .C59 and selected articles in Literature Resource Center
Critical essays excerpted from books and journals on contemporary authors.
Gale Virtual Reference Library (current, full text)
15 key reference encyclopedias in biology and medicine, literature, and the social sciences. Includes Contemporary Novelists, Contemporary Poets, and Nonfiction Classics for Students.
Selected Volumes in the Dictionary of Literary Biography
Ref PS129 .D48 and in Literature Resource Center
Afro-American Writers After 1955: Dramatists and Prose Writers (1985, volume 38)
Afro-American Writers Before the Harlem Renaissance (1986, volume 50)
Afro-American Writers From the Harlem Renaissance to 1940 (1987, volume 51)
Afro-American Writers, 1940-1955 (1988, volume 76)
Entries each include a list of works and a bibliography.
Literature Resource Center
Provides access to critical analyses and biographical information on more than 120,000 novelists, poets, essayists, and other writers from around the world. Includes full-text of several reference sources.
Masterpieces of African-American Literature (1992)
Ref PS 153 N5 M264 1992
Includes descriptions of major characters, a synopsis of each entry, and a brief summary of criticism.
Oxford Reference Online: Literature (current, full text)
Search reference books published by Oxford University Press. Includes The Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature, The Oxford Companion to American Literature, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms, and A Dictionary of Writers and their Works, among others.
Locating Books
MaconCat
The library's online catalog, providing access to books, journals, music, and movies in the library. To search for information about an author, enter the author's name and search as subject.
WorldCat
A catalog of books and other materials in libraries worldwide.
Books and articles not owned by our library can be obtained from other libraries through Interlibrary Loan. Allow sufficient time for processing. Average turnaround time is 3-5 days for articles and 3-14 days for books, excluding holidays and weekends. Submit ILL requests well in advance of deadlines.
Locating Articles (Databases & Indexes)
MLA International Bibliography (1926 to present, citation only)
The premier database for literature research. Provides a comprehensive international listing of books, articles, and dissertations.
JSTOR (dates vary by journal, full text)
An archive of back issues of over 400 journals in many disciplines.
Arts and Humanities Citation Index (1980 to present, citation only)
Database with citations to articles in the arts and humanities fields.
Project MUSE (generally late 1990s to present, full text)
Coves over 300 journals in the humanities, arts, and social sciences.
Academic Search Complete
Websites
Black Arts Movement (University of Michigan)
Course site devoted to the history of the Black Arts Movement.
A Brief Chronology of African American Literature (San Antonio College)
Also includes links to information about individual authors.
Voice of the Shuttle (University of California, Santa Barbara)
Portal geared to researchers in the humanities, including a section on minority literature. Browseable and searchable.
Voices from the Gap (University of Minnesota)
An instructional website which focuses on the writing of North American women of color. Some biographies include bibliographies.
Evaluating Sources
Evaluating Sources (R-MC)
Is it POPULAR or is it SCHOLARLY? (R-MC)
Critical Evaluation of Resources on the Internet (University of Alberta Libraries)
Citing Sources
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (2003)
Ref Desk LB 2369 .G53 2003
Citing in MLA Style (R-MC)
Frequently Asked Questions about MLA Style (MLA)
Citing Full-Text from Library Databases (R-MC)
Citation Styles Online! (Bedford St. Martin's)
Includes examples of citations of various online sources in MLA, APA, Chicago and other styles.
KnightCite (Calvin College)
Automatically formats citation information according to MLA, APA, or Chicago styles.