Ethnic Studies

Because the field of ethnic studies is multidisciplinary, this guide is an introduction to selected sources and is not intended to be comprehensive. If you need assistance in locating these or any other sources, please ask at the Reference Desk. There are separate research guides for African-American Studies, Asian-American Studies, Hispanic-American Studies, Middle Eastern Americans, and Native American Studies, as well as for the Human Relations Area Files.

Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, and Handbooks || Indexes, Abstracts, and Full Text Sources || Bibliographies || Statistics || Directories and Guides || Atlases || Internet Sources

DICTIONARIES, ENCYCLOPEDIAS, AND HANDBOOKS.

American Immigrant Cultures: Builders of a Nation. 2 vols. 1997.: Encyclopedic essays on 161 non-indigenous cultural groups in the United States. Mugar Ref. X E184 A1 A63448 1997.
Countries and their Cultures. 4 vols. 2001.: From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, 225 entries describe the ways of life of the peoples of each country. Mugar GN307 C68 2001.
Dictionary of American Immigration History. 1990.: Includes introductory essay and more than 2500 entries on various aspects of immigration. Selected bibliography. Mugar Ref. X JV6450 D53 1990.
Dictionary of Race and Ethnic Relations. 4th ed. 1996.: Basic guide to terminology in the field of race and ethnic relations. Mugar Ref. X GN496 C37 1996.
Dictionary of Race, Ethnicity and Culture. 2003.: Interdisciplinary dictionary defining 200 concepts and terms on culture, ethnicity, and race, from "acculturation" to "Zionism." Mugar GN495.6 D53 2003.

Dictionary of Races or Peoples. 1911.: Report of the Immigration Commission [U.S. Congress] in the form of a dictionary treating "more than six hundred subjects, covering all the imporatnat and and many of the obscure branchs of the human family....intended primarily as a discussion of the various races and peoples indigenous to the countries furnishing the present immigration movement to the United States..."
Encyclopedia of American Immigration. 4 vols. 2000.: Topical encyclopedia with 150+ essays covering immigration history from prehistory to the present, immigration issues, immigrant groups in America (organized by region), and original immigration documents. Mugar Ref. X JV6465 E53 2000.
The Encyclopedia of Human Ecology. 2 vols. 2003.: Multi-disciplinary encyclopedia with 250+ entries examining human environments and human interactions and their impact on our health, quality of life, and natural and human-made environments. Covers such varied topics as adolescents, young adults, elderly and family issues, gays and lesbians, ethnic groups, juvenile justice, violence in teen dating, death, drugs, smoking, suicide, housing, and the men's movement. Mugar Ref. GF4 E53 2003.


Encyclopedia of Race and Ethnic Studies. 2004.: Arranged alphabetically from "aboriginal Australians" to "Zionism," the entries in this work cover key concepts, debates, individuals (historical and contemporary), historical events and landmark cases pertaining to race and ethnicity. Mugar Ref. X GN495.6 C37 2004.
The Encyclopedia of the Peoples of the World. 1993.: Guide to contemporary peoples and ethnic groups worldwide, with an emphasis on political and geographical history, rather than cultural differences. Contains maps, illustrations, and references. Mugar GN495.4 E53 1993.
Encyclopedia of Racism in the United States. 3 vols. 2005.: More than 450 essays spanning Colonial times to the present, covering key terms, organizations, movements, incidents, forums, texts, individuals, legislation, theories, landmark court cases, and groups. Includes primary sources. Mugar Ref. X E184 A1 E773 2005.
Encyclopedia of the United States in the Nineteenth Century. 3 vols. 2001.: Arranged alphabetically with lengthy articles on all aspects of life in the U.S. in the nineteenth century. Use the table of contents in volume 1, or the sytematic outline of contents and detailed subject index in volume 3 to locate your topic. Mugar Ref. X E169.1 E626 2001.
Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities. 3 vols. 2005.: From "aborigines" to "Zoroastrians," the 562 essays cover topics, nations, ethnic groups, and biographies of individuals significant in the history of minority peoples. Mugar Ref. X GN495.4 E63 2005.
Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures. 6 vols. 2003 - .: "An interdisciplinary, transhistorical, global project covering women and Islamic cultures in societies where there have been significant Muslim populations from the period just before the rise of Islam to the present." Mugar Ref. X BP173.4 E538 2003
Encyclopedia of World Cultures. 10 vols. 1991-1996.: Profiles 1500 cultures worldwide. Arranged geographically by region. Mugar Ref. X GN307 E53 1991.
Encyclopedia of World Cultures. Supplement. 2002.: Includes entries for cultures not included in the 10-volume set as well as updated and expanded entries. Mugar Ref. X GN307 E53 1991.

Ethnic Groups Worldwide: A Ready Reference Handbook. 1998.: Arranged alphabetically by country name within four regions, this volume contains profiles describing the ethnic composition and ethnic relations of each country. Mugar Ref. X GN325 L46 1998.
Ethnic Relations: A Cross-Cultural Encyclopedia. 1994.: Provides definitions and cross-cultural information about such topics as ethnic cleansing, assimilation, and ethnocentrism. Contains descriptive profiles of 38 ethnic conflicts around the world. Includes annotated directory of organizations concerned with ethnic relations and human rights. Mugar GN 496 L48 1994.
Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America. 2000. (ChRiv-px).: More than 150 essays on ethnic and ethno-religious groups (e.g., Amish) in the U.S., including native American groups and more recent arrivals, such as the Hmong.
Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups. 1980.: Contains lengthy histories of ethnic groups in the U.S. from Acadians to Zoroastrians, as well as entries on subjects such as prejudice and discrimination. Mugar Ref. X E184 A1 H35.
The Italian American Exeprience: An Encyclopedia. 2000.: Encyclopedic account of the historical and cultural contributions of Italian Americans. Includes biographical entiries on prominent Italian Americans. Mugar Ref. X E184 I8 I673 2000.

Latinas in the United States: A Historical Encyclopedia. 3 vols. 2006.: With nearly 600 entries and 300 photographs, this work includes regional and historical overviews of Latina history; biographical essays on Latina women; entries on events, organizations, current issues, and more. There are lists of biographical entries and of organizations. Mugar Ref. X E184 S75 L35 2006.

New Immigrant Literatures in the United States: A Sourcebook to Our Multicultural Literary Heritage. 1996.: Critical essays on Asian-American, Caribbean-American, European-American, and Mexican-American literature; and selected primary and secondary bibliographic citations. Mugar PS153 M56 N475 1996.
Times Guide to the Peoples of Europe. 1994.: Arranged by area, this is a guide to more than 100 separate ethnic groups in Europe, from Azerbaijanis to Lapps, Chechens to Canary Islanders. For larger groups, describes history, language, nationalism, society, religion and economy. Mugar GN575 T55 1994.

Within Our Gates: Ethnicity in American Feature Films, 1911-1960. 1997.: Discusses every known American film with a connection (behind or in front of the camera) to ethnicity. Arranged alphabetically, the entries include plot summaries, principle actors and directors. There are
chronological, personal name, subject, ethnic category, and foreign language indexes. Mugar Ref. X PN1995.9.M56 W58 1997.
World Directory of Minorities. 2nd ed. 1997.: Describes economic, social, and political conditions concerning ethnic, linguistic, and religious minorities, indigenous peoples, and nomadic tribes in more than 200 countries and dependent territories. Arranged by country within eleven geographic regions. Many entries include sources for further reading and addresses of minority-based and advocacy organizations. Appendixes include UN Declaration of Human Rights and other related human rights bills, conventions, and declarations. Mugar GN495.4 W67 1997.

INDEXES, ABSTRACTS, AND FULL TEXT SOURCES.

America: History and Life. 1964 - . (BU-px).: Indexes and abstracts the periodical literature and dissertations on North American history and culture, from prehistoric times to the present.
Anthropological Index. 1957 - . (BU-px).: "The Anthropological Index Online is based on the journal holdings of The Anthropology Library at the British Museum (formerly Museum of Mankind) which receives periodicals in all branches of anthropology, from academic institutions and publishers around the world."
Anthropological Literature. Late 19th century to the present. (ChRiv-px).: Comprehensive international index to articles and essays on anthropology and archaeology, including art history, demography, economics, psychology, and religious studies. Updated quarterly, Anthropological Literature indexes articles two or more pages long in works published in English and other European languages from the late 19th century to the present.

Anthrosource. Late 19th century to the present. (ChRiv-px).: Developed by the American Anthropological Association (AAA), Anthrosource brings 100 years of anthropological material online, including: a complete electronic archive of all AAA journals through 2003; seamless access to archival content housed at JSTOR for 6 key AAA publications including American Anthropologist; and current issues for 15 of the AAA's most critical peer-reviewed publications.
Congressional Quarterly Researcher. (ChRiv).: A full text resource offering basic background information on many contemporary issues of interest to Congress. An excellent starting point for research into major public issues, this source gives summary coverage to all sides of the issues along with extremely useful bibliographies.
Contemporary Women's Issues. 1992 - . (ChRiv-px).: Full-text database, international in scope, covering such topics as health and reproductive issues, development, human rights, arts and media, customs, family life, violence, and legal issues. Includes journal articles, newsletters, fact sheets, proceedings, and the alternative press. An Instruction Guide is available.
Ethnic NewsWatch. 1990 - . (BU-px).: A comprehensive full-text database of the newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic, minority, and native press.
FRANCIS. 1984 - . (ChRiv-px).: Multilingual, multidisciplinary index to journals in the social sciences and humanities.
HAPI: Hispanic American Periodicals Index. 1970 - . (ChRiv-px).: Subject/author index to articles, bibliographies, documents, literary works, and reviews on U.S. Hispanics and on Latin America.
PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service). 1915 - . (BU-px).: Index to articles, books and documents in public affairs and public policy, including social conditions.
Sage Race Relations Abstracts. 1980 -2002 .: Contains abstracts of periodical articles on race, race relations, and related topics. Mugar Z7164 R12 S12.Storage: Use Request Form.
Social Sciences Citation Index. 1973 - . (BU-px).: Interdisciplinary index to 4700+ journals and collected volumes in the social and behavioral sciences. Provides access by author, citation and subject. Mugar Z7161 S65, (1956-1975). Storage: Use Request Form.
Social Sciences Full Text. 1983 - . (ChRiv-px): Indexes and abstracts core journals in such fields as anthropology, criminal justice and criminology, gender studies, geography, gerontology, minority studies, social work, sociology, and urban studies. Includes full text of articles from 215+ journals as far back as 1995. For retrospective searching (1907-1984) use Humanities and Social Sciences Retrospective, which indexes nearly 1,200 periodicals as early as 1907.
Sociological Abstracts. 1952 - . (BU-px).: Indexes and abstracts periodical articles, conference papers, proceedings, dissertations and book reviews in sociology and related fields.
Studies on Women and Gender Abstracts. 1995 - . (ChRiv): Indexes and abstracts journal articles, chapters, and books on women. The focus is on "education, employment, women in the family and community, medicine and health, female sex and gender role socialisation, social policy, the social psychology of women, female culture, media treatment of women, biography, literary criticism, and historical studies." Formerly Studies on Women Abstracts (1983-1999), Mugar Z7962 S78. Storage: Use Request Form.

Women's Studies International. 1972 - . (BU-px).: Contains citations or citations/abstracts from ten women's studies databases.

BIBLIOGRAPHIES.

American Ethnic Literatures: Native American, African American, Chicano/Latino and Asian American Writers and Their Backgrounds: An Annotated Bibliography. 1992.: Brief narrative histories and an annotated bibliography of primary literature, secondary criticism and background sources on native American, African-American, Chicano/Latino and Asian-American writers. Mugar Ref. X Z1229 E87 P43 1992.
Arabic-Speaking Immigrants in the United States and Canada: A Bibliographical Guide. 1985.: Bibliography of books, dissertations, theses, pamphlets, and articles. Lists Arabic newspapers published in North America. Mugar Z1361 A73 S28 1985. Storage: Use Request Form.
Black Immigration and Ethnicity in the United States: An Annotated Bibliography. 1985.: Bibliography of scholarly and journalistic literature on black immigration. Mugar Z1361 N39 B553 1985. Storage: Use Request Form.
A Comprehensive Bibliography for the Study of American Minorities. 2 vols. 1976.: Contains nearly 30,000 entries. Arranged geographically and by culture. Bibliographic essays precede each group. Mugar Z1361 E4 M529. Storage: Use Request Form.
Cuban and Cuban-American Women: An Annotated Bibliography. 2000.: Volume containing more than 1500 annotated entries on Cuban and Cuban-American women in the 19th and 20th centuries. Includes descriptions of archival resources, monographs, and journal and newspaper articles. Mugar Z7964 C85 S76 2000. Storage: Use Request Form.
Demography of Racial and Ethnic Minorities in the United States. 1984.: Introductory essay summarizes demographic developments regarding minorities. Entries arranged by topic, including mortality, fertility, and demography. Mugar Z1361 E4 M65 1984. Storage: Use Request Form.
The Ellis Island Source Book. 1985.: Compendium of information on Ellis Island, including 112 page bibliography, guide to Ellis Island documents holdings worldwide, oral history projects, and factual information. Mugar Ref. X JV6483 B64 1985.
Immigrant Women in the United States: A Selectively Annotated Multidisciplinary Bibliography. 1989.: Includes 2000+ entries for scholarly articles, dissertations, and books. Organized by topic. Mugar Z7164 I3 G33 1989. Storage: Use Request Form.
Judaica Americana: An Annotated Bibliography of Publications from 1960 to 1990. 2 vols. 1995.: Annotated bibliography of monographic and periodical literature on American Jewish history and life since 1960. Mugar Ref. X Z6373 U5 K34 1995.
Latinas of the Americas: A Source Book. 1989.: Consists of bibliographic essays on women in Latin America. Mugar Z7964 L3 S76 1989. Storage: Use Request Form.

Multiracial America: A Resource Guide on the History and Literature of Interracial Issues. 2005.: Annotated bibliography on racially mixed people and interracial issues. Topics include interracial dating, transracial adoption, and more. Covers books, articles, web sites, documentaries, films, and videos. Mugar Ref. X Z1361 E4 M86 2005.
Race and Crime: An Annotated Bibliography. 2000.: Annotated bibliography of books, monographs, journal articles, dissertations, special issues, government documents, and websites on race and offending, race and victimization, and race and criminal justice system professionals. Mugar Ref. X Z5703.5 U5 R87 2000.
Race and Ethnic Relations: An Annotated Bibliography. 1984.: Includes more than 1000 entries for sociological studies on race and ethnicity. Arranged by subject, with an introductory essay. Mugar Z1361 E4 K54 1984. Storage: Use Request Form.
Racism in Contemporary America. 1996.: Bibliographic citations to published articles, books, documents, theses, dissertations, reports and other materials. Arranged under 87 subject headings. Mugar Ref. X Z1361 N39 W45 1996.
Sourcebook of Hispanic Culture in the United States. 1982.: Annotated bibliography on Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban-Americans. Begins with an introductory essay. Mugar Z1361 S7 S64 1982. Storage: Use Request Form.
Substance Abuse Among Ethnic Minorities in America: A Critical Annotated Bibliography. 1992.: Contains summaries and critiques of articles on the etiologic and epidemiologic factors of substance use and abuse, treatment, and prevention. Includes blacks, Hispanics, native Americans, Alaska natives, and Asian/Pacific Islanders. Mugar Z7164 D78 S8 1992. Storage: Use Request Form.
Women of Color in the United States: A Guide to the Literature. 1989.: Contains citations for books, journal articles, chapters, and dissertations on African, Asian, Hispanic, and native American women. Mugar Z7964 U49 R4 1989. Storage: Use Request Form.

Women Playwrights of Diversity: A Bio-Bibliographical Sourcebook. 1997.: Alphabetically arranged entries for African American, Latina, Asian American, and lesbian
playwrights. Entries include biographical sketches, descriptions of individual plays, production histories, information on the availability of both published and unpublished works, a list of awards, and a selected bibliography of critical articles and reviews. Mugar PS338 W6 P48 1997.

STATISTICS.

Ancestry in America: A Comparative City-by-City Guide to Over 200 Ethnic Backgrounds -- With Rankings. 2003.: Race, Hispanic origin, and ancestry data for 4,206 communities with a population of 10,000+ and comparative ancestry rankings for the top 150 places. A companion CD-ROM ( Mugar Reserve Room HB3505 .A53 2003 CD-ROM) has data for all 33,150 populated places in the US, and comparative rankings for the top 600 communities for each ancestry. There are 217 separate ethnicities listed. Data are derived from the SF1 and SF3 files of the 2000 Census. Mugar HB3505 A53 2003.

DIRECTORIES AND GUIDES.

Guide to Information Resources in Ethnic Museum, Library and Archival Collections in the United States. 1996.: From Afghanistan American Resources to Welsh American Resources, a guide to 786 ethnic museum, library, or archival collections of more than 70 ethnic groups, as well as multi-ethnic collections and institutions, organizations and research-oriented centers. Mugar Ref. X Z1361 E4 B89 1996.

ATLASES.

Atlas of American Diversity. 1998.: Examines issues of crime, health, immigration and migration, language, politics, and socioeconomic status as they relate to racial and ethnic variance in America. Mugar E184 A1 S575 1998.
Mapping Census 2000: The Geography of U.S. Diversity.: "Presents a synthesis of the basic patterns and changes in U.S. population distribution in the last decade. Each page features county-level detail for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico." Mugar Ref. X G1201 E25 B7 2001.
We The People: An Atlas of America's Ethnic Diversity. 1988.: Visual guide to America's ethnic heritage, showing the migration and distribution of ethnic groups. Has bibliographies listing U.S. government documents and other sources used in the atlas. Mugar Ref. X E184 A1 A479 1988.

INTERNET SOURCES.

Center for the Study of White American Culture.: "The Center examines white American culture in the context of the greater American culture. Explicitly a multiracial organization, the Center predicates its work on the founding belief that a complete examination of white American culture must include the perspectives of both insiders and outsiders to that culture."
Cultural Survival.: Information on the publications and work of this Cambridge-based organization founded in 1972 to help indigenous peoples and ethnic groups deal as equals in their relations with national and international societies. Extensive links to indigenous, ethnic and other related Web sites.

Information Wanted: A Database of Advertisements for Irish Immigrants Published in the Boston Pilot.: Interactive database of 31,438 records containing genealogical information on Irish-Americans who immigrated to the U.S. from the early 1800s through the early 1900s.
Minority Links.: "Quick and easy links to the latest data on racial and ethnic populations in the United States" from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Multicultural Pavilion.: Extensive collection of links to multicultural websites. Includes: African-American, native American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian-American, national/ethnic, multicultural organizations, race relations resources, resources for educators, data archives, e-journals, and more.

The Polish Presence in North America: An Update for Electronic Resources.: A librarian-authored guide to electronic resources on Polish immigrants, displaced persons and refugees who settled in North America. Includes organizations, special collections, bibliographies, government, religion, genealogy, and newspapers.

The Sociology of Race and Ethnicity.: Trinity University (San Antonio) Sociology professor Michael Kearl's Web site on race, ethnicity, stereotypes, and intermarriage, with links to additional sites on race, affirmative action, African Americans, Arab Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, and native Americans.
Tangled Roots.: "Tangled Roots is a research project about the shared history of African Americans and Irish Americans. It grows from the mission of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Abolition, Resistance and Slavery at Yale University to investigate and disseminate information concerning all aspects of the Atlantic slave system and its destruction. With the support of the Gilder Lehrman Center, the Tangled Roots project seeks to investigate the history of American slaves and immigrants from Ireland and to consider the links between them. A collection of primary documents from the 17th century to the present provides portraits of people and events from the history of African and Irish Americans. The objective of the project is to foster an understanding of the tangled roots of the shared history. The project is dedicated to an understanding of race and ethnicity in America."

The World Wide Web Virtual Library: Indigenous Studies.: Large collection of links to sites by and about indigenous nations. Maintained by the Center for World Indigenous Studies (CWIS), Australia National University's Aboriginal Studies WWW Virtual Library, and the Circumpolar WWW Virtual Library.

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