The History of Racial Formation in the U.S., 1800-1990

| General Sources: Encyclopedias | General Sources: Books | General Sources: Journal Articles | Websites |

Print Media | Electronic Media | Comparative Racial Formations

Most of the databases linked from this page are restricted to UW students, staff and faculty. To connect to these databases from home you will need to first click on the Off-Campus Access button in the upper-right hand corner and login.

For research help, please contact Cass Hartnett the women's studies librarian via email at cass@u.washington.edu or Theresa Mudrock, the history librarian, at mudrock@u.washington.edu.

Encyclopedias

Encyclopedias and dictionaries provide background information and can be used to identify key people, events and dates which can then be used as search terms for finding additional information. More importantly, because encyclopedias often cover the major issues surrounding the subject, they can help you narrow your research from a broad “who, what, where, when” topic to a “how or why” question. In addition many encyclopedia articles include short bibliographies that will lead you to the major works on the topic.

Asian American encyclopedia Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- E184.O6 A827 1995 Dictionary of American History Encyclopedia of African-American culture and history Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- E185 .E54 2006 Encyclopedia of American immigration Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- JV6465 .E53 2000 Encyclopedia of American social history Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- HN57 .E58 1993 Encyclopedia of North American Indians Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America Latinas in the United States: a historical encyclopedia Suzzallo Reference -- E184.S75 L35 2006 Oxford African American Studies Center Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States Racial and ethnic relations in America Suzzallo Reference -- E49 .R33 2000

Books

Use the following databases to locate books in the UW Libraries and in other libraries around the region, nation and world. Books unavailable at the UW can be requested through Summit (if available at one of the member libraries) or through Interlibrary Loan.

UW Libraries Catalog A listing of the books, journal subscriptions and other material available at the University of Washington Libraries. Summit Joint catalog of more than 25 academic libraries in Oregon and Washington. Books can be requested and shipped to the UW for pick-up. OhioLINK Use OhioLink to access chapters of recent books, use the "Words" search option. OCLC WorldCat Joint catalog of thousands of major libraries in the U.S. and abroad. Useful for identifying materials for interlibrary loan purposes.

Journal Articles

Use databases to find articles on a topic. Use those which best fit your research topic. For a complete list of databases see Research Databases on the Library homepage.

To find a copy of the article, use the Check for UW Holdings button available on most databases to locate a copy in the library. If there is no button, search the UW Libraries Catalog for the title of the journal to locate a copy. Be sure to have the complete citation (author, title, journal name, volume, pages and year) of your article.

Articles from journals which the UW does not own can be requested via Interlibrary loan.

America History & Life This is the best database to find articles dealing with all aspects of American and Canadian history. Also includes citations to selected books, dissertations and reviews. Black Studies Center This database includes an index to articles (with some fulltext), topical essays and the Chicago Defender newspaper (primary source). Chicano Index Index to articles on Mexican American topics. Also see Hispanic American Periodical Index [HAPI]. Contemporary Women's Issues Full-text collection of feminist publications. Proquest Databases This is a good general beginning database to find articles on all subjects. Proquest includes newspapers, magazines and scholarly journals. JSTOR JSTOR is a collection of more than 40 full-text history-related journals. For another collection of searchable electronic journals related to history see Project Muse.

Websites

The Web is a growing source for primary sources dealing with U.S. history. The sites listed here have substantial collections of primary sources dealing with American women's history. See History on the Web for other history websites. For information on evaluating primary source websites see Using Primary Sources on the Web.

American Memory The premier site for American history. The Library of Congress has digitized more than 100 collections ranging from presidential papers to baseball cards. African American Experience in Ohio African American Perspectives: Pamphlets from the Daniel A.P. Murray Collection American Indians of the Pacific Northwest American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940 Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938 Chinese in California, 1850-1925 Votes for Women: Selections from the National American Woman Suffrage Collection Women's History A guide to library and internet resources at Middle Tennessee State University. Includes links to bibliographies, online exhibits and other internet resources. Especially see the links to Digital Collections to Primary Sources.

Photographs from American Memory.