Research Guides: African & African-American Studies Research Guide: Find Articles and Databases

Introduction

This guide serves as an introduction to library resources relevant to African & African-American Studies. However, this guide is not a complete list of resources. To see additional resources relevant to African & African-American Studies, visit the A-Z databases list:

If you have questions, contact your librarian!

History, Music, and Literature Databases

These databases contain articles on African and African-American language, literature, history, and culture.

Academic Search Premier (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Scholarly journals, popular magazines and other resources covering most disciplines. A great place to start your research on any topic.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
JSTOR is a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources. Our subscribed content includes the Sustainability, Life Sciences, Arts & Sciences I-VII, XII, XV, and Ireland collections and more than 70,000 DRM-free ebooks from academic publishers.
Project MUSE This link opens in a new window
Project MUSE is a provider of digital humanities and social science content for the scholarly community. MUSE is a trusted source of complete, full-text versions of scholarly journals from many of the world's leading university presses and scholarly societies in literary theory, classics, history and cultural studies, philosophy, film, theater and performing arts, political science, and mathematics.
Gale Literature This link opens in a new window
This platform cross-searches the Dictionary of Literary Biography, Literature Criticism, and Something About the Author. Examine the lives and careers of authors as well as literature commentary of their works.
Resource Guide PDF Video Tutorials
MLA International Bibliography (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Subject index for books, articles and websites published on modern languages, literatures, folklore, and linguistics. Citations date back to 1925.

Primary Sources

These databases contain primary sources concerning African and African-American history and literature.

Apartheid South Africa, 1948-1980 (Archives Direct) This link opens in a new window
British Government documents on the subject of South Africa during the first 32 years of the Apartheid regime.
Twentieth-Century African American Poetry This link opens in a new window
Modern and contemporary African American poetry.
Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800 This link opens in a new window
Full text collection of books, pamphlets, and broadsides printed in the British American Colonies/United States from 1639 through 1800.
eHRAF World Cultures (Ethnography) This link opens in a new window
Ethnographic collections covering all aspects of cultural and social life. Approximately 300 cultures are covered in this database. See the eHRAF user guide.
Gale Primary Sources This link opens in a new window
This platform cross-searches primary sources from the 17th, 18th, and 19th century U.S. and British sources. Discover historic monographs, manuscripts, newspapers, maps, and early photographs.
The following databases searched at once via Gale Primary Sources:
- 17th and 18th Century Burney Collection
- British Library Newspapers
- Eighteenth Century Collections Online
- Financial Times Historical Archive
- International Herald Tribune Historical Archive 1887-2013
- Nineteenth Century Collections Online
- Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers
- Punch Historical Archive, 1841-1992
- The Economist Historical Archive
- The Illustrated London News Historical Archive, 1842-2003
- The Making of the Modern World
- The Times Digital Archive
Race Relations in America: Surveys and Papers from the Armistad Research Center, 1943-1970 This link opens in a new window
Surveys and Papers from The Amistad Research Center, 1943-1970
Slavery, Abolition & Social Justice This link opens in a new window
This resource brings together documents and collections from libraries and archives across the Atlantic world covering an extensive time period from 1490. Close attention has been given to the varieties of slavery, the legacy of slavery, the social justice perspective and the continued existence of slavery today.
Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture and Law This link opens in a new window
A collection of essential legal materials on slavery in the United States and the English-speaking world. It includes every statute passed by every colony and state on slavery, every federal statute dealing with slavery, and all reported state and federal cases on slavery.
Umbra: Search African American History This link opens in a new window
Umbra: Search African American History (UmbraSearch.org) is a freely available search tool that brings together the most extensive digital collection dedicated to African American history and culture from US archives, museums, and cultural heritage institutions.

Using Find It

If the article is not available in full-text within the database click the icon (available in many of the database) to help you retrieve the full-text article. Another window will open to UMD Library Catalog.

After clicking the UMD Find It icon, if the article is not available online or in the library, UMD Library Catalog will say "Check availability":

If you are not already logged into your library account, click Sign in to request
Click Interlibrary Loan and log in using your UMD credentials.
Choose "date needed by" and your department.
Submit your request.

If you need assistance contact a librarian.

Do you have more questions about FindIt? Check out this video from UMN Libraries on the subject

Kathryn A. Martin Library

African & African-American Studies Research Guide

Research Support & Liaison Librarian

Introduction

History, Music, and Literature Databases

Primary Sources

Using Find It