Why use Specialized Encyclopedias?
Subject Encyclopedias are great for
- choosing a topic
- educating yourself quickly
- perspective on a topic
- variant spellings, vocabulary, terminology
- bibliographies of critical sources
Recommended
Use authoritative dictionaries and reference sources.
Wikipedia might be a handy tool in some cases, but it's not what your professors would call a reliable or authoritative reference source. The library resources listed below provide access to scholarly information on a range of subjects. Use the Library Subject Guides to find many more.
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Oxford Reference OnlineCovers general reference, language, science and medicine, humanities and social sciences, business and professional subjects.
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Oxford Bibliographies OnlinePeer-reviewed annotated bibliographies on specific topics in a range of subject areas.
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Sage Reference OnlineReference books published by SAGE, including such areas as African American studies, aging & anthropology, business and management, communication and media studies, counseling and psychotherapy, criminology and criminal justice, economics, education, environment, family studies, gender & sexuality studies, geography, health and social welfare, history, politics and international relations, psychology, research methods and evaluation, science, philosophy, and theology, sociology, and urban studies and planning.
Race and Ethnicity
The list is only a selection. Browse the shelves adjacent to a given title for more.
For American Indian history, see the Reference Sources page of the American Indian Studies guide.
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Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History byCall Number: Olin Library Reference, E185 .E54 2006Publication Date: 2005Detroit, Mich. : Macmillan Reference USA, 2006. 6 volumes.
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Encyclopedia of Muslim-American History
Call Number: Olin Library Reference, E184.M88 E876 2010 +Publication Date: 2010New York : Facts on File, c2010. 2 volumes. -
Encyclopedia of Race and Racism
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Call Number: Olin Library Reference, E184.A1 E584 2013Publication Date: 2013Detroit : Macmillan Reference USA/Thomson Gale, c2008. 3 volumes -
Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Society
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Call Number: Online, onlyPublication Date: 2008[Los Angeles] : SAGE Publications, [2008] -
Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America
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Call Number: Olin Library Reference, E184.A1 G14x 1999Publication Date: 1999Detroit : Gale Group, 1999. 3 volumes -
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States
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Call Number: Olin Library Reference, E184.S75 O97 2005Publication Date: 2005
Encyclopedias of United States History
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Oxford encyclopedia of American history"The clear, compelling mission of the ORE of American History is simple: to create a comprehensive, innovative, and scholarly online resource in American history available to everyone in the world with internet access. The ORE of American History will change as it progresses, keeping up with new scholarship and expanding yearly with new essays on topics of previously unrealized importance. Authors will be able to modify and enlarge essays as new sources and methods change the way history can be written. In short, the ORE of American History intends to be a dynamic encyclopedia reflecting how the best scholarship and research — as much in history as in the sciences and social sciences — profits through new methods and new modes of inquiry, enlarging our understanding of past and present alike." Editor Jon Butler
Cambridge Histories
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Cambridge Histories OnlineProvides full text online access to the complete 300-plus volumes of Cambridge Histories reference series. Provides political, economic and social history, philosophy and literature of selected countries and subjects.
Selected American History
The list is only a selection. Browse the shelves adjacent to a given title for more.
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Encyclopedia of American StudiesCovers the history, philosophy, arts, and cultures of the United States in relation to the world, from pre-colonial days to the present, from various perspectives and the global American Studies movement. With over 800 online, searchable articles and accompanying bibliographies, related websites, illustrations, and supplemental material, the Encyclopedia of American Studies is the leading reference work for American Studies.
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The Encyclopedia of New York City
Publication Date: 2010A newly updated, expanded edition of the most comprehensive one-volume reference work on New York City ever compiled Covering an exhaustive range of information about the five boroughs, the first edition of The Encyclopedia of New York City was a success by every measure, earning worldwide acclaim and several awards for reference excellence, and selling out its first printing before it was officially published.
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Encyclopedia of VirginiaEncyclopedia for the entire state of Virginia which will include articles on cities and the history of the state.
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The London Encyclopaedia
Call Number: Olin Library Reference Oversize DA679 .L84 1986 +Publication Date: 1986A classic source. -
Oxford A Very Short Introduction: Asian American History
Publication Date: 2016 -
American immigration a very short introduction
Publication Date: 2011 -
Encyclopaedia of Civil Rights in America
Call Number: Olin Library Oversize E185.61 .E544x 1998 +Essays on fundamental documents, court decisions and laws, while examining the aspects of public and private life they serve to protect, and highlighting those individuals who are and have been influential in defining and interpreting civil rights. -
The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African-American Civil Rights
Call Number: Africana Library Reference E185.61 .E54 2003ISBN: 0313327661Publication Date: 2003Two volumes with bibliography.
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Encyclopedia of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender history in AmericaAlso available in print. Call number: Olin Library Reference, HQ76.3.U5 E53x 2004
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Encyclopedia of U.S. labor and working-class historyAlso available in print. Location and call number: ILR Library Reference, HD8066 .A78 2006
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American Countercultures
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Call Number: Olin Library Reference, HM647 .A44 2009 +Publication Date: 2009Armonk, N.Y. : Sharpe Reference, 3 volumes. -
Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History
Call Number: Olin Library Reference, E169.1 .E624x 2001 +Publication Date: 2001New York : Charles Scribner’s Sons, 3 volumes.
