LibGuides: ENGL 3181: Survey of American Literature, 1871-1945: Background Information

Online Encyclopedias

Highlighted Encyclopedias for ENGL 3181

These sources were picked as especially relevant for the themes of this course by Prof. Kassanoff. More general encyclopedias and methods for searching across digital encyclopedias are listed below.

American Decades by Manly; Vincent Tompkins (Editor)
ISBN: 0810357224
Publication Date: 1996
Entries in this multi-volume collection document and analyze periods of contemporary American social history. The original 10-volume set covers 1900-1999; the additional Volume 11 covers 2000-2009.
American Women's History by Doris L. Weatherford
ISBN: 0671850091
Publication Date: 1994-02-01
American Women's History chronicles the dynamic role of women in the growth of "the land of the free." With detailed biographies, as well as thematic entries on topics such as dress reform, birth control, and the suffrage movement, this book examines women's contributions to American culture and history.
Anti-Immigration in the United States by Kathleen R. Arnold (Editor)
ISBN: 9780313375217
Publication Date: 2011-09-23
A comprehensive treatment of anti-immigration sentiment exploring debate, policies, ideas, and key groups from historical and contemporary perspectives.
Class in America by Robert E. Weir (Editor)
ISBN: 9780313337192
Publication Date: 2007-06-30
In the United States, social class ranks with gender, race, and ethnicity in determining the values, activities, political behavior, and life chances of individuals. Most scholars agree on the importance of class, although they often disagree on what it is and how it impacts Americans. This A-Z encyclopedia, the first to focus on class in the United States, surveys the breadth of class strata throughout our history.
Disability in American Life by Tamar Heller (Editor); Sarah Parker Harris (Editor); Carol J. Gill (Editor); Robert Gould (Editor); Andy Imparato (Foreword by)
ISBN: 9781440834233
Publication Date: 2019
This multivolume reference work provides an overview of and situates disability within broader social movements, policy, and areas of marginalization, providing a critical examination into the lived experiences of people with disabilities and how disability can affect identity, covering aspects of disability critical to understanding disability in the United States. Topics covered include characteristics of disability; disability concepts, models, and theories; important historical developments and milestones for people with disabilities; prominent individuals, organizations, and agencies; notable policies and services; and intersections of disability policy with other policy.
Encyclopedia of American Social History by Mary K. Cayton (Editor); Elliott J. Gorn (Editor); Peter W. Williams (Editor)
ISBN: 0684192462
Publication Date: 1993-02-01
This reference focuses on processes and people - how they chose sites for towns and built their homes, how they led their lives, how they modified and were modified by their physical surroundings. Race, gender, ethnicity, work, culture, technology, education, and family history are included.
Encyclopedia of Race and Racism by Angela Doolin (Editor)
ISBN: 9780028661742
Publication Date: 2013-02-15
In more than 1,800 pages of alphabetical entries, each ranging from 500 to 1,2000 words, The Encyclopedia Of Race And Racism, 2nd Edition provides critical information and context on the underlying social, economic, geographical, and political conditions that, gave rise and continue to foster racism.

General Reference Sources

CLIO Articles
Searches a large database of mostly full-text journals, encyclopedia and newspaper articles; this database also includes e-books and government documents. To select only encyclopedia and other reference articles, select "Reference" under Content Type in the left facets menu. This is a great starting place to find background information on a topic, person, group, event, or place.
Oxford Reference Library
Full text of over 100 reference titles published by Oxford University Press--search across multiple dictionaries, companions, and encyclopedias at once, including the Oxford Companion to United States History, the Oxford encyclopedia of food and drink in America, and many more.
Oxford African American Studies Center
Comprehensive collection of scholarship focused on the lives and events which have shaped African American and African history and culture, coupled with precise search and browse capabilities. Features over 7,500 articles from Oxford's reference works, approximately 100 primary sources with specially written commentaries, over 1,000 images, over 100 maps, over 200 charts and tables, timelines to guide researchers through the history of African Americans and over 6,000 biographies.
Gale Virtual Reference Library
Gale Virtual Reference Library is a database of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research. Some helpful resources for this class in particular include the Encyclopedia of African American Culture and History, the Encyclopedia of LGBT History in America, the Encyclopedia of American Indian history, the St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, and more.

Wikipedia
As the world's largest encyclopedia, Wikipedia is a great first step in the research process. While you cannot cite Wikipedia as a source in your research it is a great place to find other sources for your work. And, because Wikipedia is updated constantly, you will often find more current information than what is offered in traditional encyclopedias.

OED Historical Thesaurus

The Oxford English Dictionary's historical thesaurus is a useful resource for finding keywords contemporaneous with your source text (which is particularly helpful for full-text searching on primary resources such as historical newspapers).

Go to the OED, find a known word, then click on "Thesaurus" to view the historical thesaurus. (If you do not see the link for thesaurus, you may need to view the root of the word (under etymology) or a cross-referenced alternate spelling. You can also directly search the historical thesaurus here.

Scroll down if necessary and click on "Go to Historical Thesaurus." Words that were roughly synonymous with the original word at different times are shown, chronologically. For example, this entry for grifter (or grafter) tells you that in the mid-nineteenth century, scammers or swindlers might have also been called pigeoners, macemen, fiddlers, besters, bunco-steerers, or flim-flammers.

Use these terms to search in full-text primary sources, such as historical newspapers.
You can also find terms in your literary text to use in full-text primary source searches.