LibGuides: URBS 3546: Carceral Geographies (Urban Studies Junior Seminar): Getting Started

About this guide

Welcome! This page highlights key resources for conducting effective research for Prof. Christian Siener's junior seminar, including the following:

Reference sources to find background information on your topic
Catalogs and search tips to find books in print and online
Databases for locating scholarly journal articles, reviews, and policy reports
Selected archives & primary source collections
Selected zines in the Barnard zine library
Reliable sources of data and statistics
Databases for locating news articles, transcripts, and videos
Resources for citing your sources and writing in urban studies
Tips to to help keep textbook costs down

If you need assistance identifying additional resources, search terms or strategies, please schedule a research consultation.

If you need assistance organizing, analyzing, or visualizing data sets, please visit the Empirical Reasoning Center (ERC).

Image: "Bail Bonds" by ajay_suresh, via flickr

Other Library Research Guides

Thanks to Eve Glazier '23 for locating these resources!

New York Prisons and Jails: Historical Research
Designed by Ellen Belcher, Special Collections Librarian at CUNY John Jay College, this guide shares historical and current resources on prisons and jails in New York City and New York State, including archival resources at the Lloyd Sealy Library of John Jay College, Prison Newspapers, Re-entry resources, abolition resources, and more.
Researching the History of Police, Prisons, and Surveillance in NYC
Designed by Pratt University librarian Sarah Cuk. From the librarian's description: "This guide identifies archives and libraries in Manhattan that contain materials related to the local history of police, prisons, and surveillance. Here you’ll find information about each repository, examples of collections, and tips on how to conduct your research. The intended users are students who may be new to archival research (though this is not exclusive), investigating the physical, historical, and multi-institutional composition of the carceral state beginning with the initial Dutch invasion of Lenapehoking to its current existence in so-called New York City. The bulk of featured materials date from the mid-1800s through the 20th century. "

Background information

Consult scholarly reference sources to get an overview of a topic, an introduction to a theory, definitions to discipline-specific terms, and more.

The Dictionary of Critical Social Sciences by T. R. Young; Bruce Arrigo
ISBN: 0429310021
Publication Date: 2019-07-11
The Dictionary of Human Geography by Sarah Whatmore (Editor); Derek Gregory; Ron Johnston (Editor); Geraldine Pratt (Editor); Michael Watts (Editor)
ISBN: 9781405132879
Publication Date: 2009-06-22
Dictionary of the Social Sciences by Craig Calhoun (Editor)
ISBN: 0195123719
Publication Date: 2002-05-02
Encyclopedia of American Urban History by David R. Goldfield (Editor)
ISBN: 0761928847
Publication Date: 2006-12-07
The Encyclopedia of Housing, Second Edition by Andrew T. Carswell (Editor)
ISBN: 9781412989572
Publication Date: 2012-06-13

Oxford Bibliographies Online
Offers peer-reviewed annotated bibliographies on specific topics in a growing range of subject areas. There are at least 50 specific topical bibliographies in each subject area. Each of these features an introduction to the topic. Bibliographies are browseable by subject area and keyword searchable.

The Routledge Handbook of Homelessness by Joanne Bretherton (Editor); Nicholas Pleace (Editor)
ISBN: 9781351113090
Publication Date: 2023-04-14
The Routledge International Handbook of Penal Abolition by Michael J. Coyle (Editor); David Scott (Editor)
ISBN: 9780429756795
Publication Date: 2021-03-30
The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Urban and Regional Studies by Anthony M. Orum
ISBN: 9781118568453
Publication Date: 2019-04-15

URBS 3546: Carceral Geographies (Urban Studies Junior Seminar)

Jennie Correia, Social Sciences Librarian

Martha Tenney

About this guide

Other Library Research Guides

Background information