LibGuides: American Studies: Reference and Background

General Reference Sources Online

American Studies: A User's Guide by Philip J. Deloria; Alexander I. Olson
Publication Date: 2017

American Studies: A User's Guide offers readers a critical introduction to the history and methods of the field as well as useful strategies for interpretation, curation, analysis, and theory.
Keywords for American Cultural Studies, Third Edition by Bruce Burgett, Glenn Hendler (Editors)
Publication Date: 2020

Introduces key terms, research traditions, debates, and histories for American Studies and Cultural Studies
The Routledge Companion to Inter-American Studies by Wilfried Raussert (Editor) An essential overview of this blossoming field, The Routledge Companion to Inter-American Studies is the first collection to draw together the diverse approaches and perspectives on the field, highlighting the importance of Inter-American Studies as it is practiced today. Including contributions from canonical figures in the field as well as a younger generation of scholars, reflecting the foundation and emergence of the field and establishing links between older and newer methodologies, this Companion covers: Theoretical reflections Colonial and historical perspectives Cultural and political intersections Border discourses Sites and mobilities Literary and linguistic perspectives Area studies, global studies, and postnational studies Phenomena of transfer, interconnectedness, power asymmetry, and transversality within the Americas.
Publication Date: 2017

Encyclopedia of American Studies
Published by Johns Hopkins University Press for the American Studies Association (ASA), the Encyclopedia of American Studies covers 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.

Gale eBooks
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Updated regularly. A database of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources. Fully searchable across all files.

For more information on ebooks see the Ebook Guide

Select Reference Sources Online

American Countercultures: An Encyclopedia of Nonconformists, Alternative Lifestyles, and Radical Ideas in U.S. History by Gina Misiroglu
Publication Date: 2015
The Columbia Guide to American Environmental History by Carolyn Merchant
Publication Date: 2005
Encyclopedia of American Social Movements by Immanuel Ness
Publication Date: 2015
Encyclopedia of US Labor and Working-Class History by Eric Arnesen (Editor)
Publication Date: 2006
The Grove Dictionary of American Music by Charles Hiroshi Garrett (Editor)
Publication Date: 2013
Multicultural America: A Multimedia Encyclopedia by Carlos Eliseo Cortés
Publication Date: 2013
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Religion in America by John Corrigan (Editor)
Publication Date: 2018
Queer Cinema in America: An Encyclopedia of LGBTQ Films, Characters, and Stories by Aubrey Malone
Publication Date: 2019
Surveillance in America: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, and the Law by Pam Dixon
Publication Date: 2016

Select Reference Databases

Oxford Bibliographies Online
These bibliographies provide an authoritative guide to the current scholarship, expert recs and authoritative commentary on the best works available in the discipline covered, making them particularly useful for anyone beginning research.
African American Studies Center
A comprehensive collection of scholarship focused on the lives and events which have shaped African American and African history and culture. Features over 7,500 articles from Oxford's reference works and over 6,000 biographies.
American Civil War: Letters and Diaries
1855 - 1875. More than 1,000 biographies enhance the use of the database.
Asian American Drama
1891 - present. Documents the Asian American experience as dramatized in works by writers from the 18th century to the present. Brings together biographies, a performance database, production details, and associated visual resources.
Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE)
Documents words, phrases, and pronunciations that vary from one place to another across the United States.
North American Indian Thought and Culture
1677 - present. A collection of biographical material of American Indians and Canadian First Peoples in their own words and through the words of others.
Texas Reference Center
Includes 80+ full text journals and books about Texas history, ethnic & cultural diversity, gender studies, literature, public health, business, garden, sports & leisure. Contains biographies portraying famous historical and contemporary Texans.