Research Guide: Ethnicity and Identity in Literature


| Resources on the Web | Reference Books | CONSULS Catalog | Databases & Indexes | Locating Periodicals | Interlibrary Loan | Questions? |


Resources on the World Wide Web

Here are some links to help you explore the growing number of Web sites devoted to Ethnic American Literature:

For tips on citation format, please see Diana Hacker's Humanities: Documenting Sources (www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/humanities.html) or MLA Style via Yahoo!

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Reference Books for Background Information

Reference books are shelved by Library of Congress call number in the reference stacks on the first floor of the Ruth Haas Library. They may not be checked out, but photocopiers are available for student use on the first and third floors of the Haas Library.

General Background on American Ethnic Groups

American Immigrant Cultures. 2 volumes.Ref E 184.A1.A63448
Encyclopedia of American Social History (see volume III: Ethnic and Racial Subcultures)Ref HN 57.E58 1993
Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic GroupsRef E 184.A1.H35 1980
The Immigrant Experience in American Fiction: An Annotated BibliographyRef PS 374.I48.S56 1994
New Immigrant Literatures in the United StatesRef PS 153.M56.N475 1996
Racial and Religious Violence in America: A ChronologyRef HN 90.V5.R33 1991
Racial Justice in America: A Reference HandbookRef E 185.M95 2003
Racism in the United States: A Comprehensive Classified BibliographyRef E 184.A1.W45 1981
We the People: An Atlas of America's Ethnic DiversityRef E 184.A1.A479 1988
American Ethnic Literatures...An Annotated BibliographyRef PS 153.M56.P43 1992

African-Americans

African-American Almanac. 6th edition.Ref E 185.5.N34 1994
The African-American AtlasRef E 185.A79 1998
African American Autobiographers: A SourcebookRef PS 366.A35.A36 2002
African American Dramatists: An A-to-Z GuideRef PS 338.N4.A69 2004
African American WritersRef PS 153.N5.A344 1990
African American Writers: A DictionaryRef PS 153.N5.A3444 2000
Black American Women in Literature: A Bibliography, 1976 through 1987Ref PS 153.N5.G57 1989
Black Literature Criticism (BLC) (use index at end of last volume)Ref PS 153.N5.B556
Black Writers: A Selection of Sketches from Contemporary AuthorsRef Ref E 185.96.B545 1989
Chronology of African-American HistoryRef E 185.H64 1991
Contemporary African American Female Playwrights: An Annotated BibliographyRef PS 338.N4.W55 1998
Contemporary Black American Playwrights and Their PlaysRef PS 153.N5.P43 1988
Contemporary Black Biography. 6 volumes.Ref E 185.96.C66 1992
Dictionary of Afro-American SlaveryRef E 441.D53 1988
Early Black American Playwrights and Dramatic WritersRef PS 153.N5.P44 1990
Encyclopedia of African-American Civil RightsRef E 185.61.E54 1992
Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History. 5 volumes.Ref E 185.E54 1996
Encyclopedia of the Harlem Literary RenaissanceRef PS 153.N5.B675 2006
Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance. 2 volumes.Ref NX 512.3.A35.E53 2004
The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Civil Rights: From Emancipation to the Twenty-First Century. 2 volumes.Ref E 185.61.E54 2003
The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Folklore. 3 volumes.Ref GR 111.A47.G74 2006
The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Literature. 5 volumes.Ref PS 153.N5.G73 2005
The Harlem Renaissance: A Historical Dictionary of the EraRef NX 511.N4.H37 1984
The Harlem Renaissance and BeyondRef PS 153.N3.R65 1990
Historical and Cultural Atlas of African AmericansRef E 185.A8 1991
Historical Statistics of Black America. 2 volumes.Ref E 185.H543 1995
Oxford Companion to African American LiteratureRef PS 153.N5.O96 1997
Reference Library of Black America. 5 volumes.Ref E 185.R44 1994
Schomburg Center Guide to Black LiteratureRef PN 841.S36 1996
Southern Black Creative Writers, 1829-1953: Bio-BibliographiesRef PS 153.N5.F67 1988
The Toni Morrison EncyclopediaRef PS 3563.O8749.Z913 2003
Voices of the Spirit: Sources for Interpreting the Black ExperienceRef E 185.G56 1995
The World of Toni MorrisonRef PS 3563.O8749.Z844 2003

Asian-Americans

Asian American Encyclopedia. 6 volumes.Ref E 184.O6.A827 1995
Asian American Literature: An Annotated BibliographyRef PS 153.A84.C47 1988
Asian American Novelists: A Bio-Bibliographical Critical SourcebookRef PS 153.A84.A825 2000
Asian American Literature: Reviews and Criticism...Ref PS 153.A84.A82 1999
Asian American Short Story Writers: An A-to-Z GuideRef PS 153.A84.A828 2003
Asian American StudiesRef E 184.O6.K56 1989
The Asian Pacific American Heritage: A Companion to Literature and ArtsRef PS 153.A84.A87 1999
The Columbia Guide to Asian American Literature Since 1945Ref PS 153.A84.H8 2006
Dictionary of Asian American HistoryRef E 184.O6.D53 1986
An Interethnic Companion to Asian American LiteratureRef PS 153.A84.I58 1997
Japanese American History: An A-Z ReferenceRef E 184.J3.J3355 1993
Notable Asian AmericansRef E 184.O6.N67 1995
Reference Library of Asian Americans. 3 volumes.Ref E 184.O6.R45 1995

Hispanic-Americans

Biographical Dictionary of Hispanic Literature in the United StatesRef PQ 7420.2.K3 1989
Chicano Literature: A Reference GuideRef PS 153.M4.C46 1985
Dictionary of Mexican American LiteratureRef PQ 7106.D53 1992
The Hispanic-American AlmanacRef E 184.S75.H557 1993
The Hispanic Almanac: From Columbus to Corporate AmericaRef E 184.S75.H5572 1994
Hispanic Literature Criticism (HLC) (use index at end of last volume)Ref PQ 7081.A1.H573 1994
Hispanic Literature of the United States. 2 volumes.Ref PS 153.H56.K36 2003
Latino and Latina Writers. 2 volumes.Ref PS 153.H56.L39 2004
Notable Hispanic American WomenRef E 184.S75.N68 1993
Notable Latino Americans: A Biographical DictionaryRef E 184.S75.M435 1997
Reference Library of Hispanic America. 3 volumes.Ref E 184.S75.R44 1993

Jewish Americans

Dictionary of the Holocaust: Biography, Geography, and TerminologyRef D 804.25.E67 1997
Encyclopedia of the Holocaust. 4 volumes.Ref D 804.3.E53 1990
The Holocaust and World War II Almanac. 3 volumes.Ref D 804.17.H65
Jewish-American History and Culture: An EncyclopediaRef E 184.J5.J48 1992
Jewish American Woman Writers Ref PS 153.J4.J48 1994

Native-Americans

Chronology of Native American History Ref E 77.C555 1994
The Columbia Guide to American Indian Literatures of the United States Since 1945Ref PS 153.I52.C573 2006
Dictionary of Native American MythologyRef E 98.R3.G46 1992
Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes Ref E 76.2.W35 1988
Encyclopedia of North American IndiansRef E 76.2.E53 1996
Handbook of Native American LiteratureRef PM 155.D53 1996
Handbook of North American IndiansRef E 77.H25
The Native American in American Literature: A Selectively Annotated BibliographyRef PS 173.I6.R64 1975
Native Americans: An Annotated BibliographyRef E77.H68 1991
Native America in the Twentieth Century: An Encyclopedia Ref E 76.2.N36 1994
Native North American AlmanacRef E 75.N397 1994
The North American Indian. 20 volumes. (Curtis)Ref E 77.C98
Notable Native AmericansRef E 89.N67 1995

Literary Criticism

Asian American Literature: An Annotated BibliographyRef PS 153.A84.C47 1988
Black Literature Criticism (BLC) (use index at end of last volume)Ref PS 153.N5.B556
Drama Criticism (DC) (use indexes at end of most recent volume)Ref PN 1601.D59
Contemporary Literary Criticism (CLC) (writers now living or who died after 1959)Ref PN 771.C59
Critical Survey of Drama. Second revised edition. 8 volumes.Ref PN 1625.C68 2003
Critical Survey of Long Fiction. Second revised edition. 8 volumes.Ref PN 3451.C75 2000
Critical Survey of Poetry. Second revised edition. 8 volumes.Ref PN 1021.C74 2003
Critical Survey of Short Fiction. Second revised edition. 7 volumes.Ref PN 3321.C7 2001
Nineteenth-Century Literary Criticism (NCLC) (writers who died 1800-1899)Ref PN 761.N5
Poetry Criticism (PC) (use indexes at end of most recent volume)Ref PN 1010.P499
Short Story Criticism (SSC) (use indexes at end of most recent volume)Ref PN 3373.S386
A Sourcebook for Hispanic Literature and Language: A Selected, Annotated Guide...Ref PC 4071.B55 1995
Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism (TCLC) (writers who died 1900-1959)Ref PN 771.G27

General Biographical Sources

Biography Index (1946- )Index Tables in the Haas reference area
Contemporary Authors (use blue paperback cumulative author index)Ref Z 1224.C58
American Authors 1600-1900Ref PS 21.K8 1938
American Diversity, American Identity: The Lives and Work of 145 Writers Who Define the American ExperienceRef PS 169.N35.A44 1995
American Writers. 4 volumes + 4 supplements.Ref PS 129.A55
American Writers Before 1800: A Biographical and Critical Dictionary. 3 volumes.Ref PS 185.A4 1983
Dictionary of Literary Biography (use author index at end of most recent volume)
Volume 33: Afro-American Fiction Writers After 1955
Volume 38: Afro-American Writers After 1955
Volume 41: Afro-American Poets Since 1955
Volume 50: Afro-American Writers Before the Harlem Renaissance
Volume 51: Afro-American Writers from Harlem Renaissance to 1940
Volume 175: Native American Writers of the United States
Volume 209: Chicano Writers. Third Series.
Ref PS 21.D5
Research Guide to Biography and Criticism: Literature. 2 volumes.Ref PR 85.R47 1985

General Background on Literature

The Companion to Southern LiteratureRef PS 261.C55 2002
Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English LiteratureRef PR 149.B5.D53 1992
Dictionary of the History of Ideas. 5 volumes.Ref CB 5.D52 1974
Encyclopedia of World Literature in the 20th Century. 4 volumes.Ref PN 771.E5 1999
HarperCollins Reader's Encyclopedia of American Literature. 2nd edition.Ref PN 41.B4 2002
Oxford Companion to American Literature. 6th edition.Ref PS 21.H3 1995
Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature. 4 volumes.Ref PS 21.E537 2004

Critical Theory

A-Z Guide to Modern Literary and Cultural TheoristsRef PN 74.A2 1995
Dictionary of Concepts in Literary Criticism and TheoryRef PN 41.H36 1992
Dictionary of Modern Critical Terms. Revised and enlarged edition.Ref PN 41.D4794 1987
Encyclopedia of Contemporary Literary Theory: Approaches, Scholars, TermsRef PN 81.E43 1993
Enyclopedia of Literature and CriticismRef PN 81.E53 1991
Glossary of Contemporary Literary Theory Ref PN 44.5.H37 1992
Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism. Second edition.Ref PN 81.J554 2005

Literary Terminology

Dictionary of Literary SymbolsRef PN 56.S9.F47 1999
Dictionary of Literary Terms (Shaw)Ref PN 44.5.S46 1972
Dictionary of Literary Terms (Cuddon)Ref PN 41.C83 1979
Dictionary of Literary Themes and Motifs. 2 volumes.Ref PN 43.D48 1988
Dictionary of Modern Critical Terms. Revised and enlarged edition.Ref PN 41.D4794 1987
Glossary of Literary Terms. 5th edition.Ref PN 41.A184 1988
Literary Terms: A Dictionary. Revised edition.Ref PN 44.5.B334 1975

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CONSULS Online Catalog for Books and Media

CONSULS catalog workstations are located in the Reference Area on the first floor, and on each of the other floors of the Haas Library. You may logon to CONSULS via the WCSU Libraries Homepage at library.wcsu.edu/web or directly at www.consuls.org. For more detailed instructions on searching, please see the yellow CONSULS flyer on the display rack on the first floor.

Please Note: CONSULS ignores upper and lower case, and you may omit punctuation, except the hyphen which must be replaced by a space.

TO FIND WORKS WITH A SPECIFIC TITLE:

Select Title at the CONSULS Main Menu, then type as much of the title as you remember in correct word order. In CONSULS, you may omit "a," "an," or "the" at the beginning of a title.

Example: Critical Essays on Zora Neale Hurston (press RETURN or ENTER)
Or just: critical essays on zora (press RETURN)

If your TITLE search does not retrieve an entry for a separately published edition of the work, select the Words Search option to re-execute the search as a Keywords search (example: sweat and hurston and press RETURN). Then scan the CONTENTS field of each entry for the title of the work you need.

TO FIND WORKS WRITTEN BY A SPECIFIC AUTHOR:

Select Author at the CONSULS Main Menu, then type the writer's name last-name-first. Correct spelling is important.

Example: greene graham (press RETURN or ENTER)
Or just: greene gr (press RETURN)

To limitsearch results to items owned by WCSU, click on Limit/Sort and then select WCSU under "where Item Is Located."

TO FIND WORKS WRITTEN ABOUT A SPECIFIC WRITER:

Select Subject at the CONSULS Main Menu, then type the writer's name last-name-first. Correct spelling is important. To limit results to items owned by WCSU, click Limit/Sort and then select WCSU under "Where Item Is Located."

Example: hurston zora neale (press RETURN or ENTER)
Or just: hurston z (press RETURN)

CONSULS will retrieve a list of Library of Congress subject headings that begin with the words you typed:

Hurston Zora Neale (main heading is subdivided)
Hurston Zora Neale - Bibliography
Hurston Zora Neale - Biography
Hurston Zora Neale - Criticism and interpretation
Hurston Zora Neale - Political and social views

PLEASE NOTE: Personal name headings may also be subdivided by the titles of individual works, for example:

Hurston Zora Neale - Their Eyes Were Watching God

TO FIND INFORMATION ABOUT A SPECIFIC TOPIC BY SUBJECT HEADING:

Select Subject at the CONSULS Main Menu, then type the Library of Congress subject heading which best describes your topic. Correct spelling and word order are important. The complete list of Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) is published in a set of big red books available in the Reference Area on the first floor of the Haas Library.

Type: harlem renaissance bibliography (press RETURN or ENTER)
Or just: harlem renaissance (press RETURN)

The following Library of Congress subject headings are relevant to ethnic American literature:

American literature (many subdivisions)
American literature--19th century--History and criticism
American literature--20th century--History and Criticism
American literature--Afro-American authors
American literature--Asian-American authors
American literature--Hispanic-American authors
American literature--History and criticism
American literature--Indian authors
American literature--Jewish authors
American literature--Minority authors
American literature--Women authors

American drama (similar subdivisions)
American fiction (similar subdivisions)
American poetry (similar subdivisions)

See also:
Ethnic groups in literatureIndians of North America
Minorities in literatureIndian authors
Miscegenation in literatureIndian literature
Race in literatureIndian poetry
Racism in literatureIndian women
Social problems in literatureIndians--Fiction

Asian-AmericansHispanic-Americans
Asian-Americans in literatureHispanic-Americans in literature
Asian-Americans--FictionHispanic-American authors
Asian-Americans--PoetryHispanic-American literature
Asian-American authorsHispanic-American theater
Asian-American womenHispanic-American women

Afro-Americans
Afro-Americans in literature
Afro-American authors
Afro-American dramatists
Afro-American poets
Afro-American women in literature
Afro-American theater
Blacks in literature
Harlem Renaissance
Slavery in literature

TO FIND INFORMATION ABOUT A SPECIFIC TOPIC BY KEYWORD(S):

Select Keyword(s) at the CONSULS Main Menu, then type the words which best describe your topic, in any order.

Example: hurston and (critic* or interpret* or explicat*) press RETURN or ENTER
Narrower: hurston and (race or racial or ethnic* or identity) press RETURN

Example: henry james and (narrative or voice) press RETURN
Narrower: james and daisy miller and (narrative or voice) press RETURN

Use the * (asterisk) as a truncation symbol to retrieve variant forms of a word root. Use the Boolean OR to expand your search by including synonyms and related terms. When using two different Boolean commands in the same search statement ("and" and "or" in the preceding examples) you must include parentheses to indicate which command is to be performed first.

TO REQUEST MATERIALS FROM THE OTHER CSU LIBRARIES:

If the item you need is owned by one of the other CSU Libraries (CCSU, SCSU, or ECSU) but not by WCSU, or if the WCSU copy is checked out, you may order the item via Inter-Campus Loan. Select the REQUEST option at the full record display in CONSULS, then type your student ID# and your library PIN code. Be sure to specify a pickup location (Haas or Young Library) before clicking on the gray bar to initiate your request. If you need assistance with your library PIN, please contact the librarian at the Reference Desk at (203) 837-9110.

There is a limit of ten (10) Inter-Campus Loan requests per person. Videos are available via Inter-Campus Loan. Please allow 4-5 days for delivery to the Haas Circulation Desk. Items borrowed via Inter-Campus Loan may be renewed on the due date if no one has placed a HOLD on the item.

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Online Databases for Finding Periodical Articles

Academic Search Premier in EBSCOhost
Coverage: 1990 - present (earlier for many publications)
Location: Under Articles/Databases on the WCSU Libraries Homepage.
Scope: Indexes over 8,000 newspapers, magazines, and scholarly journals in most fields, with over 4,000 available in full-text.
JSTOR
Coverage: Issue number one to within 1-3 years of present
Location: Under Articles/Databases on the WCSU Libraries Homepage.
Scope: Full-text of over 400 core scholarly journals in over 25 disciplines, including language and literature (complete backfiles).
MLA International Bibliography
Coverage: 1963 - present
Location: Under Articles/Databases on the WCSU Libraries Homepage.
Scope: Indexes books, book articles, journal articles, and Ph.D. dissertations in literature, language, linguistics, and folklore. No abstracts; some linked full-text. Also available in print in the Haas reference area.
WorldCat via OCLC FirstSearch
Location: Select OCLC FirstSearch under Articles/Databases on the WCSU Libraries Homepage.
Scope: Indexes 60+ million books, manuscripts, theses, and non-print materials. If the item is not owned by WCSU, you may use Interlibrary Loan.

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Locating Periodicals in the Haas Library

To find out if WCSU subscribes to a specific periodical:

1. Select Journal Title at the CONSULS main menu, then type the name of the periodical (example: american literature) and press RETURN. If a title list appears on the screen, select the desired title, then look inside the box to find WCSU holdings. Be sure to scroll down the page to see if WCSU owns backfiles on microfilm or microfiche.

2. Or, use the printed WCSU Serials List, available on the first and third floors of the Haas Library, which lists all the newspapers, magazines, and journals owned by WCSU in alphabetical order by title. If WCSU subscribes to the periodical you need, you will find it on the third floor. Print volumes are shelved alphabetically by periodical title. Microfilm and microfiche backfiles are stored alphabetically by title in the metal filing cabinets. Reader/printer machines are available on the third floor for viewing and making copies of microforms.

3. To find out if a given periodical is available in full-text in an online database, you may use the A-to-Z Journal Title Locator at library.wcsu.edu/web/resources/journals or under "Resources" on the WCSU Libraries Homepage (library.wcsu.edu/web).


How to Use Interlibrary Loan

If the CSU Libraries do not own the book you need, or if WCSU does not subscribe to the periodical you need, you may request delivery of the item via Interlibrary Loan using the online ILLiad system available at: library.wcsu.edu/web/services/ill.

There is a limit of 5 Interlibrary Loan requests per person per day. Videos are not available via Interlibrary Loan. Under most circumstances, Interlibrary Loan is a free service, but please allow at least ten working days for delivery. You will be notified as soon as the material arrives. Faster document delivery service is available for a reasonable fee. Please see the librarian at the Reference Desk or call the Interlibrary Loan Desk at (203) 837-9114 for more information.


Do You Have a Question?

The Reference Desk on the first floor of the Haas Library is staffed by a professional librarian who is trained to assist in your research, or you may contact Joan Reitz, Instruction Librarian, at 837-8308 or reitzj@wcsu.edu. My office is in Room 402 on the fourth floor of the Haas Library (near the glass elevator).

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Please send comments to Joan Reitz, Haas Instruction Librarian, Western Connecticut State University.
reitzj@wcsu.edu
Last updated on September 6, 2006