American Studies Resource Guide: Other Sources

Finding Book Reviews

Many article indexing databases actually allow you to limit your search to only book reviews by checking a box. Reviews can also be found by simply adding the word "review" to your search string. For example: United States and review. If you are searching for the review of a particular title try searching by that title or author.

Book Review Digest Plus and Book Review Digest Retrospective (via Wilson Web)
Indexes book reviews from a variety of subject areas including many peer-reviewed American Studies journals. Reviews written 1905-present. An index with abstracts, may lead to full-text.

Find Brief Biographical Entries (that may lead to more extensive sources)

Biography and Genealogy Master Index
"Biography and Genealogy Master Index enables users to locate biographical entries contained in more than 1,000 volumes and editions of important current and retrospective biographical reference sources. This index contains citations that point to over 15 million biographies on nearly 5 million people, living and deceased, from all time periods, geographical locations, and fields of endeavor"-- Biography and Genealogy Master Index (Gale) Website. Includes citation only does not include full-text.

Biography Resource Center
"This database integrates award-winning biographies from respected Gale Group sources with related full-text articles from hundreds of periodicals, as well as tens of thousands of images and links to hand-picked web sites. Search for people---both current and historic from all eras and fields of endeavor---based on name, occupation, nationality, ethnicity, birth/death dates and places, or gender, as well as keyword and full text. Or, combine search criteria to create a highly-targeted custom search"--Biography Resource Center (Gale) Website.

Finding Dissertations (excellent source for "chasing footnotes")

Dissertations and Theses (Proquest)
Includes full-text of the first 24 pages of many of the dissertations and some items can be downloaded in entirety, free of charge. Use Illiad (inter-library loan) to request entire dissertation.

Subject Guides

• African American Studies Resources
  This resource contains relevant research materials pertaining
  to the African American culture. Online, Internet, and print
  sources are included.
• Anthropology Resources
  Link to the vast array of sources available for human studies.
  These include Reference resources, journals, the Internet,
  and information from various organizations.
• Cultural Studies Resources
  These Cultural Studies resources cover both American
  and International topics. Several electronic sources are
  included, such as journals, encyclopedias, and indexes.
• Government Information Resources
  From this page, both Federal and Indiana State Government
  resources can be accessed. Information is also available
  concerning the Government collections at University Library.
• History Resources
  Several resources for History are available from this page,
  including Reference sources, an extensive journal list, and
  the ability to access archives, libraries, and museums
  across the United States.
• Philanthropy Resources
  This page includes descriptions of, and links to, the Joseph and
  Matthew Payton Philanthropic Studies Library and Special
  Collections and Archives.
• Philosophy Resources
  The Philosophy page has its own basic resources listed
  in order to begin research in this field. Some feature items
  include discussion lists and associations that are available
  for doing further research.
• Political Science Resources
  Organizations, International politics, and United States political links
  are included in addition to the basic resources for researching in the
  field of Political Science.
• Religious Studies Resources
  This page links the user to a wide variety of Internet resources,
  as well as Journals that are available. This field encompasses
  Religion in American Life, Biblical Studies, Christianity, Judaism,
  Myth and Mysticism, and the Eastern Religions.
• Sociology Resources
  In addition to Journals, Indexes, and Reference resources,
  this page displays sources for Criminology, Demography,
  and various professional organizations.
• Women's Studies Resources
  An extensive amount of information on Women's Studies is available
  from this page. The resources are broken down into two categories:
  Internet resources and University Library resources. The links
  provided give in-depth information to any researcher in this field.

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American Studies Websites

• American South Internet Resource Center
  This resource includes links such as The Center for the Study of the American
  South, The Southern Historical Collection and Southern Folklore Collection,
  and The Center for Study of Southern Culture, which are three major locations
  to consider when researching the American South.
• American Studies Crossroads Project
  The American Studies Crossroads Project is a project of the American Studies
  Association with sponsorship by Georgetown University. Included are links to
  communities, curriculum, technology, learning, reference, and research. Also available
  are links to the American Studies Association and the European Association for
  American Studies.
• American Studies Program at the University of Virginia
  Included are links to cultural maps, information about the U. S. Capitol, the 1930's,
  and a virtual armory show. Their slogan for this site is "We DO American Studies."
• American Studies Recommendations by Richard P. Horowitz, University of Iowa
  This site contains extensive information and was specifically designed for students and
  teachers of American Studies. Some areas to search pertain to history, literature, popular
  culture, maps and geography, government, visual arts, and religion.
• American Studies Resource Guide
  Within this resource exists a heavy focus on U. S. Government and Politics as well as the
  American Media. It is maintained by the FBI through USA.gov.
• ARNet
  Find out how American Studies is viewed from a European point of view. John Moores
  University in Liverpool, England presents some interesting resources of information as well
  as an online magazine. Book reviews, forums, and conference information is also included.
• European Association for American Studies
  The objects and aims of the Association are to encourage the study of and research in all
  areas of American culture and society and to promote cooperation and intercommunication
  between European scholars of the United States from all parts of Europe and from various
  disciplines. To this end it organizes regular conferences and publishes the newsletter
  American Studies in Europe.
• How to Read a 19th Century Newspaper
  Mid-nineteenth century newspapers differed considerably from our own. This resource
  provides examples of what topics were covered by newspapers during this time, especially
  concerning the crises America was facing.
• Indiana Historical Society
  Since 1830, the Indiana Historical Society – an independent, nonprofit
  membership organization – has worked to collect, preserve, interpret and
  share information about the unique heritage of our state. There are many
  programs, collections and activities to explore, as well as exhibitions and
  upcoming events.
• Making of America Project
  Materials accessible here are particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology,
  American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. This site, a collaborative
  effort between Cornell University and the University of Michigan, provides access to 267
  monograph volumes and over 100,000 journal articles with 19th century imprint.
• The Multicultural American West
  This site is intended as a space for the interactive exchange of ideas, information, and educational tools related to the American West in multicultural and intercultural perspective. The focus is in offering the best set of links to online documents, course syllabi, journals, resource sites, popular culture sites, and other relevant materials regarding the American West as a region.
• Scholarly Societies Project
  In the pre-1800 period, by far the majority of scholarly journals were published by scholarly societies. Although scholarly societies no longer publish the vast majority of scholarly journals, the material that they do publish is often of superior quality. The Project is currently the largest free Internet-accessible database on scholarly societies across the world that allows database access via several fields.

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