African Studies

This guide provides an overview of resources related to African Studies. All of the items listed below are available in PSU's Millar Library.

See also related guides Art History | Foreign Languages | History | Literature | Music | Political Science

Encyclopedias

Provide excellent background/overview information. A great place to begin research. Contain articles written by experts for a general audience. Provide indexes indicating scope of coverage of a topic and pinpointing articles in which a concept will be discussed. Provide bibliographies for further reading.

	Africana: the encyclopedia of the African and African American experience. (1999) DT14 .A37435 1999 | 2nd Floor Reference
	Companion encyclopedia of Middle Eastern and North African film. PN1993.5 .A65 C66 2001 | 2nd Floor Reference
	Encyclopedia of Africa south of the Sahara. DT351 .E53 1997 | 2nd Floor Reference
	Encyclopedia of African and African-American religions. BL2462.5 .E53 2001 | 2nd Floor Reference
	Encyclopedia of African peoples. DT15 .E53 2000 | 2nd Floor Reference
	Encyclopedia of precolonial Africa: archaeology, history, languages, cultures, and environments. DT2 .E53 1997 | 2nd Floor Reference

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Reference Works

Handbooks, dictionaries, statistical sources, tables; detailed or procedural information specific to the subject areas addressed.

	Africa: a guide to reference material. Z3501 .M3 1993 | 2nd Floor Reference
	Africa contemporary record; annual survey and documents. (1968/9- ) DT30 .A35 1968/69-1984/85 | Storage DT30 .A35 1985/86- | Basement DT30 .A35 1992-94 | 2nd Floor Reference
	Africa south of the Sahara. (1972- ) DT351 .A37 | 2nd Floor Reference
	An African biographical dictionary. DT18 .B76 1994 | 2nd Floor Reference
	African literature and its times. PL8010 .M65 2000 | 2nd Floor Reference
	The African studies companion : a resource guide & directory. DT19.8 .Z45 1997 | 2nd Floor Reference
	The companion to African literatures. PR9340 .C65 2000 | 2nd Floor Reference
	Cultural atlas of Africa. G2446 .E6 C8 1998 | 2nd Floor Reference
	Historical dictionary of South Africa. DT1772 .S38 2000 | 2nd Floor Reference
	The Middle East and North Africa. (1964/5- ) DS49 .M5 | Current edition- 2nd Floor Reference DS49 .M5 | Older editions- Basement
	Pan-African chronology : a comprehensive reference to the Black quest for freedom in Africa, the Americas, Europe, and Asia. E185.18 .J46 1996 | 2nd Floor Reference

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Databases and Indexes

Magazine, periodical and journal articles provide information on current developments, research trends, experiments and hot topics in a discipline. For every discipline, there are specific databases or indexes that provide article level information. Once articles are identified through the database or index search, look up the source journal in Vikat, PSU Library's online catalog, to locate them in the library. For a complete list of online databases and indexes, see the Library's Online Databases pages.

	African music : a bibliographical guide to the traditional, popular, art, and liturgical musics of Sub-Saharan Africa. ML120 .A35 G7 1991 | 2nd Floor Reference
	Access to African-American Studies.
	African international relations : an annotated bibliography. Z6465 .A36 A36 1997 | 2nd Floor Reference
	Anthropological Literature. (late 1800s- )
	Apartheid : a selective annotated bibliography, 1979-1987. Z3608 .R3 P93 1990 | 2nd Floor Reference
	Bibliography of African literatures. Z6514 .C7 A38 1996 | 2nd Floor Reference
	Contemporary African politics and development : a comprehensive bibliography, 1981-1990. Z7165 .A4 C66 1994 | 2nd Floor Reference Electronic Book
	A Current bibliography on African affairs. (1967- ) Z3503 .C8 | 2nd Floor Reference
	Historical Abstracts. (1969- )
	Human Relations Area File (HRAF).
	Humanities Index. (1975- ) AI3 .H8 | 2nd Floor Reference
	International African bibliography. (1979-1994) Z3503 .I5 | 2nd Floor Reference
	Northern Africa : a guide to reference and information sources. Z3515 .S57 2000 | 2nd Floor Reference
	PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service). (1972- )
	Reference guide to Africa : a bibliography of sources. Z3501 .K15 1999 | 2nd Floor Reference Electronic Book
	The Third World. Africa. Z7164 .A2 P78 | 2nd Floor Reference
	World News Connection.

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Online Full Text Journals

Many, but by no means ALL, of the journals of interest in African Studies are available online. Below is a selected list of full text journals to which PSU has access. Most of the journals require authentication for off campus use.

	Africa Today. (1990-present in Academic Search Premier) (1999 to present in Project Muse)
	African Affairs. (2000- )
	African and Asian Studies. (2002- 1 year ago)
	African Studies. (7/01/1999- 1 year ago)
	Journal of African History. (1997- )
	Journal of Asian and African Studies. (1/1/2002-) (7/1/1993-11/1/2001)
	Journal of Black Studies. (1970-2000 in JSTOR) (1999- in SwetsWise)
	Northeast African Studies. (1999-)
	Research in African Literatures. (1993- in Academic Search Premier) (Fall 1999- in Project Muse)
	Transition. (1961-1999 in JSTOR) (2000-2001 in Project Muse)

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Subject Headings

Subject headings allow you to search library catalogs for materials on a particular topic. Often subject heading searching can be more productive than searching by simple keywords. Listed here are some major subject headings of interest for research in African Studies. Copies of the complete set of the Library of Congress Subject Headings are available at the reference desk. 
 

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Call Numbers

Browsing the library shelves by call number ranges is another strategy for locating information on a topic; call numbers can help you get to the "right neighborhood" in the library stacks.

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Organizations

Often the best way to find information on a topic is to look for material published by a professional society or an organization.

	African Development Foundation. Established by Congress in 1980.
	African Studies Association.
	USAID in Africa. United States Agency for International Development.

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Web Resources

	African studies center. University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences.
	African studies library resources. University Libraries @ Ohio University.
	African Studies Resources. Columbia University
	African Studies Resources. Princeton University
	AfricaOnline.
	Black Studies. Portland State University.
	Country studies: Area handbook series. Library of Congress.
	Africa Focus: Sights and Sounds of a Continent A digital media collection from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries
	Online Library Catalogs on Black Studies. Cornell University.

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