Finding Primary Sources (Including Video)
August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand (PBS documentary)
Unprecedented access to Wilson’s theatrical archives, rarely-seen interviews, and new dramatic readings bring to life his seminal 10-play cycle chronicling a century of African-American life. Wilson won two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama. Available on DVD in the Main Library.
Internet Archive
Free access to digital collections including music, video, websites, and millions of public-domain books.
YouTube
Lots of great material. Use it, but have a healthy skepticism about the origins and authenticity of videos!
Africana Studies
- Black Studies Center This link opens in a new windowCovers the Black experience from ancient Africa to the modern day from perspectives in history, literature, political science, sociology, philosophy, music, visual arts, and religion. Also includes the full text backfile (1935 to 1975) of the influential black newspaper The Chicago Defender.
- Oxford African American Studies Center This link opens in a new windowAfrican American and African history and culture including biographies, topical entries, primary source documents with commentary, images, maps, charts, tables, and more.
American History
- America: History and Life This link opens in a new window
Index to research on the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present. Indexes articles and book reviews from more than 1,700 journals published in more than 40 languages. Dates of Coverage: 1964 to date
Art
- JSTOR Images This link opens in a new windowOver 1 million images selected to support research and reaching in art history from pre-historical to contemporary media.
- Art Full Text (1984 to date) This link opens in a new window
Indexes 350 art magazines and journals covering pre-historic to contemporary art. Some full text from 1995-date. For earlier dates search its companion database the Art Index Retrospective. Searching both databases simultaneously for publications dated 1929 to the present. Both databases index the Allen Memorial Art Museum Bulletin.
Language & Literature
- MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
Index to books, essays, and journal articles on modern languages, literatures, fiction, folklore and linguistics. Topics include literary theory, criticism, folk literature and belief systems, linguistics, semantics, translation, dramatic arts, and history of printing and publishing. Covers literature worldwide and includes materials in all genres and in foreign languages. Dates of Coverage: 1926 to date
- Gale Literature This link opens in a new windowFull-text database that includes author biographies and work overviews, literary criticism, and indexed books, essays, and articles on world literature, and well as full-text of poems, short stories, novels, essays, speeches and plays.
- Humanities International Complete This link opens in a new window
Index to journals, books and reference sources in all humanities disciplines, as well as selected original creative works including poems, fiction, photographs, and illustrations, with some content available full-text.
Dictionary of American Regional English by ISBN: 9780674205116Publication Date: 2013Includes thousands of words and phrases not found in conventional dictionaries, and out-of-the-way meanings for common terms.
Music
- Grove Music Online This link opens in a new windowOnline music encyclopedia, offering comprehensive coverage of music, musicians, music-making, and music scholarship.
- Naxos Music Library This link opens in a new windowStreaming audio, liner notes, and biographical information on composers and performers.
News & Newspapers
- Ethnic NewsWatch This link opens in a new windowFull-text coverage of newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic, minority, and native press in America. Dates of Coverage: 1959 to date
Theater & Dance
- International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance This link opens in a new window
Full text of journal articles on all aspects of theater and performance, plus indexing for books, book articles and dissertation abstracts.
- Performing Arts Periodicals Database This link opens in a new windowIndexes over 200 scholarly and popular performing arts periodicals. Also indexes a variety of documents such as biographical profiles, conference papers, obituaries, interviews, discographies, reviews and events. Dates of Coverage: 1864 to date