General Reference Sources
- Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new window Oxford English Dictionary is the accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium. It is a guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past. It traces the usage of words through 2.5 million quotations from a wide range of international English language sources, from classic literature and specialist periodicals to film scripts and cookery books. The OED covers words from across the English-speaking world, from North America to South Africa, from Australia and New Zealand to the Caribbean. It also offers the best in etymological analysis, listings of variant spellings, and shows pronunciation using the International Phonetic Alphabet.The online OED corresponds to the Second Edition (20 volumes in print).
- Oxford Reference This link opens in a new windowHundreds of dictionaries, general reference, language reference, and subject reference works from Oxford University Press.
- Oxford Research Encyclopedias This link opens in a new window
Designed to be an authoritative resource of reference content in a wide array of academic fields, including the humanities, social sciences, and science.
Histories
The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History by
The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History brings together in one two-volume set the record of the nation's values, aspirations, anxieties, and beliefs as expressed in both everyday life and formal bodies of thought. Over the past twenty years, the field of culturalhistory has moved to the center of American historical studies, and has come to encompass the experiences of ordinary citizens in such arenas as reading and religious practice as well as the accomplishments of prominent artists and writers. Some of the most imaginative scholarship in recent yearshas emerged from this burgeoning field.The scope of the volume reflects that development: the encyclopedia incorporates popular entertainment ranging from minstrel shows to video games, middlebrow ventures like Chautauqua lectures and book clubs, and preoccupations such as "Perfectionism" and "Wellness" that have shaped Americans'behavior at various points in their past and that continue to influence attitudes in the present. The volumes also make available recent scholarly insights into the writings of political scientists, philosophers, feminist theorists, social reformers, and other thinkers whose works have furnished theunderpinnings of Americans' civic activities and personal concerns. Anyone wishing to understand the hearts and minds of the inhabitants of the United States from the early days of settlement to the twenty-first century will find the encyclopedia invaluable.
ISBN: 9780199764358Publication Date: 2013
Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History
The Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History surveys the richly layered dimensions of American life in a format that clarifies the many issues, ideas, movements and places that constitute the American experience. How is the West defined as a cultural region? What did the notions of "secession" and "union" mean to Americans living in the 1860s? How does Disney pervade and influence perceptions about America today? In more than 200 articles written by scholars and enriched with illustrations, boxed biographies and documentary excerpts from primary sources, American thought and culture is thoroughly explored. The Encyclopedia covers not only historic periods such as the Colonial era and the Reagan era, but also looks at cultural groups such as the working class and cultural institutions and forms such as the university and cinema.
Call Number: Main Reference E169.1 .E624 2001 3 vols.ISBN: 0684805618Publication Date: 2001
A History of Women in the United States: State-by-State Reference by Call Number: Main Reference HQ1410 .H58 2004ISBN: 071725805XPublication Date: 2003-08-01
Religion
Encyclopedia of Religion in America by
A multidisciplinary examination of religion in American life Encyclopedia of Religion in America examines how religious history and practices are woven into the political, social, cultural, and historical landscape of North America. This authoritative four-volume reference work explains the origins, development, adaptation, influence, and interrelations of the many faiths practiced, including major world religions, new religious sects, cults, and religious movements that originated or had an influence in the United States. Edited by well-known experts in the field, the Encyclopedia covers all the significant religious denominations and movements that have originated or flourished in North America, from the beginning of European settlement to the present day. The broad multidisciplinary coverage includes the religious life of indigenous peoples, specific aspects of religious life, and the relationship of political, social, economic, and cultural spheres. Topics include: Religion as an influential force in the U.S. Methods of worship Religion and politics Homosexuality and religion African American religion Arts and architecture Church-state issues Education Environment and ecology Ethnicity Evangelicals Faiths Gay and lesbian issues Historical overviews Immigration Media (new and old) Megachurches Movements and denominations New religious movements Popular religion and culture Race and racism Religious thought Religious Right Rites Role of women Terrorism and war Encyclopedia of Religion in America is an essential resource for students and scholars researching issues in a wide variety of social science disciplines, from American history to cultural studies, political science, gender studies, psychology of religion, and more. It reflects new scholarly research and interpretation that have emerged over the last two decades, as well as significant new areas of study, such as post-9/11 America, the role of gays and lesbians in church, gender, and the role of the evangelicals in American political life.
ISBN: 9780872895805Publication Date: 2010
Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America, Set by
The Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America harvests the fruits of 25 years of scholarship on the history and current state of women's religious experience in North America. The result of a five-year project led by Rosemary Skinner Keller and Rosemary Radford Ruether and funded by the Lilly Endowment and the Henry Luce Foundation, the encyclopedia marshals the talents of more than 150 scholars to produce the most comprehensive and up-to-date description and analysis of women and religion in North America. The encyclopedia is interreligious, interracial, and multicultural and is aimed at a broad general audience. Instead of hundreds of short entries, this encyclopedia features more than 145 longer essays that enable major themes to be developed more fully. The articles focus on institutions, movements, and ideas. The authors weave biographical sketches into their articles to give them a more personal and humanizing quality, and to recognize the women responsible for the gains made over the centuries. The essays demonstrate that neither the story of women nor the story of religion in North America can be accurately told unless the religious experience of women is integrated into the center of women's and religious history. These well-illustrated volumes will be an essential reference for all of those interested in the role of women in North America's vibrant and complex religious life.
ISBN: 9780253346858Publication Date: 2006
Literature
The Encyclopedia of American Literature by
From John Smith to Jack Kerouc, Cotton Mather to Toni Morrison, Edgar Allan Poe to Stephen King, the story of American literature is many stories - of ancient-indigenous peoples, early settlers, men and women enslaved and liberated, war and peace, and immigrants seeking better lives.
Call Number: Main Oversize PS 21 .E353 1999ISBN: 0826410529Publication Date: 1999
The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature by
This set treats the whole of American literature, from the European discovery of America to the present, with entries in alphabetical order. Each of the 350 substantive essays is a major interpretive contribution. Well-known critics and scholars provide clear and vividly written essays thatreflect the latest scholarship on a given topic, as well as original thinking on the part of the critic. The Encyclopedia is available in print and as an e-reference text from Oxford's Digital Reference Shelf.At the core of the encyclopedia lie 250 essays on poets, playwrights, essayists, and novelists. The most prominent figures (such as Whitman, Melville, Faulkner, Frost, Morrison, and so forth) are treated at considerable length (10,000 words) by top-flight critics. Less well known figures arediscussed in essays ranging from 2,000 to 5,000 words. Each essay examines the life of the author in the context of his or her times, looking in detail at key works and describing the arc of the writer's career. These essays include an assessment of the writer's current reputation with abibliography of major works by the writer as well as a list of major critical and biographical works about the writer under discussion.A second key element of the project is the critical assessments of major American masterworks, such as Moby-Dick, Song of Myself, Walden, The Great Gatsby, The Waste Land, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Death of a Salesmanr, or Beloved. Each of these essays offers a close reading of the given work,placing that work in its historical context and offering a range of possibilities with regard to critical approach. These fifty essays (ranging from 2,000 to 5,000 words) are simply and clearly enough written that an intelligent high school student should easily understand them, but sophisticatedenough that a college student or general reader in a public library will find the essays both informative and stimulating.The final major element of this encyclopedia consists of fifty-odd essays on literary movements, periods, or themes, pulling together a broad range of information and making interesting connections. These essays treat many of the same authors already discussed, but in a different context; they alsogather into the fold authors who do not have an entire essay on their work (so that Zane Grey, for example, is discussed in an essay on Western literature but does not have an essay to himself). In this way, the project is truly "encyclopedic," in the conventional sense. These essays aim forcomprehensiveness without losing anything of the narrative force that makes them good reading in their own right.In a very real fashion, the literature of the American people reflects their deepest desires, aspirations, fears, and fantasies. The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature gathers a wide range of information that illumines the field itself and clarifies many of its particulars.
ISBN: 9780195156539Publication Date: 2004
Supernatural Literature of the World by
Read widely and studied at all levels, supernatural literature is one of the most significant and enduring types of writing. Comprehensive in scope, this encyclopedia provides thorough coverage of literature of the supernatural. The most exhaustive work of its kind, it includes entries on authors, works, and numerous topics, including alien abduction, drama, ghouls, and Latin literature. Entries draw on current scholarship, with special attention to recent writers. The literature of the supernatural has had a distinguished history over the past two centuries, while the incorporation of the supernatural in literary works can be traced back as far as classical antiquity. Such prominent writers as Edith Wharton and Henry James made use of the supernatural in their writings, and numerous contemporary writers continue to do so. Supernatural literature is widely enjoyed by high school students and general readers, and scholars are devoting more and more attention to it. This encyclopedia provides thorough coverage of the literature of the supernatural. The most exhaustive work of its kind, it covers authors and works from the ancient world to the present. Two of the world's foremost authorities on supernatural literature have coordinated a team of internationally recognized contributors, including: Mike Ashley, Benjamin F. Fisher, Paula Guran, Stephen Jones, Darrell Schweitzer, and Brian Stableford. While other references chiefly offer biographical and critical information, this encyclopedia also provides entries on numerous special topics, including: Alien Abduction, Curses, Dreams and Nightmares, Fantasy Tales, Feminism, Hinduism, Islam, Munsey Magazines, Occultism, Southern Gothic, Urban Legends, Voodoo, Werewolves, and many more. The set includes roughly 1,000 alphabetically arranged entries and presents the work of some 70 contributors. It provides entries on such major canonical writers as Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, and Oscar Wilde, while also devoting attention to Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, R. L. Stine, and other popular contemporary writers. Entries also include special topics and cultural traditions in the genre. Entries cite works for further reading, and the encyclopedia closes with a selected, general bibliography of major works on supernatural literature. Supernatural literature figures prominently in the curriculum, and students are often interested in reading such works on their own. This encyclopedia is an essential tool for student research on supernatural literature and world literary traditions, and is equally valuable for teachers planning related courses. Both school and public libraries need this work to support the interests of general readers.
Call Number: Main Reference PN56.S8 S86 2005 (3 volumes)ISBN: 0313327742Publication Date: 2005
Dictionary of Native American Literature by Call Number: Main Library PM155 .D53 1994ISBN: 0815315600Publication Date: 1994
Colonial America
- Encyclopedia of the North American Colonies by This covers the colonial experience from the 11th-century Norse settlers in Newfoundland to the Spanish in New Mexico and the Russians in 1850s Alaska. Articles speak to the daily circumstances, historical events and prevailing climates of thought that gave shape and purpose to people's lives during the centuries of imperial expansion and settlement.Call Number: Main Oversize E45 .E53 1993 3 vols.ISBN: 0684192691Publication Date: 1993
Colonial America To 1763 by
From the first European explorations of the Americas to the coming of age of American cities in the 18th century, this volume vividly portrays the realities of daily life for those who came to the New World in search of a better life and settled a vast continent. The book provides unparalleled coverage of the economy, politics, culture, society, art, and other elements that defined colonial life. Brief sketches and extended essays on a wide range of topics are used as appropriate to place quantitative data into perspective. Topics covered include: The harsh weather extremes that tested the endurance of the earliest European settlers The impact of the Europeans' arrival on Native American populations and cultures Colonization and regional settlement patterns, including the first permanent English settlement in America founded at Jamestown in 1607 The Mayflower Compact of 1607 and the establishment of a legal basis for a civil society The arrival of African Americans in Anglo-America Witchcraft in the 17th century, including the witchcraft craze in Salem Village Prominent and representative Americans of the period, such as Pocahontas, John Smith, Edward Teach (Blackbeard), and Benjamin Franklin Education and its value to Anglo-Americans, including the founding of Harvard in 1636 Publishing and literature, including the colonies' first imprint in Cambridge, Massachusetts in early 1639, the publication of "Poor Richard's Almanac," and Boston's recognition as the cradle of colonial journalism The coming of age of American cities Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Charles Town, and Newport by the 1750s. A chronology of colonial American history through 1763 documents significant developments as well as events related to social customs, law, and the economy, such as the first American woman denied the right to vote (Martha Brent of Maryland in 1647), and the earliest antismoking legislation passed by Massachusetts Bay in 1646 (which forbade smoking in town as a fire hazard). To enhance readers' appreciation of this period, the text includes more than 100 illustrations and maps.
Call Number: Main Library E188 .P86 1999ISBN: 0816025274Publication Date: 1998
Colonial America: an Encyclopedia of Social, Political, Cultural, and Economic History by
No era in American history has been more fascinating to Americans, or more critical to the ultimate destiny of the United States, than the colonial era. Between the time that the first European settlers established a colony at Jamestown in 1607 through the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the outlines of America's distinctive political culture, economic system, social life, and cultural patterns had begun to emerge. Designed to complement the high school American history curriculum as well as undergraduate survey courses, "Colonial America: An Encyclopedia of Social, Political, Cultural, and Economic History" captures it all: the people, institutions, ideas, and events of the first three hundred years of American history. While it focuses on the thirteen British colonies stretching along the Atlantic, Colonial America sets this history in its larger contexts. Entries also cover Canada, the American Southwest and Mexico, and the Caribbean and Atlantic world directly impacting the history of the thirteen colonies. This encyclopedia explores the complete early history of what would become the United States, including portraits of Native American life in the immediate pre-contact period, early Spanish exploration, and the first settlements by Spanish, French, Dutch, Swedish, and English colonists. This monumental five-volume set brings America's colonial heritage vibrantly to life for today's readers. It includes: thematic essays on major issues and topics; detailed A-Z entries on hundreds of people, institutions, events, and ideas; thematic and regional chronologies; hundreds of illustrations; primary documents; and a glossary and multiple indexes.
Call Number: Main Reference E162 .C68 2006 (5 vols.)ISBN: 0765680653Publication Date: 2006
Environment
Encyclopedia of American Environmental History, 4-Volume Set by Call Number: Main Reference GE150 .E53 2011ISBN: 9780816067930Publication Date: 2010
History of Science
Oxford Encyclopedia of the History of American Science, Medicine, and Technology by
Science, medicine, and technology have become increasingly important to the average individual in modern society. The importance of these three fields is in many ways one of the defining characteristics of modernity. Understanding their history is essential for educated individuals. Science,medicine, and technology are not static endeavors but processes, bodies of knowledge, tools, and techniques that are constantly growing and changing. The entries in this encyclopedia explore the changing character of science, medicine, and technology in the United States; the key individuals,institutions, and organizations responsible for major developments; and the concepts, practices, and processes underlying these changes. Especially since the early decades of the twentieth century, American science, medicine, and technology have played dominant roles internationally.Entries explore distinctive characteristics of American institutions and culture that help explain this development. At the same time, the encyclopedia situates specific events, theories, practices, and institutions in their proper historical context and explores their impact on American society andculture. Entries are written by the experts in the field. Students not only from the humanities and social sciences but also from the sciences and the medical sciences should be attracted to the broad-ranging and in-depth analysis in the encyclopedia.
ISBN: 9780199766666Publication Date: 2014
Indigenous People / Indians
The Columbia Guide to American Indians of the Northeast by
Descriptions of Indian peoples of the Northeast date to the Norse sagas, centuries before permanent European settlement, and the region has been the setting for a long history of contact, conflict, and accommodation between natives and newcomers. The focus of an extraordinarily vital field of scholarship, the Northeast is important both historically and theoretically: patterns of Indian-white relations that developed there would be replicated time and again over the course of American history. Today the Northeast remains the locus of cultural negotiation and controversy, with such subjects as federal recognition, gaming, land claims, and repatriation programs giving rise to debates directly informed by archeological and historical research of the region. The Columbia Guide to American Indians of the Northeast is a concise and authoritative reference resource to the history and culture of the varied indigenous peoples of the region. Encompassing the very latest scholarship, this multifaceted volume is divided into four parts. Part I presents an overview of the cultures and histories of Northeastern Indian people and surveys the key scholarly questions and debates that shape this field. Part II serves as an encyclopedia, alphabetically listing important individuals and places of significant cultural or historic meaning. Part III is a chronology of the major events in the history of American Indians in the Northeast. The expertly selected resources in Part IV include annotated lists of tribes, bibliographies, museums and sites, published sources, Internet sites, and films that can be easily accessed by those wishing to learn more.
ISBN: 9780231114530Publication Date: 2005
The Columbia Guide to American Indians of the Southeast by
Though they speak several different languages and organize themselves into many distinct tribes, the Native American peoples of the Southeast share a complex ancient culture and a tumultuous history. This volume examines and synthesizes their history through each of its integral phases: the complex and elaborate societies that emerged and flourished in the Pre-Columbian period; the triple curse of disease, economic dependency, and political instability brought by the European invasion; the role of Native Americans in the inter-colonial struggles for control of the region; the removal of the "Five Civilized Tribes" to Oklahoma; the challenges and adaptations of the post-removal period; and the creativity and persistence of those who remained in the Southeast.
ISBN: 9780231115711Publication Date: 2005
