African History
Why start with background research?
Background research helps you identify the who, what, and where of a topic.This is the first step in researching a subject, and discovering the "how" and "why".
Encyclopedias can provide background information and can be used to identify key people, events and dates which can then be used as search terms for finding additional information. Many also provide a jumpstart on your research by listing related readings.
Interested in meeting with a research librarian to toss around ideas and narrow down your research topic? Meet with Ginny, the librarian that specializes in African history! She is more than happy to schedule an appointment to discuss your research.
Recommended Background Research Sources
Scholarly subject specific encyclopedias:
General academic encyclopedias that cover African History topics:
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Credo Reference
Access to general and subject-specific reference books (encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri and books of quotations and proverbs). Provides a graphics-based Concept Mapping option for topic exploration.
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Oxford Bibliographies
Authoritative guides to current scholarship in the following fields: African Studies, Cinema and Media Studies, and Latin American Studies. Contains original commentary and annotations.
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Oxford Reference OnlineResource of reference materials such as dictionary, language reference, and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press. Provides database-wide searching, subject searching across sources, and individual title searching.
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Dictionary of African Biography
by
Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780195382075Publication Date: 2011-12-08From the Pharaohs to Fanon, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the lives of the men and women who shaped Africa's history. The text covers the whole continent from Tunisia to South Africa, from Sierra Leone to Somalia.
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eBooks (Gale)Search across subject-specific reference encyclopedias including the Encyclopedia of the African Diaspora, and the New Encyclopedia of Africa.