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Reference sources are great places to start your research. Check out some of the titles on this page.
E-Reference Databases
Credo is an online full text database of over 900 reference sources. You can search them all together to bring up a variety of articles related to a topic.
Subject: History, Philosophy, Political Science, Religion Content/Description: Contains current scholarly review essays that argue on the future direction of debate on a given topic.
"Presents the cultural similarities within a country that set it apart from others by examining over 200 countries to document the myriad ways in which culture defines and separates the nations of the world as much as geographical borders do. Surveys each country's shared values, behaviors and cultural variations from foods and rituals to pastimes and arts, using a standard entry format for easy comparison. Provides illustrations, photographs and maps"--Gale Virtual Reference Library.
"The term "culture wars" refers to the political and sociological polarization that has characterized American society the past several decades. This new edition provides an enlightening and comprehensive A-to-Z ready reference, now with supporting primary documents, on major topics of contemporary importance for students, teachers, and the general reader"--Credo Reference.
"Provides the historical background and etymology of a wide range of words related to race, ethnicity and culture from a broadly multicultural perspective"--Credo Reference.
"A comprehensive and systematic collection of designated entries that describe, in detail, important diversity and social justice themes"--Credo Reference.
"This work uses case studies to explore some four dozen of those conflicts, making it an ideal first-stop reference for students and others who wish to quickly gain an understanding of ethnic struggles"--Credo Reference.
"Examines the anthropological, sociological, historical, economic, and scientific theories of race and racism in the modem era. Delves into the historic origins of ideas of race and racism and explores their social and scientific consequences. Includes biographies of significant theorists, as well as political and social leaders and notorious racists"--Gale Virtual Reference Library.
"Exploration of the ethnic history of the former Yugoslavia traces the roots of the conflicts that convulsed the region in the 1990s"--Credo Reference.
"This work includes 23 new ethnic groups and contains 152 revised ethnic entries on specific minority groups in the U.S., with an emphasis on culture (religions, holidays, customs, language) in addition to information on historical background and settlement patterns. The encyclopedia also covers ethnoreligious groups such as Jews, Chaldeans and Amish"--Gale Virtual Reference Library.
"Spanning a 5,000-year period, this is the first work to document the origins, evolution, and current status of all major ethnic groups in Iran"--Credo Reference.
"Thematic essays address such topics as immigration law and policy, refugees, unauthorized migrants, racial and ethnic identity, assimilation, nationalization, economy, politics, religion, education, and family relations. Comprehensive articles on immigration from the thirty most significant nations or regions of origin"--Credo Reference.
"Exploring the history of ethnic, regional and religious diversity in Nigeria, this volume traces most of the country's current problems to its colonial exploitation. In many ways, Nigeria is a nation in name only, struggling to unite its diverse population. But age-old tribal hostilities are not solely to blame. The conflicts among Nigeria's major ethnic groups are also the legacy of European colonial influence as well as present-day political culture and ethnoregionalism"--Credo Reference.
"Examines 500 years of interaction between the races in a country that during the apartheid era became a byword for racial disharmony"--Credo Reference.
"Covers cultural groups in Asia, Europe, the Americas and Africa. Each volume is organized by continent, covering history, politics, customs, religion, education, human rights issues, teen life, and more"--Gale Virtual Reference Library.
"Presents easy-to-understand information on more than 200 countries and dependencies from around the world. Entries discuss a variety of topics in detail, from banking and securities to climate, from government data to demographic statistics. Also includes biographical essays on national leaders"--Gale Virtual Reference Library.
Reference Books
The majority of these print reference books are located on the first floor of the Van Wylen Library.