Research Guides: English & Literature: English 258 African American Literature

Using library databases for Literature Research

These databases include literary criticisms and author information:

Gale Literary Sources This link opens in a new window
Includes literary and cultural analysis, primary sources, critical articles and biographies.
MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
Subject index for Humanities and interdisciplinary scholarship including books, articles, and websites published on literary theory, criticism, dramatic arts, folklore and linguistics. There is full text access to over 1,000 of the most used journals and articles, some foreign language articles and documents dating back as far as 1881. The database also includes records and links to full text in JSTOR and Project MUSE. The VWU subscription to the MLA International Bibliography also includes access to the MLA Directory of Periodicals database, which provides detailed information on more than 6,000 journals and book series that fall within the scope of the bibliography, as well as the MLA Thesaurus which includes names of persons, languages, groups, genres, stylistic and structural features, themes, sources, influences, processes, theories and other related topics.
While this database is not all full text content, users still can obtain the articles using the Check for Full text link or through Interlibrary Loan.

For additional information on history, society and culture, search in other library databases such as the following:

America: History & Life This link opens in a new window
Indexing to scholarly articles in journals from 1964 to present on the history of the United States and Canada. Links to full text for many articles.
Use Historical Abstracts for World History.
Religion and Philosophy Collection This link opens in a new window
Full text access to journals and magazines in religion and philosophy.
Communication & Mass Media Complete This link opens in a new window
Communications and mass media e-books and articles from scholarly journals and magazines. Full text for many articles.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Full text scholarly articles and e-books in many disciplines. Most recent 3-5 years full text not included. Access to JSTOR Arts & Sciences I-VII and Life Sciences archive collections. Journal subscriptions to The College Mathematics Journal, 2006-; The William and Mary Quarterly, 2001-; The American Mathematical Monthly 2006-. All e-books in JSTOR are digital rights management-free (DRM-free).
The Advanced Search of all collections is the default. If you do not want to search all of the collections at JSTOR, scroll down and check one or more collections to search.

Books from the Collection

The Oxford Companion to African American Literature by William L. Andrews (Editor); Frances Smith (Editor); Trudier Harris (Editor); Henry Louis Gates (Foreword by)
ISBN: 9780195065107
Publication Date: 1997-03-27
Contemporary African American Literature by Lovalerie King (Editor)
ISBN: 9780253006974
Publication Date: 2013-08-28
Writing Through Jane Crow by Ayesha K. Hardison
ISBN: 9780813935928
Publication Date: 2014-05-13
In Writing through Jane Crow, Ayesha Hardison examines African American literature and its representation of black women during the pivotal but frequently overlooked decades of the 1940s and 1950s.

Essay and General Literature Index

Finding chapters in books, also called book essays:

Essay and General Literature Index (EGLI) focuses on the humanities and social sciences and includes criticism of literary works, drama, and film.

EGLI cites essays and articles (chapters) contained in book collections of essays.

Essay & General Literature Index Retrospective This link opens in a new window
Bibliographic database that cites essays, articles, and miscellaneous works published in the United States, Great Britain, and Canada. It covers eight decades (1900-1984) of essays, annuals, and serial publications from the 20th century.

Links for African American Literature

Additional External Resources - Writing Papers in Literature

Resources that may be helpful when writing about a literary text.

Writing for Literature This handout from the Writing Center of the University of North Carolia at Chapel Hill describes some steps for planning and writing papers about fiction texts.

Literature Topics & Research This provides examples and description about writing papers in literature. It discusses research topics, how to begin to research, how to use information, and formatting. From Purdue Owl, Online Writing Lab

Primary Sources

ProQuest Black Freedom Struggle in the United States
Featuring select primary source documents related to critical people and events in African American history.