LibGuides: African Studies Resources: Reference Resources

Print Reference

These are selections of specialized reference sources held in Axinn Library. Electronic reference items tend to be more recent.

Africa Contemporary Record: Annual Survey and Documents. Ref DT .L43 Running from 1968 to 2002 this is an invaluable source of documents on Africa as well annual reports on African countries.

Oxford Encyclopedia of African Thought. Ref DT14. I74 2010

Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and the Middle East. Ref GN646 .E53 2009

Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience Ref DT14 .A37435 2005

Historical Dictionary of Women in Sub-Saharan Africa Ref HQ1787 .S44 2005

The Peoples of Africa: An Ethohistorical Dictionary Ref GN645 .O47 1996

The Cambridge History of Africa. Ref DT20. C27

Schomburg Center Guide to Black Literature: From the Eighteenth Century to the Present Ref PN841 .S36 1995

The Cambridge History of African and Caribbean Literature Ref P841 .I74 2004

We also hold a series, Historical Dictionaries of Africa, which gives reports on individual countries. These are updated irregularly and the print versions are held in the DT section of Reference but under a separate call number for each country. The best way to find them is to search the catalog by individual country, e.g. Historical Dictionary of Morocco. We also have some of them in electronic format.

Electronic Reference

Dictionary of African Biography
Edited by Emmanuel K. Akyeampong and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and published by Oxford University Press this is a premier source for African biographies.
Ethnic Groups of Africa and the Middle East: An Encyclopeida
For beginners and experts, this encyclopedia gives information on the ethnic groups of Africa and the Middle East. Classification is by ethno-linguistic criteria and closely related languages are grouped together.
International Encyclopedia of Human Geography
Authoritative encyclopedia in human geography and closely related disciplines. Search within ScienceDirect by title for this item if it does not appear immediately.
Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619-1895
With over 700 entries the encyclopedia documents the full range of African American experience for the period covered.
Encyclopedia of African American Experience, 1896 to the Present
With over 1,200 entries the encyclopedia covers African American history from the period of segregation to the present day.
Encyclopedia of African American Popular Culture
Writers, poets, publications, organizations, music and other components of African American popular culture.
Encyclopedia of Caribbean Religions
Encompasses of all religious traditions in the Caribbean.
Sage Encyclopedia of African American Cultural Heritage in North American
Provides an accessible ready reference on the retention and continuity of African culture within the United States.
Companion to African-American Philosophy
This wide-ranging, multidisciplinary collection of newly commissioned articles brings together distinguished voices in the field of Africana philosophy and African-American social and political thought.

Who's Who Among African Americans 2014

Other Print Sources

Two extremely important sources of primary material in African American history are slave narratives, and archival material. Hoftra University's Special Collections holds archival material both on slavery on Long Island and on the lenghty and varied history of African Americans on the island.

Many of the slave narratives are held in the circulating collection in a multivolume set under the title The American Slave: A Composite Autobiography E444 .A45 and E444 .A45a

Descriptions of the holdings in Special Collections can be found at the following links.

Slavery on Long Island

Long Island Studies Institute Collections