English 244 & 245 - U.S. Literature I & II (Ferret): Find Reference Sources

History and Literature Reference Sources

The following collections of online subject encyclopedias can be used to help you explore a topic and get literary and U.S. History background information. Many articles will have extensive bibliographies; you can use these to find additional sources!

Gale Ebooks This link opens in a new window
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Full text encyclopedias in all subject areas
Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new window
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Full text dictionaries, encyclopedias, and subject reference works from Oxford University Press.

Literature Reference Sources

These sources offer great background information on literary genres or eras in addition to definitions of literary terms and biographical information on authors or key literary figures:

Gale Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window
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Comprehensive database of poetry, drama and prose, literature journals, author biographies, topic overviews, and critical essays.
Literature Online This link opens in a new window
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Comprehensive database emphasizing English and American poetry, drama and prose, literature journals, author biographies, and critical essays.

U.S. History Reference Sources

These sources offer great background information on a variety of U.S. History topics and eras in addition to biographical information on key historical figures:

American Decades (1900-1999) [UW restricted]
Includes interdisciplinary articles analyzing periods of contemporary American social history (1900-1999).
American Decades Primary Sources (1900-1999) [UW restricted]
Includes full or excerpted primary sources representing the seminal issues, themes, movements and events from the decades of the 20th Century. Includes oral histories, songs, speeches, advertisements, TV, play and movie scripts, letters, newspaper articles, cartoons, and more.
Dictionary of American History [UW restricted]
Covers a wide range of topics in American history, from the well studied and familiar to the obscure.

Daily Life Through History This link opens in a new window
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Off-campus access temporarily requires use of Husky OnNet. Primary documents, essays, images, maps, and timelines depicting daily life around the world and throughout history

Datapedia of the United States: American History in Numbers [UW restricted]
Presents data on several hundred indicators of social, economic, political, and cultural developments within the nation 1790 to 2007, and includes select data projections through 2050.
Encyclopedia of the American Civil War [UW restricted]
Covers the war's strategic aims, analysis of diplomatic and political maneuvering, key military actions, important participants, and discusses the social and financial impact of the conflict.
Encyclopedia of Civil Rights in America [UW restricted]
Addresses civil rights issues from a variety of perspectives, such as race, gender, age, medical status or conditions, physical and mental challenges, group membership, religion, and many others.

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Multicultural Perspectives

African American history

African American Studies Center [UW restricted] Includes: Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619-1895, Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present, Black Women in America, and African American National Biography.

Encyclopedia of African-American culture and history: the Black experience in the Americas [UW restricted]

American Indian history

The American Indian experience [UW restricted]

Asian American history

The Asian Pacific American heritage [UW restricted] For more, check out print reference sources for Asian American history.

Gender studies and Women's history

Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered History in America [UW restricted] For more, check out print reference sources.

Hispanic American history

The Oxford encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States [UW restricted] For more, check out print reference sources.