Reference Sources
ONLINE REFERENCE COLLECTIONS
- UNESCO General History of AfricaIn 1964, UNESCO launched the elaboration of the General History of Africa with a view to remedy the general ignorance on Africa’s history. The challenge consisted of reconstructing Africa’s history, freeing it from racial prejudices ensuing from slave trade and colonization, and promoting an African perspective. Scroll to the bottom of the page to view the individual volumes.
- Cambridge Histories This link opens in a new windowTopically focused collections of essays that seek to provide comprehensive analysis of major events, peoples, and ideas in world history.
- Gale eBooks This link opens in a new windowSearch across hundreds of subject encyclopedias and other reference works. A great place to find background information on almost any research topic. Includes a topic finder for help with narrowing or broadening your research topic. Coverage: varies
- Oxford Handbooks Online: History This link opens in a new windowOnline access to the Oxford Handbooks series in History. Each handbook takes an aspect of its discipline, explains the key issues, the classic and contemporary debates on those issues, and describes how those debates might evolve. The handbooks offer authoritative and trustworthy guides to the scholarship that defines the field.
The Oxford Encyclopedia of African Historiography: Methods and Sources by Call Number: ONLINEISBN: 9780190698706Publication Date: 2019-04-12
The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World by Call Number: ONLINEISBN: 9780195305135Publication Date: 2009-04-03
BIBLIOGRAPHIES
- Oxford Bibliographies Online: African Studies This link opens in a new window
- Oxford Bibliographies Online: Islamic Studies This link opens in a new window
SELECTED REFERENCE BOOKS
Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience by Call Number: Wilson 4th Floor ; DT14 .A37435 2005ISBN: 9780195170559Publication Date: 2005-04-07
A Companion to African History by Call Number: ONLINEISBN: 9780470656310Publication Date: 2018-11-28
Dictionary of African Biography by Call Number: ONLINEISBN: 9780195382075Publication Date: 2011-12-08
The Encyclopedia of Precolonial Africa by Call Number: Reference Department - Wilson 4th Floor DT2 .E53 1997ISBN: 0761989021Publication Date: 1997- African states and rulers : an encyclopedia of native, colonial, and independent states and rulers past and present byCall Number: Offsite StorageISBN: 089950390XPublication Date: 1989
A History of Modern Africa: 1800 to Present by Call Number: ONLINEISBN: 9781119381921Publication Date: 2020
Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century African History by Call Number: ONLINEISBN: 9780203986578Publication Date: 2005
African History: a Very Short Introduction by Call Number: ONLINEISBN: 9780192802484Publication Date: 2007- African Historical DictionariesLink to catalog search of Africa's Historical Dictionaries series. These are all in print; some are held in offsite storage.
- Encyclopedia of Islam, Third EditionCall Number: ONLINE
- Historical Atlas of IslamCall Number: ONLINE
Gathering Background Information
Use the background sources here, as well as other sources you might encounter, to gather information about your topic and consider what you still need to know before you start researching. You can use this information in searching for primary sources.
- Dates - Places - Names of persons involved - Names of organizations, government agencies, etc. - Names of particular laws or events
Background sources can also help you understand the larger historical context, so that you can determine what primary sources might be most useful or how a particular primary source fits into what was happening at that time.