Related Guides
Selected journals
One way to find topics for research is to skim articles from journals focused on American Studies. You can create alerts for individual journals so you receive an email when a new issue is available.
Contact Kat Nelsen (kgerwig@umn.edu) if you have questions about setting up alerts or locating other journals.
Librarian
Make an appointment
Make a virtual appointment with the subject librarian, Kat Nelsen.
You will receive a Zoom link shortly after scheduling.
Journal articles and e-books
- Academic Search PremierA great place to start your research on any topic, search multidisciplinary, scholarly research articles. This database provides access to scholarly and peer reviewed journals, popular magazines and other resources. View this tutorial to learn how to go from a general idea to a very precise set of results of journal articles and scholarly materials.
- America: History and LifeAmerica: history and life provides historical coverage of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present with over 2,000 journals including all key English-language historical journals. Limited to 6 simultaneous users.
- Arts & Humanities Citation Index (Web of Science)AHCI covers arts, humanities, and area studies scholarship. Titles of foreign-language works are translated into English, and abstracts are given in English, thereby simplifying and standardizing searching across languages.
- Bibliography of Indigenous Peoples in North AmericaCovering all aspects of native North American culture, history, and life with 80,000+ citations for books, essays, journal articles, and government documents of the United States and Canada. This resource covers a wide range of topics including archaeology, multicultural relations, gaming, governance, legend, and literacy. Dates of coverage for included content range from the sixteenth century to the present.
- Dissertations and Theses Global This link opens in a new windowCollection of dissertations and theses from around the world, offering millions of works from thousands of universities. Each year hundreds of thousands of works are added. Full-text coverage spans from 1743 to the present, with citation coverage dating back to 1637.
- GenderWatchSearch articles from journals, etc. that focus on how gender impacts a broad spectrum of subject areas such as the women's movement, men's studies, the transgender community and the changes in gender roles.
- Humanities & Social Sciences RetrospectiveUse Humanities & Social Sciences Retrospective to find journal articles for the humanities and social sciences.
- JSTORFind full text articles in academic journals or books on the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences. JSTOR provides articles from the journal's first issue. In some cases the most recent 2-5 years may not be available. View this tutorial to learn how to go from a general idea to a very precise set of results of journal articles and scholarly materials.
- Literature OnlineFind literary criticism and scholarly articles on literature included in the Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature and The MLA International Bibliography. It also includes an online full text library of literary reference resources and searchable full-text of over 300,000 works of English and American poetry, drama, and prose.
- MLA International BibliographyUse the MLA International Bibliography to find scholarly books and articles on modern languages, literatures, folklore, and linguistics. This index has been compiled by the Modern Language Association of America since 1926.
- PAIS Index (Political Science and Public Policy)PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service) searches journals and other sources on issues of political science and public policy. This includes government, politics, international relations, human rights and more.
- Project MuseSearch for full-text journals in literary theory, classics, history and cultural studies, philosophy, film, theater and performing arts, political science, and mathematics.
- Sociological AbstractsThis core database for the field of sociology contains information on sociology and social policy worldwide. Sociological Abstracts includes citations from the 1952-present. It provides abstracting and indexing of articles and book reviews drawn from thousands of journal publications, plus books, book chapters, dissertations, conference papers, and working papers.
- Twentieth-Century African American PoetryA database of modern and contemporary African American poetry, featuring almost 9,000 poems by 62 of the most important African American poets of the last century, including Langston Hughes, Jean Toomer, Imamu Amiri Baraka, Audre Lorde and Rita Dove.
Newspapers, magazines, and general media
- Access World NewsFull-text news from over 9,000 news sources in the U.S. and international newspapers, major wire services, and hundreds of local broadcasting outlets and blogs. There are over 100 Minnesota sources. Mostly English language news coverage with some 200 titles in Spanish, French, Afrikaans and other languages.
- African American Newspapers (1800s)Search a collection of African-American newspapers dating from the 1800s. It contains large numbers of early biographies, vital statistics, essays and editorials, poetry and prose, and advertisements, which illustrate the African-American experiences.
- African American Newspapers (1827-1998)Use this database to find newspapers published by or for African Americans exploring such diverse disciplines as cultural, literary and social history, ethnic studies, political science, ethnic studies, diaspora studies, and womens studies.
- African American Periodicals, 1825-1995Features more than 170 wide-ranging magazines by and about African Americans.
- American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical PeriodicalsThe American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collections include digitized images of the pages of American magazines and journals from the American Antiquarian Society, the premier library documenting the life of America's people from the Colonial Era through the Civil War and Reconstruction. There are a series of five databases: Series 1 through 5: 1684-1912 (specifically Series 1: 1684-1820, Series 2: 1821-1837, Series 3: 1838-1852, Series 4: 1853-1865, Series 5: 1866-1912)
- Ebony Magazine Archive, 1945-2014This fully searchable full-text archive covers civil rights, education, entrepreneurship and other social topics with an African-American focus. It includes more than 800 issues providing a broad view of African-American culture from its first issue in 1945 through 2014.
- Ethnic NewsWatchEthnic NewsWatch is a current resource of full-text newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic and minority press from 1990, providing researchers access to essential, often overlooked perspectives.
- Harper's Magazine Archive (1850 - present)Complete online access to over 170 years of Harper's, the oldest general-interest monthly magazine in America, featuring narrative journalism, essays and more. Access is for 2 simultaneous users.
- JET Magazine Archive, 1951-2014This full-text archive covers art, news, politics and other social topics with an African-American focus. It includes over 3,100 issues providing a broad view of culture, fashion and entertainment from its first issue in 1951 through 2014.
- Life Magazine Archive, 1936-2000Searchable digital archive of Life magazine covering national and international events, documentaries, popular culture, and business from November 1936 through December 2000.
- MasterFile CompleteSearch magazines, with a small number of journals and newspapers, covering a broad range of disciplines and topics. Includes photos and multimedia.
- Time Magazine Archive, 1923-2000Search full text of Time Magazine from 1923 to 2000 and read articles, front and back covers, photographs, illustrations and advertisements.
- U.S. Newsstream This link opens in a new windowSearch the most recent premium U.S. news content, as well as archives which stretch back into the 1980s featuring newspapers, newswires, blogs, and news sites in active full-text format.
- Vogue Archive, 1892-currentA complete searchable archive of American Vogue, from the first issue in 1892 to the current month, reproduced in high-resolution color page images.
Digital collections of primary sources
- ARTstorARTstor is a cross-disciplinary image database. It offers collections of approximately 300,000 art images and descriptive information covering art, architecture and archeology.
- Digital National Security Archive This link opens in a new windowFind primary documents central to United States foreign and military policy since 1945. Contains a diverse range of policy documents including presidential directives, memos, briefing papers, White House communications, email, and confidential letters.
- Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)A searchable online catalog with millions of digitized items to browse, including photos, maps and books, from libraries, archives, museums, and cultural institutions around the United States.
- Early American Imprints Series I: Evans (1639-1800) This link opens in a new windowEvery book, pamphlet, serial, and other printed work of significance published in America 1639 - 1800 with 36,000 items and 2.4 million page images when complete.
- Early American Imprints Series II: Supplement from the Library Company of Philadelphia, 1801-1819A broad range of recently uncovered books, pamphlets and broadsides, most of which were not included in Ralph R. Shaw and Richard H. Shoemaker's American Bibliography. Printed during the Early Republic, spanning the inauguration of Thomas Jefferson and passage of the Indian Civilization Act.
- HathiTrust Digital Library This link opens in a new windowHathiTrust provides access to millions of books and other materials. Full text searching of most books is available and books in the public domain (generally older books) can be freely viewed and/or downloaded. Books still in copyright have more limited access. Users with print-reading disabilities can apply for special access to digitized works by emailing wilsref@umn.edu.
- Internet ArchiveInternet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more
- Library of Congress: Digital collectionsDigitized materials from the Library of Congress. Materials include photographs, manuscripts, recordings, books, notated music, video, maps, and newpapers.
- Proquest Congressional This link opens in a new windowThe ProQuest Congressional Research Digital Collection (CRDC) provides full-text access to more than 5,000 Congressional committee prints published from 2004 to present and more than 23,000 Congressional Research Service reports published from 2004-present. Includes citations for bills, public laws, and Statutes at Large, and analytical abstracts of the documents. Also includes links to political parties and organizations and news sources. Coverage 1789-present.
Video and music
- Academic Video Online This link opens in a new windowAcademic Video Online (AVON) delivers 70,000+ videos, on a range of topics including anthropology, business, counseling, film, health, history, music, and more.
- American Archive of Public BroadcastingDiscover, watch, and listen to historic programs of publicly funded radio and television across America.
- AP News ArchivesA historical archive of video and sound recordings from the Associated Press and their partners that include newsreels from the 20th century.
- Filmakers Library OnlineProvides award-winning documentaries on race and gender studies, human rights, globalization and global studies, multiculturalism, international relations, criminal justice, the environment, bioethics, health, political science and current events, psychology, arts, literature, and more.
- FolkstreamsProvides streaming access to a large collection of documentary films about American folk, or roots, cultures. Includes essays about the traditions and filmmakers, transcriptions, study and teaching guides, suggested readings, and links to related websites. Site provides simple keyword and advanced searching, as well as ability to browse by subjects, regions, titles, filmmakers, and other categories. Video displays include links to additional, related films.
- Kanopy StreamingVideo streaming platform hosting a wide variety of award-winning films and documentaries.
Archives and special collections at UMN
- UMediaDiscover 161,819 images, maps, manuscripts, video, audio, and more. UMedia provides open access to digitized materials from across the University of Minnesota.
- Givens Collection of African American Literature
The Givens Collection consists of over 10,000 books, magazines, and pamphlets by or about African Americans. Included are novels, poetry, plays, short stories, essays, literary criticism, periodicals, and biographies that span nearly 250 years of American culture, with particular strength in the areas of the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts Movement. - Kautz Family YMCA Archives
The Kautz Family YMCA Archives collects the historical records of the Y's national resource office, records of the Greater Twin Cities and Greater New York YMCAs, and those of Y's Men International, a service club in partnership with the Y. The YMCA Archives documents one of the nation’s largest and oldest nonprofits and its programs to support social welfare, spiritual and mental development, and physical education. - Social Welfare History Archives
The Archives documents the history of social service programs, policies, and organizations; the evolution of the social work profession; and social reform movements. - Upper Midwest Literary Archives
The resources in the Upper Midwest Literary Archives are integral to the study of literary history, independent publishing, and writers of the Upper Midwest.
Methods and skill development
- Sage Research MethodsSAGE Research Methods is a tool designed to help scholars of all levels create research projects in their specific discipline and understand the methods behind them.
- Software CapentrySoftware Carpentry offers free, hands-on workshops that cover the core computational research skills needed to be productive as an individual scientist or in small research teams. No previous experience is needed and each workshop is taught by experienced researchers who use these tools in their own work. Participants will learn how to automate tasks using the Unix shell, will be introduced to a structured programming language like Python or R, and will gain experience using Git and Github for version control.
- LATIS workshopsA series of workshops created by LATIS (Liberal Arts Technology and Innovation Services) that are free and open to all faculty and graduate students.
- Library workshopsLearn something new at a library workshop! Register for everything from using citation managers to finding grant funding.
- U-SpatialU-Spatial offers instructor-led workshops focusing on different geospatial tools/technologies and other resources.
Last Updated: Sep 21, 2023 11:15 AM
URL: https://libguides.umn.edu/AmericanStudiesAdvanced