Research Guides: American Studies: Home

Introduction

The American Studies program at QC takes an interdisciplinary approach to exploring the American experience. For more information about the program, see the American Studies website, and its program requirements. This guide provides a selection of resources to highlight American arts, literature, history, politics, and society. Given the interdisciplinary nature of American Studies, other Research Guides prepared by the Library’s subject specialists might prove helpful:

/ Africana Studies / Art / Music / Political Science / Sociology / U. S. Civil Rights History / U. S. Environmental History / U. S. Social & Women's History / U. S. Urban History / Urban Studies /

Scholarly Books

OneSearch; Search for printed and electronic scholarly books at QC and other CUNY libraries.
WorldCat: Search for scholarly books in the national catalog for the United States and Canada. Includes holdings from libraries in other parts of the world, primarily European or English-speaking.

Reference Essays (from Encyclopedias & Dictionaries)

Subject encyclopedias and other reference guides can provide good background information on a topic. Many reference books are in printed format, while others are available in electronic resource collections such as:

Gale eBooks (formerly Gale Virtual Reference Library)

Oxford Reference

American Decades Series by Vincent Tompkins (Editor); Victor Bondi (Editor); Judith Baughman
ISBN: 9780787650766
Publication Date: 2000-12-01
"American Decades documents and analyzes periods of contemporary American social history. Each volume begins with an overview and chronology covering the entire decade. Subject chapters follow." Covers decades from1900 through 1999.
American Eras by Gretchen D. Starr-LeBeau (Editor)
ISBN: 9780787614775
Publication Date: 1997-03-01
"American Eras is a fascinating, student-friendly reference...Volumes cover the events, lifestyles, social history and key figures unique to each era." Covers from early America through 1899.
American Ethnic Writers by Salem Press Editors (Editor)
ISBN: 9781587654626
Publication Date: 2008-08-29
"This set covers all major American ethnicities and includes such well-known writers as Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Amy tan, Ha Jin, Victor Hernandez Cruz, Sherman Alexie, and Joy harjo."
American Folk Songs: A Regional Encyclopedia by Norm Cohen (Editor)
ISBN: 9780313340475
Publication Date: 2008-09-30
This state-by-state collection of folksongs describes the history, society, culture, and events characteristic of all fifty states."
American History through Literature, 1820-1870
ISBN: 9780684314600
Publication Date: 2005-12-16
"These interdisciplinary works provide a standard reference for American literature in its broadest cultural context, offering a comprehensive overview of American history through a literary lens."
American History through Literature, 1870-1920
ISBN: 9780684314648
Publication Date: 2005-12-16
"These interdisciplinary works provide a standard reference for American literature in its broadest cultural context, offering a comprehensive overview of American history through a literary lens."
American Social Reform Movements Reference Library by Thomson Gale Staff
ISBN: 9781414402147
Publication Date: 2006-10-26
"The movements that have helped shape American society, culture and politics."
Dictionary of American History
ISBN: 9780684805337
Publication Date: 2002-12-11
"Entries from previous editions have been updated and revised in light of historical developments and current scholarship, and more than 800 new entries cover recent events and topics not covered previously. For the first time, illustrations and maps are incorporated into the main body of the work; a collection of primary source documents appears in Volume 9."
Encyclopedia of American Religions by J. Gordon Melton; James A. Beverley; Constance M. Jones; Pamela Susan Nadell
ISBN: 9780787696962
Publication Date: 2009-02-13
"Presents coverage of more than 2,500 North American religious groups in the U.S. and Canada, from Adventists to Zen Buddhists."
Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Social Issues by Michael Shally-Jensen (Editor)
ISBN: 9780313392047
Publication Date: 2010-12-22
"This single-source reference will help students and general readers alike understand the most critical issues facing American society today.*
Gale Encyclopedia of U. S. History: Government and Politics
ISBN: 9781414431185
Publication Date: 2008-02-27
Gale Encyclopedia of U. S. History: War
ISBN: 9781414431147
Publication Date: 2008-02-27

Grove Art Online
NOTE: Content is currently unavailable, pending the CUNY subscription renewal during March. Grove Art features entries on artists, architects, craftsmen, patrons, movements, locations, and periods, as well as bibliographies for further research and thousands of searchable images. The collection includes The Oxford Companion to Western Art, The Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, and The concise dictionary of art terms.
Catalogue Link: OneSearch.

The Wiley-Blackwell History of American Film by Cynthia Lucia (Editor); Roy Grundmann (Editor); Art Simon (Editor)
ISBN: 9781405179843
Publication Date: 2011-12-12
"Provides a chronological portrait of American film history from its origins to the present day."

Scholarly Journal Articles (Search Databases)

America: History & Life
Definitive index of literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present.
Catalogue Link: OneSearch.
Art Full Text (H.W.Wilson)
Art Full Text is a foundational art research database providing full-text art journals that cover fine, decorative, and commercial art, as well as photography, film, and architecture with articles dating back to 1995.
Catalogue Link: OneSearch.
Atla Religion Database
This database is an essential resource for religious and theological studies, providing bibliographic records covering topics such as biblical studies, world religions, church history, and religion in social issues.
Catalogue Link: OneSearch.
Google Scholar
Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. Please sign to QC Library when prompted to browse articles within the Queens College Library collections.
Catalogue Link: OneSearch.
Remote access to Google Scholar may not always work. In such cases we advise that you follow the steps below or review the FAQ on Google Scholar
How to access QC subscribed articles via Google Scholar:
1.Access Google Scholar via the un-proxied version: Google Scholar
2. From the Menu Icon on the Top Left select Settings then Library Links
3. In Library Links, search for Queens College then select "Queens College --> Fulltext at QC"
4. SAVE and return to the Google Scholar Homepage
5. You should be able to search for articles. When you see the "Queens College --> Fulltext at QC", select to either be re-directed to the Library Catalogue, OneSearch or asked to login to the library proxy in order to access articles.
6. Please review the FAQ on logging into the library proxy.
Should you have any additional questions, please contact our Electronic Resources Librarian by completing the Electronic Resources Access Form.
Humanities Source
Humanities Source is a valuable full-text database covering literary, scholarly, and creative thought.
Catalogue Link: OneSearch.
JSTOR
JSTOR is a multi-disciplinary collection of scholarly journals and e-books that include primary sources, images, and more.
Catalogue Link: OneSearch.
JSTOR provided expanded access during the pandemic (June 2020-June 2023). Expanded access expires on June 30, 2023. CUNY will reinstate that access beginning in January 2024.You may review the Electronic Resources Status Dashboard for updates. Questions? Email: access-support@qc-cuny.libanswers.com or Open a Ticket!
MLA International Bibliography
MLA International Bibliography Produced by the Modern Language Association (MLA), the electronic version of the bibliography dates back to the 1920s and contains millions of citations from journals and series, as well as book publishers.
Catalogue Link: OneSearch.
Music Index
Music Index database provides cover-to-cover indexing and abstracts covering every aspect of classical and popular music.
Catalogue Link: OneSearch.
Sociological Abstracts
Indexes the international literature of sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences; (1952-current).
Catalogue Link: OneSearch.

Primary Sources: U. S. History

American Decades Primary Soiurces by Cynthia Rose (Editor)
ISBN: 9780787665876
Publication Date: 2003-12-05
"A 10-volume set spanning the 20th century...provides fresh insight into the decades most important events, people, and issues. Each volume...includes approximately 200 full or excerpted primary sources in 160-170 entries from the period representing a diversity of views that provide insight into the seminal issues, themes, movements and events from the decade. Also included are concise contextual information, notes about the author, further resources, and more than 250 photos and illustrations."

American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection
American Antiquarian Society Historical Periodicals Collection includes series 1-5 and provides more than 1,800 titles dating from 1838-1852. The themes reveal a rapidly growing young nation where industrialization, the railroads, regional political differences, and life on the western frontier were daily realities.
Catalogue Link: OneSearch.
European Views of the Americas: 1493 to 1750
European Views of the Americas: 1493 to 1750 is an archive of indexed publications related to the Americas and written in Europe before 1750.
Catalogue Link: OneSearch.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times
ProQuest Historical Newspapers is the definitive newspaper digital archive offering full-text and full-image articles for significant newspapers dating back to the 19th Century (1851-2018).
Catalogue Link: OneSearch.

American Archive of Public Broadcasting
AP Archive Videos (YouTube Channel)
ArchiveGrid
"ArchiveGrid includes over 7 million records describing archival materials, bringing together information about historical documents, personal papers, family histories, and more. With over 1,400 archival institutions represented, ArchiveGrid helps researchers looking for primary source materials held in archives, libraries, museums and historical societies."
Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History, and Diplomacy (Yale Law School Library)
A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U. S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1873
Published congressional records from the Continental Congress (1774) through the 43rd Congress (1875), digitized by the Library of Congress' American Memory Project.
Digital Public Library of America
Documenting the American South
Harvard Digital Collections (Harvard University Library)
Library of Congress: Digital Collections
Paley Archive (Paley Center for Media)
Database listing television and radio programs and advertisements.
Perseus Collection: 19th-Century American (Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University)
Serials in Microfilm (Internet Archive)
Digitized popular periodicals and trade magazines from the 19th and 20th centuries. American titles include: American City & County, American Machinist, The Atlantic, Chilton's Iron Age, Cosmpolitan, Farm Journal, Forbes, Harper's (Bazaar, Magazine, Weekly), Leslie's Weekly, Ladies Home Journal, Life, Living Age, McClure's, Motor Age, The Nation, New Outlook, New Republic, North American Review, Railway Age, Redbook, Scientific American, Time, Vogue, and more.
U. S. History: Primary Source Collections Online (Sam Houston State University Library)