AMCS 515 - Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History: Women in American Religion - A Guide to American Culture Studies - Research Guides at Washington University in St. Louis

Reference Works - A Place to Begin

Reference works - such as encyclopedia, handbooks, bibliographies, or companions - are often a good place to start your research. Not only will entries give you a broad overview of a subject, they may, depending the depth of the entry, provide some outlines of the academic discussion on the topic and frequently provide a bibliography, which can lead you to more sources. While Wikipedia is fairly accurate and contains citations as well, the encyclopedia listed below and others you can find through the WUSTL Libraries' catalog are written by academic professionals and point to the most important works in the field.

Encyclopedia of American Women and Religion by June Melby Benowitz
Call Number: BL2525 .B45 1998
ISBN: 9781440839863
Publication Date: 2017-08-18
This two-volume set examines women's contributions to religious and moral development in America, covering individual women, their faith-related organizations, and women's roles and experiences in the broader social and cultural contexts of their times.This second edition of Encyclopedia of American Women and Religion provides updated and expanded information from historians and other scholars of religion, covering new issues in religion to better describe and document women's roles within religious groups. For instance, the term "evangelical feminism" is one newly defined aspect of women's involvement in religious activism. Changes are constantly occurring within the many religious faiths and denominations in America, particularly as women strive to gain positions within religious hierarchies that previously were exclusive to men and rise within their denominations to become theologians, church leaders, and bishops.The entries examine the roles that American women have played in mainstream religious denominations, small religious sects, and non-traditional practices such as witchcraft, as well as in groups that question religious beliefs, including agnostics and atheists. A section containing primary documents gives readers a firsthand look at matters of concern to religious women and their organizations. Many of these documents are the writings of women who merit entries within the encyclopedia. Readers will gain an awareness of women's contributions to religious culture in America, from the colonial era to the present day, and better understand the many challenges that women have faced to achieve success in their religion-related endeavors.
Encyclopedia of Religion in America by Charles H. Lippy (Editor); Peter W. Williams (Editor)
Call Number: BL2520 .E52 2010
ISBN: 9780872895805
Publication Date: 2010-06-01
A multidisciplinary examination of religion in American life Encyclopedia of Religion in America examines how religious history and practices are woven into the political, social, cultural, and historical landscape of North America. This authoritative four-volume reference work explains the origins, development, adaptation, influence, and interrelations of the many faiths practiced, including major world religions, new religious sects, cults, and religious movements that originated or had an influence in the United States. Edited by well-known experts in the field, the Encyclopedia covers all the significant religious denominations and movements that have originated or flourished in North America, from the beginning of European settlement to the present day. The broad multidisciplinary coverage includes the religious life of indigenous peoples, specific aspects of religious life, and the relationship of political, social, economic, and cultural spheres. Topics include: Religion as an influential force in the U.S. Methods of worship Religion and politics Homosexuality and religion African American religion Arts and architecture Church-state issues Education Environment and ecology Ethnicity Evangelicals Faiths Gay and lesbian issues Historical overviews Immigration Media (new and old) Megachurches Movements and denominations New religious movements Popular religion and culture Race and racism Religious thought Religious Right Rites Role of women Terrorism and war Encyclopedia of Religion in America is an essential resource for students and scholars researching issues in a wide variety of social science disciplines, from American history to cultural studies, political science, gender studies, psychology of religion, and more. It reflects new scholarly research and interpretation that have emerged over the last two decades, as well as significant new areas of study, such as post-9/11 America, the role of gays and lesbians in church, gender, and the role of the evangelicals in American political life.
Melton's Encyclopedia of American Religions by J. Gordon Melton; James A. Beverley; Constance M. Jones; Pamela Susan Nadell
Call Number: BL2525 .M449 2009
ISBN: 9781414410395
Publication Date: 2009-01-01
a reference book first published in 1978, it is currently in its ninth edition and has become a standard reference work in the study of religion in the United States. Includes coverage of more than 2,300 North American religious groups in the U.S. and Canada -- from Adventists to Zen Buddhists. Each chapter includes an overview of the family's history, followed by directory entries on specific groups within that family. The directory entries provide factual information including, when available, rubrics for membership figures, educational facilities, and periodicals.
The Oxford Companion to United States History by Paul S. Boyer (Editor)
Call Number: E174 .O94
ISBN: 0195082095
Publication Date: 2001-07-04
Here is a volume that is as big and as varied as the nation it portrays. With over 1,400 entries written by some 900 historians and other scholars, it illuminates not only America's political, diplomatic, and military history, but also social, cultural, and intellectual trends; science, technology, and medicine; the arts; and religion. Here are the familiar political heroes, from George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, to Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. But here, too, are scientists, writers, radicals, sports figures, and religious leaders, with incisive portraits of such varied individuals as Thomas Edison and Eli Whitney, Babe Ruth and Muhammed Ali, Black Elk and Crazy Horse, Margaret Fuller, Emma Goldman, and Marian Anderson, even Al Capone and Jesse James. The Companion illuminates events that have shaped the nation (the Great Awakening, Bunker Hill, Wounded Knee, the Vietnam War); major Supreme Court decisions (Marbury v. Madison, Roe v. Wade); landmark legislation (the Fugitive Slave Law, the Pure Food and Drug Act); social movements (Suffrage, Civil Rights); influential books (The Jungle, Uncle Tom's Cabin); ideologies (conservatism, liberalism, Social Darwinism); even natural disasters and iconic sites (the Chicago Fire, the Johnstown Flood, Niagara Falls, the Lincoln Memorial). Here too is the nation's social and cultural history, from Films, Football, and the 4-H Club, to Immigration, Courtship and Dating, Marriage and Divorce, and Death and Dying. Extensive multi-part entries cover such key topics as the Civil War, Indian History and Culture, Slavery, and the Federal Government. A new volume for a new century, The Oxford Companion to United States History covers everything from Jamestown and the Puritans to the Human Genome Project and the Internet--from Columbus to Clinton. Written in clear, graceful prose for researchers, browsers, and general readers alike, this is the volume that addresses the totality of the American experience, its triumphs and heroes as well as its tragedies and darker moments.
Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Culture by Robert Gregg (Editor); Gary W. McDonogh (Editor); Cindy H. Wong (Editor)
Call Number: E169.12 .E49
ISBN: 9780415515023
Publication Date: 2011-11-04
As a meeting point for world cultures, the USA is characterized by its breadth and diversity. Acknowledging that diversity is the fundamental feature of American culture, this volume is organized around a keen awareness of race, gender, class and space and with over 1,200 alphabetically-arranged entries - spanning 'the American century' from the end of World War II to the present day - the Encyclopedia provides a one-stop source for insightful and stimulating coverage of all aspects of that culture. Entries range from short definitions to longer overview essays and with full cross-referencing, extensive indexing, and a thematic contents list, this volume provides an essential cultural context for both teachers and students of American studies, as well as providing fascinating insights into American culture for the general reader. The suggestions for further reading, which follows most entries, are also invaluable guides to more specialized sources.

"Bibliography" is also a Library of Congress subject subheading that occurs at the end of a subject string (e.g., "Catholic Church -- United States -- History -- Bibliography").

additional U.S. history encyclopedias

Academic Journal Databases

Subject-specific databases

EBSCO

American Theological Library Association Religion
Journal, essay, and book review index. Contains thousands of citations from international titles and multi-author works in the field of religion.
America: History & Life (1964-)
A complete bibliographic reference to the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. Published since 1964, the database comprises almost 400,000 bibliographic entries. Learn more about this database .
Gender Studies Database (1972- )
Combines Women’s Studies International and Men’s Studies databases with the coverage of sexual diversity issues. Covers the full spectrum of gender-engaged scholarship inside and outside academia. Includes more than 921,000 records.

ProQuest

GenderWatch
A full-text collection of international journals, magazines, newsletters, regional publications, special reports, and conference proceedings devoted to women's and gender issues. Over 31,000 full text articles from 115 publications and archival material. Updated quarterly. Learn more about this database

Multi-disciplinary Databases

Quick Search
Quick Search (formerly known by its vendor product name, Primo) contains all of WashU Libraries’ holdings, including books, journals, periodicals, and multimedia. The default search also shows results from a large index comprising billions of records for popular and scholarly articles, as well as other materials.
JSTOR
database and full texts of journal articles.
Google Scholar
the world's largest indexer of academic journal articles

Primary Sources

Primary Source Collections in Print

Library catalogers use the subheading "Sources" at the end of a string of subheadings to indicate anthologies of primary sources. However, cataloging is not a perfect science, so not every collection of primary sources has this subheading. For example, a search for the keyword phrase "documentary sourcebook" in the WashU Libraries' catalog produces seven titles, only three of which have "sources" as a subheading. In other words, performing a subject search will not produce a complete list of all primary source collections. Sometimes the source one wants to find is not in an anthology but cited in a bibliography of another work. You might want to try an advanced search with a combination of subject headings and keywords like “sources,” "sourcebook," "primary sources," "primary documents," etc. Other subheadings which indicate bound, primary source collections include personal narratives, correspondence, manuscripts, maps, literary collections, biography, et. al.

Proprietary Primary Source Digital Collections

Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000
79 document projects with more than 2,400 documents, 32,000 pages of additional full-text documents, and 1,700 primary authors. It includes as well book, film and website reviews, notes from the archives, and teaching tools. Learn more about this database

Guide to all U.S. History Primary Source Databases

Primary Source Databases
link to primary source database list in the American History LibGuide

Newspapers & Magazines

Historical

American Periodicals: Newspapers & Magazines
link to the LibGuide to American History "Periodicals: Journals, Newspapers & Magazines" box

American Religion: Denominational Newspapers
Historical newspapers covering religious news, and the role religion played in American life and society. Supports research of early American history, religious history, ethnic studies, abolitionism, Civil War, and gender studies. Contains more than 320 rare newspapers from over 30 states published between 1799 and 1900.
MAS Ultra (1975 - )
Full text for more than 700 popular magazines, plus biographies, primary source documents, pamphlets, and reference books. Complements Academic Search Complete.

Contemporary

PressReader
Full-color, full-page collection of today's newspapers from around the world, providing instant access to 1000+ newspapers from 82 countries in 39 languages. For most papers, only the most current 60 days are available. Learn more about this database .

Statistics

Statistical Abstract of the United States
The authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States.
Historical Statistics of the United States
A standard source for quantitative facts of American history. Contains over 37,000 data series from over 1,000 sources.

Public Opinion Polls / Surveys

Polling the Nations (1986 - )
500,000+ questions and responses, from 14,000+ surveys, conducted from 1986 through the present in the United States and more than 100 other countries around the world.
Roper Center
The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research is one of the world's leading archives of social science data, specializing in data from public opinion surveys. The Center's mission is to collect, preserve, and disseminate public opinion data; to serve as a resource to help improve the practice of survey research; and to broaden the understanding of public opinion through the use of survey data in the United States and abroad. Founded in 1947, the Roper Center holds polling data ranging from the 1930s, when survey research was in its infancy, to the present. Its collection now includes over 22,000 datasets and adds hundreds more each year. In total, the archive contains responses from millions of individuals on a vast range of topics.