RADICAL BLACK THOUGHT
Library and Internet Resources
A Guide for PLS 408/608


Prepared by Karen Kimber, Social Sciences and Humanities Team Leader
Revised April 2008

Finding Books in the Library Catalog

You can search for keywords, that is, words found anywhere in the description of a book (often including the table of contents). Examples:

• black radical* - Books with the keywords in the record, grouped by relevance
  Note: The asterisk (*) tells the computer to find word beginning with radical and including up to 5 following characters (e.g., radical, radicals, radicalism)
• "African American" - To find an exact phrase, put the words in quotation marks. The results of a phrase search are listed in reverse chronological order (most recent first).

Each book is also assigned standardized subject headings. When you find a record for a book that interests you, you can find similar books by clicking on any highlighted subject listed in the book's record. For example, in some records found above, when you look at the subjects toward the bottom of the record, you see African Americans - Intellectual Life, and you can click on that to find more books.

If books you need are not available in the WSU Libraries, click on OhioLINK Central on your search page to connect to the OhioLINK network.

Finding Recent Periodical and Newspaper Articles

Finding Historical Periodical Articles

• Roots of Afrocentric Thought: A Reference Guide to Negro Digest/Black World, 1961-1976. E185.5.N3815 1998 Index - Provides citations to articles in:
  • Negro Digest. 1942-1970. Microfilm E185.5.N3815
  • Black World. 1970-1972. Microfilm E185.5.N3815
  • Black World. 1972/73. SW Depository E185.5.N3815

Finding Quick Facts

• Reference Universe - Find information in encyclopedias and dictionaries, online or in Dunbar Library
  Titles below preceded by * are available in full text in Reference Universe
  Titles below preceded by + are indexed in Reference Universe so that you can find page numbers where terms appear

Background Information: African American Politics

• * African American Almanac. [electronic book] (2003)
• Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience. 2nd ed. Ref Bookcase 5 (DT14.A37435 2005 v.1-5)
• African American Desk Reference. Ref E185.N49 1999
  See especially pp. 59-91: "Politics and Civil Rights"
• * Encyclopedia of Black Studies. [electronic book] (2005.)
  Print vol. also available: Ref E185 .E554 2005
• Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Civil Rights. Ref E185.61.E54 2003 v.1-2
• Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History. [electronic book] (2006)
• Encyclopedia of African-American Politics. Ref E185.S58155 2003

  ...and Biography

  • + African American Lives. Ref E185.96.A446 2004
  • + African American Orators: A Bio-Critical Sourcebook. Ref E185.96.A447 1996
  • African-American Political Leaders. Ref E185.96 .C18 2004
  • African-American Social Leaders and Activists, by Jack Rummel. Ref E185.96 .R88 2003
  • Black Women in America. 3 vols. Ref E185.86 .B542 2005
  • + Distinguished African American Political and Governmental Leaders. Ref E185.61.H359 1999

Background Information: African (and World) Politics

• Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience. 2nd ed. Ref Bookcase 5 (DT14.A37435 2005 v.1-5)
• Encyclopedia of Africa South of the Sahara. Ref DT351.E53 1997 v.1-4
• Encyclopedia of African History and Culture. Ref DT3.P27 2005 v.1-5
  See especially vol 5: Independent Africa (1960-present)
• * Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East & North Africa. [electronic book] (2004 ed.)
  Print vols. also available: Ref Bookcase 5 (DS43.E53 2004 v.1-4)
• Encyclopedia of Twentieth Century African History. Ref DT29.E53 2003
• New Encyclopedia of Africa. [electronic book] (2008)
  Print vols. also available: Ref DT2 .N48 2008 v.1-5
• Political and Economic Dictionary of Africa. Ref DT30.5 .S433 2005

  ...and Biography

  • An African Biographical Dictionary, by Norbert C. Brockman. 2nd ed. Ref DT18.B76 2006
  • + African Leaders: Guiding the New Millennium, by Alan Rake. Ref DT18.R344 2001
  • Historical Dictionary of Women in Sub-Saharan Africa, by Kathleen Sheldon. Ref HQ1787 .S44 2005
  • Notable Caribbeans and Caribbean Americans. Ref CT329 .M46 2003
  • Pan-African History : Political Figures from Africa and the Diaspora since 1787, by Hakim Adi and Marika Sherwood. Ref DT30 .A35 2003
  • Political Leaders of the Contemporary Middle East and North Africa: A Biographical Dictionary. Ref DS61.5.P65 1990

Background Information: General Sources on Political Thought

• + The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Political Thought. Ref JA61 .B57 1987
• + Encyclopedia of Government and Politics. Ref JA61.C66 2004 v.1-2
• Encyclopedia of Political Thought. Ref JA61 .E52 2001
• + The Oxford Companion to Politics of the World. 2nd ed. Ref JA61.O95 2001
• The Routledge Dictionary of Twentieth-century Political Thinkers. Ref JA83 .R725 1992