Welcome to the American Studies Subject Guide! From articles in databases, to books in the library catalog, this guide will provide you with a starting point for any project, big or small. Since American Studies is an interdisciplinary field, some of the resources are focused on other fields such as Ethnic Studies, Women & Gender Studies, and many more.
Getting Started
- Blackwell Reference Online This link opens in a new window 350+ titles in the humanities and social sciences, including the Blackwell companions and handbooks. Strengths are psychology, sociology, history, literature, philosophy, and religion.
- Oxford Bibliographies Online This link opens in a new window A scholar-curated library of subject bibliographies in the humanities & social sciences; each entry offers a guided tour through key literature on a topic.
- Oxford Handbooks Online This link opens in a new window Review essays evaluating the current thinking on a field or topic. Articles review the key issues, reveal original arguments and concepts, and set the agenda for new research.
- Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new window Reference dictionaries and companions, including illustrations, web links, and searching individual titles or by subject area; from Oxford University Press.
- Routledge Handbooks Online This link opens in a new window DRM-free handbooks offering peer-reviewed research articles in the humanities, social sciences, education, psychology, engineering & built environment. Chapters can be browsed, searched, viewed & downloaded.
- American National Biography (subscription ends 7/1/25) This link opens in a new window Reliable scholarly biographies of major figures in American history.
- Dictionary of Literary Biography [Gale] This link opens in a new window Lengthy literary biographies by recognized literary scholars and critics, covering past & present authors, historians, journalists, screenwriters, publishers, and playwrights.
- Data.Census.Gov This link opens in a new window Population, housing, economic and geographic data from the United States Census Bureau (formerly American Factfinder).
- Ancestry (Library Edition) This link opens in a new window Census, vital, church, court & immigration records for the US & UK, plus material on other areas. Major components: US federal census 1790-1940 (incl. manuscript returns); historical maps; Social Security Death Index; etc.
- Historical Statistics of the United States 1531-2000 This link opens in a new window Covers population, work & welfare, the economy, and government. Data may be downloaded and custom tables created. Includes essays, data reliability and references to secondary literature.
- Social Explorer 1790+ This link opens in a new window Easy access to demographic information about the U.S. Off-campus users: first click in upper right corner - Professional Edition provided by Smith College - and create a personal account for full functionality.
