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Encyclopedias, Handbooks and Dictionaries
With any research project, finding background information on your topic can help you narrow your focus and develop a research question or thesis statement. Encyclopedias, handbooks and dictionaries provide access to a wide array of topics and introduce you to important terms that may be useful when searching for books and journal articles.
Women's Studies reach across disciplines. However, you can locate general reference materials geared toward Women's Studies in the catalog by adding the source type, such as encyclopedia, to a SUBJECT KEYWORD search, like this: women encyclopedias or women handbooks or women dictionaries.
Try this approach to searching by using the URI Libraries Search box on this page. As always, it is recommended that you utilize the Advanced Search option.
Below is a selection of some of our reference titles, organized by broad sub-topics. However, it is by no means comprehensive. The above examples may also lead you to titles in our circulating collection. Give it a try!
Feminist Theory and Philosophy
The Routledge Critical Dictionary of Feminism and Postfeminism by
Call Number: URI Reference HQ1115 R68 2000ISBN: 0415925185
The women's movement today : an encyclopedia of third-wave feminism by Call Number: Carothers Ref. HQ1115 .W644 2006ISBN: 9780313331336Includes signed articles and selected bibliography of print and online resources.
Women's studies encyclopedia by Call Number: Carothers Stacks HQ1115 .W645 1999ISBN: 0313296200Tierney's work is considered to be a standard reference item in the field of women's studies. "With close to 400 contributors, it expands coverage of such areas as violence against women, women in public life, and women in specific countries and regions. Many of the articles are new or completely rewritten, while others have been updated or expanded."
Gender and Women's Leadership by Call Number: Carothers Ref. HQ1233 .G452 2010ISBN: 9781412960830Publication Date: 2010-08-18Aimed mainly at undergraduate students, the two volumes of this handbook provide an authoritative reference on leadership issues and questions specific to women and gender. Articles are organized according to broad themes, beginning with a section on feminist theories of leadership, followed by sections dealing with women's leadership in areas including the public arena, social movements, globally, business, women's health, the media, academia, the arts, and public policy. Articles are clearly written, and go into more detail than typically found in encyclopedia entries. A list of further reading and references are included at the end of each article, and readers can also access an online version of the handbook. Each volume includes a listing of the topics in both volumes; an extensive index to the complete work appears at the end of the second volume. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Gender and Society
Encyclopedia of gender and society by Call Number: Carothers Library Reference HQ1115 E54 2009ISBN: 9781412909167"Covers the major theories, research, people, and issues in contemporary gender studies. This comprehensive, two-volume encyclopedia is distinguished by a cross-national/cross-cultural perspective that provides comparative analyses of the life experiences of men and women around the world."
Encyclopedia of women and gender : sex similarities and differences and the impact of society on gender by Call Number: Carothers Library Reference HQ1115 E43 2001ISBN: 0122272455Two volume set features "over 100 in-depth chapters by leading scholars in the psychology of women and gender." Comprehensive in scope, the following represents a partial sampling of topic coverage: "Abortion and its health effects, child care, the feminist movement, hate crimes, imprisonment in the United States, reproductive technologies, sport and athletics, test bias, and women in non-traditional work fields."
Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World by Call Number: Carothers Library Reference HQ1115 .E55 2011ISBN: 9781412976855Publication Date: 2011-02-23This 4 volume encyclopedia "looks at women today and delves into contexts of being female in the 21st century." This encyclopedia focuses on women over the past 12 years, so it is an up-to-date and timely resource. Arranged alphabetically, this source covers "the spectrum of defining women in the contemporary world. Signed entries (with cross-references and recommended readings) cover the full range of issues in contemporary women's studies, with volumes including information relevant to the following academic disciplinary contexts: arts and media; business and economics; criminal justice; education; family studies; health; media; military; politics; science and technology; sports; religion; and women in different cultures and countries"--
Women and gender in medieval Europe : an encyclopedia by Call Number: Carothers Library Reference HQ1147 E85 W66 2006ISBN: 9780415969444Individually authored entries, many cross referenced, with suggestions for further reading.
Women Throughout History
A history of women in the United States : state-by-state reference by Call Number: Carothers Library Reference HQ1410 H58 2004ISBN: 071725805XFour-volume set includes introductory essays, chronology of U.S. women’s history, bibliographical references, list of primary documents and individually authored state by state entries.
Encyclopedia of women in the Renaissance : Italy, France, and England by Call Number: Carothers Library Reference HQ1148 W67 2007ISBN: 1851097724Signed articles, cross referenced with bibliography of primary and secondary sources.
Encyclopedia of Women in American History by Call Number: URI Reference HQ1410 E53 2002ISBN: 0765680386Publication Date: 2002
The Oxford encyclopedia of women in world history by Call Number: Carothers Library Reference HQ1121 O93 2008ISBN: 9780195148909Four volumes containing signed articles with bibliographical references.
Women in the Middle Ages : an encyclopedia by Call Number: Carothers Library Reference HQ1143 W643 2004ISBN: 0313330166Signed articles with bibliography of primary and secondary resources.
Women in world history : a biographical encyclopedia by Call Number: Carothers Library Reference HQ1115 W6 1999ISBN: 078763736XSeventeen volumes; includes extensive articles and suggested additional readings.
Women and Politics
Encyclopedia of women and American politics by Call Number: Carothers Library Reference HQ1236.5 U6 E52 2008ISBN: 9780816054916Brief introduction to women and issues in American Politics. Signed entries with suggestions for further reading.
Encyclopedia of women social reformers by Call Number: Carothers Library Reference HQ1236 R29 2001ISBN: 1576071014Two-volume collection contains cross references and a selected bibliography.
From suffrage to the Senate : America's political women : an encyclopedia of leaders, causes & issues by Call Number: Carothers Library Reference HQ1236.5 U6 S32 2006ISBN: 1592371175Two volumes, containing brief entries authored by O’Dea. Appendices include chronology of key events, selected bibliography for further reading, and essays and speeches by noted women activists, organized around selected themes.
Political and historical encyclopedia of women by Call Number: Carothers Library Reference HQ1236.5 E85 E52 2003ISBN: 1579582370Signed essays explore the following themes: Are Women Capable of Governing? The Age of Revolutions and Struggles for Democracy.
Women and politics around the world : a comparative history and survey by Call Number: Carothers Library Reference HQ1236 W5876 2009ISBN: 9781851099887Two volumes, organized by issues and country profiles.
Global Women's Issues
Encyclopedia of women & Islamic cultures by Call Number: Carothers Library Reference HQ1170 E53 2003ISBN: 9004132473Four volumes: The first contains disciplinary and historical thematic entries. The remaining three volumes explore broad issues, such as economics and education; family, law and politics; sexuality and health; these entries are further subdivided and then explored by individual country or region. all signed with extensive bibliographic references.
Routledge international encyclopedia of women : global women's issues and knowledge by Call Number: Carothers Library Reference HQ1115 R69 2000ISBN: 0415920884"Some 600 international scholars have contributed to this four-volume set addressing the concerns of women and the theory and practice of global feminism." Articles are listed alphabetically in each volume with a full index located in volume four.
The Greenwood encyclopedia of women's issues worldwide by Call Number: See below.ISBN: 0313327874Six volumes, each divided by major world regions. Entries by individual contributors are organized by country and include extensive resources at the end of each entry.
The Middle East and North Africa (REF HQ1726.5 G74 2003)
Sub-Saharan Africa (REF HQ1788 G74 2003)
Central and South America (REF HQ1467 G74 2003)
North America and the Caribbean (REF HQ1400 G74 2003)
Europe (REF HQ1588 G74 2003)
Asia and Oceania (REF HQ1726 G74 2003)
The Penguin atlas of women in the world by Call Number: Carothers Library Reference G1046 E1 S4 2009ISBN: 0142002410This fourth edition of Seager's book "employs up-to-the-minute research and data" to explore "how women live across continents and cultures."
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