HIST 491C / LAS 450/ AMS 490 / Africana 406: Race and Racism in the Americas (Spring 2024)

The Libraries have a LOT of e-journal subscriptions and hundreds of databases designed to help you find them. You can use PRIMO, the main catalog, to find interesting secondary sources (like articles!). For specialized  US history topics, you may want to try America: History and Life. Both work in a similar manner. 

NOTE: this is just a small listing of our databases. Full list of subject specific databases:

As noted earlier, databases each use the same keyword and subject system, so searching in the catalog will work in databases too. We can use the same searches as before to find articles.  Below are examples.

NOTE: you'll probably need to try these searches in multiple databases.

• The experiences of people of color on the Titanic
• Role of Irish Immigrants and Black Americans in the 1863 Draft Riots in NY
• Use of lyrics in the trial of Jeffrey Williams (Young Thug)
• Intentional misrepresentation and devaluation of Caribbean Music by Europeans, and later acceptance and incorporation by white artists
• superhumanization of Black people in rhetoric, possibly related to Nat Turner
• Racism and Medicine, as reflected by exploitation and experimentation on Black and/or enslaved persons
• Race relations at William & Mary, possibly related to fraternities and sororities
• Linguistic racism
• Race, class, and politics as represented through Jay-Z (Shawn Corey Carter)
• Criminalization of rap and hip-hop, as reflected in trail of Jeffrey Williams (Young Thug)
• Relationship and rift between W.E.B. Du Bois and the NAACP
• Haitian migration the US 1992-4 and American racialization of Haitian immigrants

• The experiences of people of color on the Titanic
  • In PRIMO and EbscoHost try
    • titanic AND ("persons of color" OR "Black people" OR Laroche OR Indian*)
    • In PRIMO and America: History and Life try (steamship* OR "ocean liners") AND ("persons of color" OR Blacks OR African* OR racism)

• Role of Irish Immigrants and Black Americans in the 1863 Draft Riots in NY
  • "Irish" AND (black* OR "African americans") AND "draft riots" AND ("Civil war" OR 1863)
    • Try that in America: History and Life
    • Also try (Irish OR black* OR "African americans") AND "draft riots" AND ("Civil war" OR 1863)

• Use of lyrics in the trial of Jeffrey Williams (Young Thug)
  • ("Jeffrey Williams" OR "Young Thug")
    • ​​​​​​​few results in ebsco 
    • Non-peer-reviewed sources in ProQuest
    • Broaden to:
    • (rap OR rapper*) AND lyrics AND (trial* OR court OR "legal proceedings")
      • try EBSCO and PRIMO

• Intentional misrepresentation and devaluation of Caribbean Music by Europeans, and later acceptance and incorporation by white artists
  • I'd skim results for "Caribbean Music" in EBSCO to see what scholarship is currently underway
  • ​​​​​​​"May need to be more specific and focus on one genre.
    • ​​​​​​​(mambo OR calypso) AND music AND (white* OR american OR european or western) 
      • try in ebsco and primo
    • Calypso AND history AND music in EBSCO

• superhumanization of Black people in rhetoric, possibly related to Nat Turner
  • ​​​​​​​superhumaniz* AND (black* OR "African americans")
    • Some results in EBSCO and PRIMO and Proquest
    • possibly broaden to 
      • (fetishiz* OR dehumanize) AND (body OR bodies) AND (black* OR "african americans")
        • try in EBSCO, PRIMO,  

• Racism and Medicine, as reflected by exploitation and experimentation on Black and/or enslaved persons
  • ​​​​​​​(blacks OR enslaved OR "African americans") AND (medicine OR medical) AND (exploit* OR experiment*)
    • Try out History databases and EBSCO
  • Example: a few years ago One of Dr. Turits' studied  "utilization of black bodies specifically in the context of graverobbing by medical institutions in need of cadavers". That search was:

    • (Black* OR "African-american*" OR "African american*") AND (graverobb* OR "grave robb*" OR cadav*)

• Race relations at William & Mary, possibly related to fraternities and sororities
  • (​​​​​​​Race OR racism) AND ("william and mary" OR "William & Mary") AND (fraternit* OR sororit* OR "Greek life")
    • Tried EBSCO
    • Suggest broadening beyond WM with
    • (​​​​​​​Race OR racis* OR racial) AND ("higher education" OR "Education, higher" OR "universities") AND (fraternit* OR sororit* OR "Greek life")
      • tried in ESBCO and Primo 
        • Race and Racism in Fraternity and Sorority Life: A Historical Overview is promising 

• Linguistic racism
  • Will need to be more specific
    • There are ~180 peer reviewed articles in ebsco, which a slightly more narrow search here
      • "Linguistic racism" OR "language racism" OR (sociolinguistics AND racism)
        • ​​​​​​​about 200 result in ebsco.

• Race, class, and politics as represented through Jay-Z (Shawn Corey Carter)
  • ​​​​​​​("Jay-Z" OR "Jay Z" OR "shawn Corey Carter" OR "shawn carter") AND (Race OR class OR politic*)
    • ​​​​​​​quite a few peer reviewed article in EBSCO
  • you can also search Jay-Z, 1969-   as a subject
    • ​​​​​​​I Really want to know why/how he is being linked to the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta.

• Criminalization of rap and hip-hop, as reflected in trail of Jeffrey Williams (Young Thug)
  • ("Jeffrey Williams" OR "Young Thug")
    • ​​​​​​​few results in ebsco 
    • Non-peer-reviewed sources in ProQuest
    • Broaden to:
    • (rap OR rapper*) AND lyrics AND (trial* OR court OR "legal proceedings")
      • try EBSCO and PRIMO
  • ​​​​​​​(rap OR rapper* OR "hip-hop" OR "hip hop") AND (criminalization OR demanization)
    • tried ebsco and there is some interesting material

• Relationship and rift between W.E.B. Du Bois and the NAACP
  • ​​​​​​​(NAACP OR "National Association for the Advancement of Colored People") AND "du bois"
    • ​​​​​​​good results in ebsco and primo

​​​​​​​

• Haitian migration the US 1992-4 and American racialization of Haitian immigrants
  • ​​​​​​​haitian* AND (immigration OR immigrant* OR migration OR migrant* OR refugees) AND (racialization OR racialisation)
    • ​​​​​​​ebsco and primo