This is a guide to African American theater-related materials in the Greenfield Library at The University of the Arts. If you have questions about this topic please contact Sara MacDonald, Public Services Librarian, at smacdonald@uarts.edu.
If you're interested in this topic, you should also consult the more general Theater Research subject guide.
Reference materials || Searching the Catalog by Subject || Periodical Indexes || Style Manuals || Web Sites
The first place to look when beginning research on a topic is in reference material: specialized dictionaries, encyclopedias or handbooks. These allow you to check names, dates and places, find additional information, look up unknown terms, and check for the proper spelling of words. They are particularly helpful for finding basic background information on a topic, and are often the only place many students may need to look to find answers to their questions. They may include bibliographies (lists of additional materials on a topic, usually considered by the author to be the best materials on that topic) that you can use to find other materials.
Call numbers are for the Greenfield Library unless otherwise indicated.
African American Dramatists: An A to Z Guide / edited by Emmanuel S. Nelson. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2004.
REF 812.02573 Af83n
Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience. Editors, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Henry Louis Gates. New York: Basic Civitas Books, c1999.
REF 909.0496003 Af83af 1999
Contemporary African American Female Playwrights: An Annotated Bibliography / Dana A. Williams. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1998.
REF 812.016 W671c
Contemporary Black American Playwrights and Their Plays: A Biographical Directory and Dramatic Index / Bernard L. Peterson, Jr. ; foreword by James V. Hatch. New York: Greenwood Press, 1988.
REF 812.002573 P442c
Early Black American Playwrights and Dramatic Writers: A Biographical Directory and Catalog of Plays, Films, and Broadcasting Scripts / Bernard L. Peterson, Jr. New York: Greenwood Press, 1990.
REF 812.002573 P442e
Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History: The Black Experience in the Americas. Colin A. Palmer, editor in chief. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, c2006.
REF 973.0496073 En192 2006 v. 1-6.
Sampson, Henry T. The Ghost Walks: A Chronological History of Blacks in Show Business, 1865-1910. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1988.
REF 792.08996 Sa48g
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre & Performance / edited by Dennis Kennedy. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2003..
REF 792.03 Ox2k
Also available as a UArts Libraries e-subscription on the Research Tools and Resources page.
Profiles of African American Stage Performers and Theatre People, 1816-1960 / Bernard L. Peterson, Jr. ; foreword by James V. Hatch. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, c2001.
REF 791.08996073 P442p 1816-1960
Reference materials || Searching the Catalog by Subject || Periodical Indexes || Style Manuals || Web Sites
Once you have gotten everything you can get from the reference books, use the University Libraries catalog to find books, videos, CDs, scores, journal titles, etc. To locate all of the materials the library holds on a topic, it is most efficient to search by subject. Use the following subject headings in the online catalog. Be careful to follow the exact spelling and form. These subject headings are standard and are used in most libraries.
Reference materials || Searching the Catalog by Subject || Periodical Indexes || Style Manuals || Web Sites
Periodical indexes are research tools that allow you to search for articles in journals and magazines. ALWAYS use magazines and journals to find the most up-to-date information on your topic.
On the Web:Reference materials || Searching the Catalog by Subject || Periodical Indexes || Style Manuals || Web Sites
When you find information on a topic, no matter what format it takes (book, journal, Web page), there are style manuals to show you the correct way to give cite those sources in a paper.
Reference materials || Searching the Catalog by Subject || Periodical Indexes || Style Manuals || Web Sites
Searching the Web can be overwhelming. If you are using the Internet for research you want to choose sites that meet the standards of accuracy, currency and authority.
American Memory from the Library of Congress: African American History
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/browse/ListSome.php?category=African%20American%20History
Note slave narrative audio files.
New York Public Library. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
http://www.nypl.org/research/sc/sc.html
See also Digital Schomburg and Online Exhibitions.
Send questions or remarks about this page to Sara MacDonald, Public Services Librarian, smacdonald@uarts.edu.
Last updated 18 February 2008 sjm
© 2003 The University of the Arts ® • University Libraries • 320 South Broad Street • Philadelphia PA 19102 USA • 215-717-6280