To start with
Researching Africa can be a real challenge….
- Resources are often rare or difficult to locate.
- Resources may exist , but in other languages, such as French, Portuguese, Swahili, Arabic…
- Information may be biased depending on who the author /publisher is.
Here are some helpful hints as you begin your research….
- Research something you are genuinely interested in!
- It helps to start broadly. Consult general reference books on Africa to learn about the country and/or the ethnic group you research. (Each African country has a unique history which continues to impact it today. Understanding the larger context will help as you narrow your research topic.)
- As you narrow your topic, identify keywords that will help you in your research, such as names, events, African terms, etc.
- When using BU Library Search, keep in mind there are often variations on keywords (For example, the Fula, Fulani, Fulbe, Peul, and Pullo are all terms used to refer to the same ethnic group in West Africa. The people call themselves Fula. Their Hausa neighbors call them Fulani. The Fula people were colonized by both the French and the English, leading to variations on their name such as Peul. And just to make things even more interesting, there are subgroups of this people, such as the Bororo and Wodaabe.
- When you find a good resource, be sure to note the author (did they write other works on this topic?) and take a look at the works cite and/or bibliography to see who they relied on for their research.
Encyclopedias, Dictionaries & Handbooks
Africana by
Including more than one million new words, Africana has been completely updated and revised. New entries on African kingdoms have been added, bibliographies now accompany most articles, and the encyclopedia's coverage of the African diaspora in Latin America and the Caribbean has been expanded, transforming the More than 4,000 articles cover prominent individuals, events, trends, places, political movements, art forms, business and trade, religion, ethnic groups, organizations and countries on both sides of the Atlantic. African American history and culture in the present-day United States receive a strong emphasis, but African American history and culture throughout the rest of the Americas and their origins in African itself have an equally strong presence.
Location: Online & Print DT14 .A37435Publication Date: 2005-04-07
Africa South of the Sahara 2020 by
The definitive one-volume guide to all sub-Saharan African countries, providing invaluable economic, political, statistical and directory data.... Individual chapters on every country incorporating: essays on the physical and social geography, recent history and economies an extensive statistical survey of economic indicators a full directory containing names, addresses and contact details for key areas such as the government, diplomatic representation, the media, finance, trade and industry, and defence a useful bibliography, providing sources for further research.
Location: Online (HathiTrust); ASL Reference DT351 .F71 ( Print )Publication Date: 2020
The Palgrave handbook of African colonial and postcolonial history by
his wide-ranging volume presents the most complete appraisal of modern African history to date. It assembles dozens of new and established scholars to tackle the questions and subjects that define the field, ranging from the economy, the two world wars, nationalism, decolonization, and postcolonial politics to religion, development, sexuality, and the African youth experience. Contributors are drawn from numerous fields in African studies, including art, music, literature, education, and anthropology. The themes they cover illustrate the depth of modern African history and the diversity and originality of lenses available for examining it. Older themes in the field have been treated to an engaging re-assessment, while new and emerging themes are situated as the book's core strength. The result is a comprehensive, vital picture of where the field of modern African history stands today.
Location: Online resourceISBN: 9781137594266Publication Date: 2018
Key Concepts in Politics by
This accessible guide to the key concepts in politics now features over 60 additional international relations entries to take account of the increasing influence of globalization upon politics. Each term is fully and clearly defined and its significance for political understanding and debate is explored.
Location: Mugar Stacks JA66 .K49 2000ISBN: 9780312233815Publication Date: 2000-11-04
The Oxford Encyclopedia of African Thought by
From St. Augustine and early Ethiopian philosophers to the anti-colonialist movements of Pan-Africanism and Negritude, this encyclopedia offers a comprehensive view of African thought, covering the intellectual tradition both on the continent in its entirety and throughout the African Diasporain the Americas and in Europe. The term "African thought" has been interpreted in the broadest sense to embrace all those forms of discourse - philosophy, political thought, religion, literature, important social movements - that contribute to the formulation of a distinctive vision of the worlddetermined by or derived from the African experience. The Encyclopedia is a large-scale work of 350 entries covering major topics involved in the development of African Thought including historical figures and important social movements, producing a collection that is an essential resource forteaching, an invaluable companion to independent research, and a solid guide for further study.
Location: African Studies Library Reference DT14 .O97 2010ISBN: 9780195334739Publication Date: 2010-04-27
Africa: an Encyclopedia of Culture and Society [3 Volumes] by
Unparalleled in its coverage of contemporary customs in all of Africa, this multivolume set is perfect for both high school and public library shelves. The three-volume encyclopedia will provide readers with an overview of contemporary customs and life in North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa through discussions of key concepts and topics that touch everyday life among the nations' peoples. While this encyclopedia places emphasis on the customs and cultural practices of each state, history, politics, and economics are also addressed. Because entries average 14,000 to 15,000 words each, contributors are able to expound more extensively on each country than in similar encyclopedic works with shorter entries. As a result, readers will gain a more complete understanding of what life is like in Africa's 54 nations and territories, and will be better able to draw cross-cultural comparisons based on their reading.
ISBN: 9781598846669Publication Date: 2015-12-31
Africa at a Glance by
Although a great deal of attention is focused on Africa's economic failures and political instability, a factual compendium such as this, the 16th edition of Africa at a Glance, serves as a reminder of the many positive achievements which need to be appreciated. This compilation has been issued since 1968. It has been prepared to fulfill the need for an up-to-date and concise compendium of published but not readily accessible data on the countries of Africa. Every effort has been made to provide the most current as well as authoritative information. Apart from presenting the latest available data, new tables, maps and diagrams have been added. Attention may be drawn particularly to the inclusion of new tables in Section Two: Poverty and Selected Risk Indicators. While the raison d'etre of the Africa Institute of South African is the conducting and dissemination of scholarly research, it is also concerned with the collection and dissemination of statistical and other factual data about the African continent. The present issue of Africa at a Glance serves the latter purpose."
Location: Online resourceISBN: 079830491XPublication Date: 2016-02-22
Dictionary of African Biography by
In the spirit of The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, American National Biography, and African American National Biography- -all three published by Oxford University Press - Dictionary of African Biography is a major biographical dictionary covering the lives and legacies of notableAfrican men and women from all eras and walks of life. This groundbreaking resource tells the full story of the African continent through the lives of its people. The rich history of the African people has been unduly neglected in the scholarly literature, and reliable reference material is in short supply. This trend has begun to change, however, and in recent years many new historical discoveries have been made. Much of this research is designed as acorrective to the long tradition of inadequate treatment by scholars. Although scholarship on Africa is flourishing, very little of this research has yet filtered down into accessible reference works; well designed reference material is essential to promote further scholarly inquiry, learning, andeducation, and to satisfy increasing interest among nonspecialist audiences. Although there have been some isolated instances of successful biography of Africans, there is no single resource that provides comprehensive coverage. Older reference works focus unevenly on the colonial period, European adventurers, and Egyptian dynasties. There is very little attention given tothe full range of African lives, and rarely is the continent treated as a whole. As a result our picture of Africa's history and its people is incomplete. A comprehensive biographical dictionary will greatly increase our understanding of the African continent and have a transformative effect oneducation and research. As the most wide-reaching reference project on Africa to date, DAB will be a means of codifying the explosion of new research. Entries will be written by contributing scholars from African studies departments the world over. Each entry has been reviewed by the editorial board to ensure onlyreliable, high-quality material is published. DAB contains nearly 2 million words in nearly 2,100 entries, each with bibliography, ranging from 750 to 2,000 words. It will have a comprehensive index. It comprises six volumes and is published in a hardcover edition for specialists and libraries.
ISBN: 9780195382075Publication Date: 2011-12-08
Political and economic encyclopaedia of Africa by Location: African Studies Library Reference DT20 .A844 1993ISBN: 9780582209954Publication Date: 1993
Contemporary African Politics and Development: A Comprehensive Bibliography, 1981-1990. by
This research tool is based on a systematic, comprehensive analysis of books, monographs, journals and edited volumes dealing with African political affairs and socioeconomic development. The bibliography contains more than 16,000 citations (both English and French sources are included) covering material published from 1981 through 1990. Chapters in edited volumes are treated as individual citations. In addition to the standard bibliographic data, each citation is annotated with the relevant subject terms and keywords; and all citations for 1986 through 1990 also include an abstract summarising the material's theoretical and substantive focus. A distinctive feature of the bibliography, the extensive indexes assure easy access to the entries. These include a country/region index, an index of general subjects (agricultural technology, women's economic role, structural adjustment, ethnic politics) and a keyword index (OAU, Mobutu, Sese Seko, Addis Ababa, Lagos Plan of Action, Fulani people). The entries themselves are arranged alphabetically by author. This work was compiled by Vijitha Mahadevan working with the staff of UCLA's African Bibliography Project.
Location: African Studies Library Reference Z7165.A4 C66 1994ISBN: 1555873340Publication Date: 1995-01-31
Country-Specific Information Resources
- Economist Intelligence Unit: Country ReportsThe EIU database provides access to the Economist Intelligence Unit Publications such as the Country Reports. Each country page in the database provides forecast updates and featured analysis on economic and political events as well as content pertaining to market opportunities and government regulations. Type India in the search box and click on the Go button.
- Country Studies (Library of Congress) This link opens in a new window Contains the electronic versions of 80 books previously published in hard copy as part of the Country Studies Series by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress. Intended for a general audience, books in the series present a description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of select countries throughout the world.
- U.N. Economic Commission for Africa Country ProfilesA valuable and unique source of comparative data for academics, civil society and analysts.
- Africa South of the SaharaSelected Internet Resources is an annotated directory of online resources about Africa.
- Key Concepts in Politics by
This accessible guide to the key concepts in politics now features over 60 additional international relations entries to take account of the increasing influence of globalization upon politics. Each term is fully and clearly defined and its significance for political understanding and debate is explored.
Location: Mugar Stacks JA66 .K49 2000ISBN: 9780312233815Publication Date: 2000-11-04
