Library Guides: Women &amp; Gender History: United States Library Guide: Finding Books

Books Matter

Even in the Digital Age, books are still the major publication format for academic historians. In fact, journal articles are frequently the precursor to full-length books. Here are some tips on how to use books more effectively in your research:

Read the table of contents, introduction, and conclusion first. Academic works are not novels - you'll get more out of it if you know in advance the author's main points and conclusions.
Found a good book on your topic? Look at the titles near it on the shelf for related works.
Raid the bibliography of a good book for more sources, both primary and secondary. Ask a librarian if you need help locating a cited source.

A Cultural History of Women by Linda Kalof (Editor, Editor)
ISBN: 9781847884756
Publication Date: 2013-02-28
A Cultural History of Women presents an authoritative survey from ancient times to the present. A Cultural History of Women in the Modern AgeEach volume discusses the same themes in its chapters: the Life Cycle; Bodies and Sexuality; Religion and Popular Beliefs; Medicine and Disease; Public and Private Worlds; Education and Work; Power; and Artistic Representation.
Toward an Intellectual History of Black Women by Mia E. Bay (Editor); Farah J. Griffin (Editor); Martha S. Jones (Editor); Barbara D. Savage (Editor)
ISBN: 9781469620916
Publication Date: 2015-04-13
Despite recent advances in the study of black thought, black women intellectuals remain often neglected. Dedicated to recovering the contributions of thinkers marginalized by both their race and their gender, these essays uncover the work of unconventional intellectuals, both formally educated and self-taught, and explore the broad community of ideas in which their work participated.
Gender and the Politics of History by Joan Wallach Scott
ISBN: 9780231188012
Publication Date: 2018-01-23
This landmark work from a renowned feminist historian is a foundational demonstration of the use of gender as a conceptual tool for cultural and historical analysis. Joan Wallach Scott offers a trenchant critique of the compartmentalization of women's history, arguing that political and social categories are always fundamentally shaped by gender and that questions of gender are essential to considerations of difference in history.

Women's Studies Encyclopedia This link opens in a new window
Presents a wealth of scholarship in the field of women's studies. It includes entries prepared by scholars from all disciplines, analysis of women throughout the world, and bibliographic sources.