CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY

Cultural Anthropology: A Guide to Reference and Information Sources
Reference GN 42.K53 1991
     A comprehensive introduction to research in anthropology and 16 subfields, including folklore and ethnomusicology. Considered by many to be the best guide to general reference materials in anthropology.

Specialized Bibliographies

Anthropology of Aging: A Partially Annotated Bibliography
Reference GN 485.A58 1991
     This cross-cultural bibliography is organized by subject and by regional group. Citations include books and journal articles with selected entries annotated. Author index.

Bibliography of Washington State Folklore and Folklife: Selected and Partially Annotated
Reference GR 110.W3.W3 1987
     A selective listing of materials which describe Washington State's folk cultures and their expression. Arranged by author, with a subject index.

International Bibliography of Social and Cultural Anthropology.
(GN 24.I54 - Haggard 3)
     This index covers anthropology, area studies, linguistics, folklore and some human biology. Author and subject indexes in English and French. Limited to 1955-1977.

Folklore and Folklife: A Guide to English-Language Reference Sources. 2 vols.
Reference GR 66.S74 1992
     This annotated bibliography is arranged by subject: introduction to folklore and folklife, history and study, folk literature, ethnomusicology and folk music, folk belief systems,
     folk ritual and rites, material culture, folklife and folklife societies, and journals. Includes author, title, and subject indexes.

Traditional Medicine: An Annotated Bibliography of Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. 2 vols.
Reference GN 477.H34
     "Current Research with Implications for Ethnomedicine, Ethnopharmacology, Maternal Health and Public Health."

Ethnic Groups Worldwide: A Ready Reference Handbook
Reference GN325 .L46 1998

Handbook of Cross-Cultural Psychology
Reference GN 502.H36 1997

This three volume set has 32 chapters written and edited by prominent scholars in the field from over 20 countries. Included are coverage of developmental psychology, methodology, social psychology, psychopathology. Bibliographies and index.

Social and Cultural Anthropology: The Key Concepts
Reference GN316 .R37 2000

Toward Explaining Human Culture: A Critical Review of the Findings of Worldwide Cross-Cultural Research
Reference GN 345.7.L48

A summary and assessment of the theoretical findings of 305 worldwide comparative studies. Studies include "The Relationship between War and Combative Sports," "Cross-Cultural Sex Differences," and "Child rearing practices and Adult Aggression."

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias: General

Cambridge encyclopedia of hunters and gatherers
Reference   GN388 .C35 1999

Companion Encyclopedia of Anthropology: Humanity, Culture and Social Life
Reference GN 25.C65 1994

Essay-style entries covering broad areas of anthropology are written by experts in the field. Each entry includes an extensive bibliography and suggestions for further reading.

Encyclopedia of Cultural Anthropology. 4 vols.
Reference GN 307.E52 1996

This four volume set covers approaches, methods, concepts, and topics that are central to cultural anthropology in the last decade of the twentieth century. Includes selected information from linguistics, biological anthropology, and archaeology.

Over 200 entries relating to the theory, ethnography and history of social anthropology. Includes details of the lives and works of over 200 significant anthropologists, and a glossary of terms and concepts.

Each volume covers a specific geographical region: North America, Oceania, South Asia, Europe, South America, Africa/the Middle East, Middle America/the Caribbean, and Russia/Eurasia/China. Provides summary information on an ethnic or cultural group, with bibliographic references.

Levinson, David. Ethnic Relations: A Cross-Cultural Encyclopedia4.
Reference GN 496.L48 1994

This encyclopedia provides detailed definitions of the cultural processes that determine the course of relations among ethnic groups. Thirty-eight world wide ethnic conflicts are profiled.

Covering 80 key concepts, provides definition and current general usage, philosophical background or historical context, and theoretical developments.

This work describes the economic, social, and political conditions of ethnic, linguistic, and religious minorities, indigenous peoples, and nomadic tribes in more than 200 countries and dependent territories.

Encyclopedias and Dictionaries: Specialized

 American Folklore: An Encyclopedia
Reference GR 101 A54 1996

This is a comprehensive general reference work on "American Folklore," which is defined by the author as "North American folklore, including Canadian but excluding, except for a few general topics, the folklore of Native America, which will be covered in its own work." Topics range from country music to UFO lore, and to Elvis, quilt making, and Uncle Remus.

 Dictionary of Race and Ethnic Relations
Reference DA 125.A1.C35 1984

Provides lengthy essays on major concepts with references and overviews by country and ethnic/racial group.

The Encyclopedia of Religion. 16 vols. 
Reference BL 31.E46 1987

A comprehensive source providing information on all types of religious ideas, practices, persons and phenomena from Paleolithic times to the present.

Marriage, Family, and Relationships: A Cross-Cultural Encyclopedia
Reference GN 480.B76 1994

Provides a source of examples of various customs related to marriage, family, and relationships throughout cultures.

The Atlas of Mankind.
Reference G 1046.E1.A75 1982

This atlas analyzes common patterns of economic, social, and political organization and themes in ritual and religion. Clear, colorful maps and well illustrated essays on such topics as Kinship and Family; Migration and Race; and Religious Belief and Ritual.

Atlas of World Cultures: A Geographical Guide to Ethnographic Literature
Reference G 1046.E1.P7 1990

Bibliographical information and map locations for over 3500 cultural groups.

This small, well illustrated book focuses on fifty different peoples showing cultural artifacts, history and current problems. Indexed with listings of indigenous organizations and peoples worldwide, with resources and recommended reading.

Statistical Sources/Research Methods

Research Methods in Cultural Anthropology.
Reference GN 345.B37 1988

This comprehensive guide to research methodology is divided into three sections: preparing for field research, collecting data, and analyzing data.

Human Relations Area Files Media Collections, Wilson 2 West.

This collection contains ethnographic data on hundreds of cultural groups from around the world gleaned from a selection of primary source documents collected from books, journal articles and unpublished materials. The HRAF files are now indexed by the Western Libraries Online Catalog. You can also use the following print tools to locate information on specific cultures within this collection: the List of HRAF files available; Outline of World Cultures (GN 405.M83 1975); and Outline of Cultural Materials (Reference GN 345.3.095 1982).

Ask for assistance at the Reference Desk.

General Books and Related Material

To find out if the Western Libraries hold a particular book, search the Library Catalog under Author (last name, first name) or Title. If you only remember a keyword from the title, try a Word search.

If you are trying to identify books that will be useful for your subject, search the Library Catalog by Subject or Word. Wilson Library uses Library of Congress Subject Headings.

Instead of "Cultural Anthropology", the Library Catalog uses the term "Ethnology".  Ethnology is broken down into subdivisions and narrower terms.

Some of those narrower terms are:

acculturation
cross-cultural societies
ethnic groups
ethnomusicology
folklore
hunting and gathering societies
indigenous peoples
kinship
manners and customs
tatooing

Ethnology - Borneo
Ethnology - Ghana
Ethnology - South Asia

Basques
Kurds
Tonga

CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY

Asian Studies WWW VL
This site provided by the Australian National University and updated almost daily contains online news from Asia, online web resources, electronic journals and resources by regions such as Southeast Asia, Pacific, East Asia etc.

WWW Virtual Library: African Studies
Produced by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library, this site includes links to Black Colleges and Universities, links to African Studies sites, links to African related organizations and to other sites such as AfricaNET and the Area Handbook.

The ANTHAP Home Page
Applied anthropology computer network includes an applied anthropology browser for information on activities, a gopher for files of interest to applied anthropologists, the ANTHAP working papers etc.

Arctic Circle
This site supported by the University of Connecticut with Norman Chance, an Arctic anthropologist as convener has links to www resources related to the peoples and environment of the Arctic and Subarctic Region, including educational programs, history and culture, natural resources and more.

Current Anthropology
Provides information on subscriptions, submissions, some tables of contents for past issues, forthcoming articles.

The Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago
Lists Museum information, exhibits, programs, collections and research.

Kinship and Social Organization
This site is a tutorial on kinship and social organization provided by Brian Schwimmer at the University of Manitoba.

Native American Resources at the Smithsonian
This page provides information on the National Museum of the American Indian, National Museum of Natural History, National Museum of American History, Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies and other relevant departments of the Smithsonian.

Women, State, and Culture...in the former Yugoslavia
Provides bibliographies, some on-line articles and links to relevant sites on the former Yugoslavia, such as the Center for Women War Victims, BosNet, Kosovo Crisis Center, and the Autonomous Women's Center against Sexual Violence in Belgrade.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

Aboriginal Studies WWW VL
Sponsored by the Aboriginal Art and Culture Centre at Alice Springs, this site has links to general resources, university programs, governmental web resources, aboriginal history, aboriginal languages, aboriginal art and culture, aboriginal spirituality, online databases of interest and discussion list.

Cultural Survival
Cultural Survival's site includes access to Active Voices, their online journal, information on education and outreach and links to related sites. Cultural Survival is a non-profit organization founded in 1972 to defend human rights and cultural autonomy of indigenous peoples and oppressed ethnic minorities.

Native American Home Pages
Created by Lisa Mitten, a mixed-blood Mohawk urban Indian and a librarian at the University of Pittsburgh, this site provides access to home pages of individual Native Americans and Native Nations, tribal colleges urban Indian centers, powwows, Native arts organizations Native businesses and more.

SAIIC Home Page
The South and Meso American Indian Rights Center exists to ensure that the struggles of Latin American's indigenous peoples for self-determination and respect are heard in the U.S. and internationally.  Available in both English and Spanish, this site has reports in relevant actions and events as well as articles from Abya Yala News, a quarterly journal, links to other sites and to AbyaYala Net, a joint SAIC and NativeWeb project to network indigenous peoples.

Page updated Feb. 2006
Jeanne Armstrong
Librarian for Anthropology, Wilson Library
Western Washington University