Reference Resources

Searchable online encyclopedia of art, including images. Also offers essays, news items, and a directory of Art Museums Worldwide.

An unprecedented collection of the impertinent, vile, censored, hip, witty, and fascinating slang words of the English language. Covering five centuries of innovation in all English-speaking regions of the world. Over 100,000 words are defined; each word is authenticated by genuine and full-referenced citations of its use.

Written by an international team of specialists and presents an authoritative guide not only to ten centuries of literature produced in the territory now called France, but also to the rich literary output of other French-speaking countries around the world.

Written by distinguished scholars from around the world, the Dictionary covers all aspects of the classical world from literature and history to religion, science, and archaeology. It also contains many thematic entries on subjects relevant to the 21st century such as nationalism, race, gender, and ecology.

Covers more than three millennia of Jewish religious thought, custom, law, and practice, from traditional approaches to Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist and post-denominational Judaism. Brief definitions and longer essays, all supplemented with bibliographies, enlighten readers about the major figures, folklore, and events in the history of Judaism throughout the world. 2011 edition.

A high quality French-English/English-French online dictionary with audio pronunciations and other interactive features.

Surveys American literature in 350 essays from leading scholars, encompassing the range and depth of American literary history from the 1600s to the present. The Encyclopedia includes essays on poets, playwrights, essayists, and novelists, as well as major works, literary movements, periods, themes, historical perspectives and social context. 2004 edition.

This work provides detailed, comprehensive treatments of the latest approaches to, and methods for, interpretation of the Bible. The Encyclopedia contains entries ranging in length from 3,000 to 5,000 words, each with a bibliography for further reading and cross-referenced to other useful points of interest within the Encyclopedia.

Provides comprehensive coverage of the entire history of literature in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland and substantial accounts of individual authors and detailed histories of particular themes, movements, genres, and institutions. 2006 edition.

Documents and interprets the books read by children throughout the world. With a global perspective that pays attention to significant international trends and the multicultural expansion of the field, it includes brief biographies of every major author and illustrator. Also included are feature essays on all genres of children's literature, individual works, and prominent trends and themes, as well as general essays on the traditions of children's literature in many countries throughout the world.

Focuses on African history and culture with articles that cover prominent individuals, events, trends, places, political movements, art forms, business and trade, religions, ethnic groups, organizations, and countries throughout Africa.

In nearly 700 entries, the Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619–1895 documents the full range of the African American experience during that period—from the arrival of the first slave ship to the death of Frederick Douglass—and shows how all aspects of American culture, history, and national identity have been profoundly influenced by the experience of African Americans.

Focusing on the making of African American society from the 1896 "separate but equal" ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson up to the contemporary period, this encyclopedia traces the transition from the Reconstruction Era to the age of Jim Crow, the Harlem Renaissance, the Great Migration, the Brown ruling that overturned Plessy, the Civil Rights Movement, and the ascendant influence of African-American culture on the American cultural landscape. 2009 ed.

Focusing primarily on developments since 1945, this encyclopedia offers comprehensive coverage of all aspects of human rights theory, practice, law, and history by leading scholars and human rights experts. The coverage includes major figures, organizations and institutions, human rights events and crises, and human rights norms.

This A-to-Z reference details the important people, places, and events that have shaped the relationship between the United States and the countries of Latin America, including Mexico and the nations in Central America, the Caribbean, and South America.

Brings fresh intelligence and a global perspective to bear on timeless questions about the individual and society. A distinguished team of international scholars explore new thinking in areas previously covered (communism, linguistics, physics) and present cross-cultural perspectives on more recent topics such as postmodernism, deconstruction, and post-colonialism.

Covers all key aspects of European history, society, and culture from 500 to 1500 CE, as well as the Byzantine Empire, Islamic dynasties, and Asiatic peoples of the era. Over 800 scholars have assembled thousands of comprehensive entries, lavishly supplemented by hundreds of illustrations and dozens of maps.

This work examines our shared history "from the bottom up," with entries on numerous topics, including the way automobiles shaped American lives, the westward movement of settlers and farmers in the 18th and 19th centuries, the transformation of work over time, the women's suffrage movement, counterculture, leisure activities, consumption patterns, voting habits, population movements, racial divides, and many more. This resource is intended to help readers develop a richer framework for understanding the social experience of Americans throughout history.

Draws together the diverse historical and contemporary experiences in the United States of Latinos and Latinas from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Central America, South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Over 900 A-to-Z articles written by academics, scholars, writers, artists, and journalists, address such broad topics as identity, art, politics, religion, education, health, and history.

With over 650 biographies of influential women and over 600 topical articles covering topics such as geography and history, culture and society, organizations, movements, and gender studies, Women in World History is the definitive reference work in the field.

Impressive for its depth, scope and authority; open access.