Research Guides: AFR 440: Performing Blackness: Library Resources and Tips

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Emery Shriver
Africana Studies Librarian

mes4@williams.edu
413-597-4716

Pronouns: he/they

AFR 440 Search Strategies

Start by looking at the articles/books listed in the course syllabus or ones recommended by your professor.
- See for example, Daphne Brooks's essay "Black Theatre and Performance Studies: Seminal Critical Essays and Articles" (from Black Studies Center; Williams login required for off-campus access)
Search for other materials by those scholars.
- Find the scholar's personal or institutional web page; look for their CV or list of publications.
- Search library databases by author.
Find scholarship that has cited those works.
Do searches in the Best Bets databases.
- Look at how the scholarship on your topic has been described in the Subjects of the library catalog and databases; use those words to find relevant works.

Best Bet Library Databases

For additional resources, see the full A-Z database list.

General Multi-Disciplinary

Google Scholar
Provides access to scholarly articles, books, conference papers, and more. Modify your Google Scholar settings to access library-provided full text.
ProQuest
Searches across a wide variety of types of sources including scholarly journals, magazines, historical and current newspapers, dissertations, and more. Coverage is multidisciplinary. Great place to start a research project.

Theatre/Performance

Performing Arts Periodicals Database
Publication Dates: 1998-Present; some coverage 1864-1998
Includes scholarly articles, reviews, essays and biographies covering dance, film, television, theater, and other topics in performing arts.
MLA International Bibliography
Publication Dates: 1926-Present
Covers language, literature, linguistics, and related areas such as film and television. Includes references to journal articles, book chapters, and dissertations.

Intersectional Identities

Black Studies Periodicals
Publication Dates: 1902-Present
Contains summaries of articles in the field of Black Studies from scholarly journals and newsletters published in the U.S., Africa, and the Caribbean.
LGBTQ+ Source
Publication Dates: 1917-present
Provides scholarly and popular publications in full text, plus historically important primary sources on LGBT-focused topics.

Search the Library Catalog

Find books, articles, & more

Search Williams WorldCat

Video Resources

Beyond user-generated videos found on popular social media platforms, you can also find performances in library subscription databases and specialized digital archives such as the ones below.

Academic Video Online Premium
Publication Dates: 1890s-Present
Includes documentaries, interviews, performances, news programs and newsreels, field recordings, commercials, and raw footage.
HistoryMakers
Publication Dates: 1993 - Present
Contains almost 150,000 oral history interviews highlighting the accomplishments of individual African Americans and African-American-led groups and movements, from the 1890s to the present. The collection, including transcripts, is searchable by name, topic, or theme.
Kanopy
Contains streamed documentary and feature films. International coverage.
Umbra
Searches digital materials documenting African American history and cultural life. Includes photographs, manuscripts, documents, books, sound files, video files.