Finding Black Women's Voices in the Historical Record
The voices of marginalized and disenfranchised peoples around the world, including Black Women, are often difficult to find and trace through time due to the exclusion of those voices from traditional historic record. Uncovering those voices, through the examination of literature, film, art, and archival records of their activities in political, social, and cultural contexts in the Americas and in Africa, is imperative to understanding how present-day politics and society still continue to try and marginalize Black Women's perspectives-and how they have continued to fight for a space to express themselves through their political and social activism, writings, and artistic visions.
Overview of resources available in the Bertrand Library
The Bertrand Library holds and has access to millions of great resources on Black Women's history including books like those listed in your course syllabus, scholarly journal articles, archival and special collections at Bucknell and beyond, images and audio-visual materials, and items that also may be written or spoken in languages such as French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Please reach out if you're having issues with topic selection, finding resources within the scope of your topic, or just need advice on where to start by using the "Ask a Question!" or "Meet with a Librarian" tools available on this page.
Finding Books
A good way to start searching for books is to use the WorldCat search bar at the top of this page, which allows you to search Bertrand Library's holding and beyond. You can use the filters on the top of the search bar to search just for books, as well as for other types of resources such as articles and multimedia items.
Finding Scholarly Journal Articles and Databases
To locate academic journal articles, you can use the various databases listed on the "A-Z Databases" page or search for individual journal title on the "A-Z journals" page of the library's website.
You can also consult Google Scholar to find scholarly materials in journals, books, and other sources, which will display Bucknell's full-text access if Library Link is enabled. For news articles, consult the library's News Sources guide.
Finding Government Documents and Statistical Data
Government documents are useful in uncovering the political and economic marginalization of people through legislation and in legal codification of status and class, race, and gender. You can find more details on both international and U.S.-based government documents in our Government Information guide.
Data (statistics, data sets/ public opinion surveys, etc.) are important sources to use to support ideas you put forth. Consult the library's Data Sources guides for information on where to find data sets that might be useful in your research.
Finding Primary Resource Material
There are many online resources related to the socio-economic, cultural, and political histories of Black Women throughout time that can be found through websites developed and overseen by non-profit and community-based organizations, developed by Black Studies, Women's and Gender Studies, History, and Latin American scholars and librarians, and by community members in marginalized communities around the globe.
Primary resource materials are often available online through library, archives, and museum digital collection websites, as well as university and non-profit organizations who create digital guides for further study, and through the work of community-based organizations who work with marginalized communities to share their experiences with wider audiences. You will find just a small sampling of what's available from online databases and websites listed in the 'Primary Resources' tab. You might also want to check out this guide to finding Image Resources in the Library's databases and online.
For tutorials and more information on locating resources in the databases and journals available to the Bucknell community, visit the "Library Tutorials for Students-Information Resources" research guide