Reed College Library: Gender

There are many handbooks, dictionaries, and encyclopedias that provide basic information for feminism, gender, and women's studies. If you are not clear about your topic, these reference sources provide definitions and introductory information about the subject. You can also browse them to brainstorm for more ideas. Other, more specialized resources are available in the Reference Room.

Amazons, Bluestockings and Crones: A Feminist Dictionary
Ref HQ1115 .K73 1992
A feminist and woman-centered lexicon of English language use.

Encyclopedia of Feminist Theories
Ref HQ1190 .E63 2000
Entries include biographies, topics, issues, and theories. Most entries have a short bibliography of additional references.

Encyclopedia of Lesbian and Gay Histories and Cultures
Ref. HQ75.13 .E53 2000
Covers the most important international developments in lesbian and gay history as well as the current state of lesbian and gay culture around the world. "Vol. 1: Lesbian Histories and Cultures"; "Vol. 2: Gay Histories and Cultures."

Encyclopedia of Women and Gender
Ref HQ1115 .E43 2001
In-depth articles on a variety of topics related to sex similarities and differences and the impact of society on gender.

Feminist Writers
Ref PN451 .F46 1996
Biographical, bibliographical, and critical entries on almost 300 writers of fiction and non-fiction with a feminist point of view. Primarily focused on English-language works (including translations from other languages) from the twentieth century.

Greenwood Encyclopedia of Women's Issues Worldwide
Ref. HQ1115 .G74 2003
Separate volumes for different regions of the world, with entries on the countries of each region.

Reader's Guide to Lesbian and Gay Studies
Ref HQ75.15 .R43 2000
A reference guide to academic literature important to lesbian and gay studies. Topics range from "Aristotle" to "Career Development" to "Heterosexism" to "Women's Colleges."

Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women
Ref HQ1115 .R69 2000
Covers the concerns of women and the theory and practice of feminism around the world.

Women in World History
Ref HQ1115 .W6 1999
Biographical entries on more than ten thousand women throughout world history from 3100 BCE to the present, with additional collective entries on relevant topics (i.e. "Astronauts: Women in Space" and "Egyptian Feminism"). The first volume has genealogical charts of ruling families from 29 countries and regions around the world. 17 vols.

Women's Studies Encyclopedia (1997)
Contains information about women from all fields and disciplines of study, with a focus on the United States.

Primary Texts

The Gerritsen Collection: Women's History Online, 1543-1945
A digital archive of "books, pamphlets, and periodicals reflecting the revolution of a feminist consciousness and the movement for women's rights...with materials spanning four centuries and 15 languages."

Women Writers Online 1400 to 1850
A digital collection of texts by pre-Victorian women writers.

Finding Journal Articles and Critical Essays

Indexes (sometimes called databases) allow you to search the contents of periodicals to identify articles on your topic. Some indexes are interdisciplinary, and some focus on a particular subject area. Because gender and women's studies are themselves interdisciplinary, you many need to use indexes from several disciplines in your research process.

At this time, only some indexes contain fulltext or links to fulltext from other sources. Many include citations for books, dissertations, and conference papers as well as for journal articles. Most of the time, after you find a citation for an article you want to see, you will need to check the print & electronic journals list to see whether or not Reed subscribes to the journal and if we have the particular issue. (See also: How Do I Find Journal Articles?) If the article is not available at Reed, you can request it from interlibrary loan (periodicals cannot be borrowed from Summit).

In addition to the indexes described below, most other discipline-specific indexes can be used for research in gender and women's studies. You may need to explore the subject terms used by the database to best uncover material focusing on gender or women. Also consider the range of possible keywords that might be relevant: for example: (woman or women or girl or feminine or femininity).

Alternative Press Index & Archive (1969 - present)
Indexes journals covering cultural, economic, political & social change. Not specifically focused on gender and women's studies but highly relevant.

Contemporary Women's Issues (1992 - present)
International focus on political and social issues, with significant fulltext content from mainstream, alternative, and grey literature sources.

Diotima
Bibliographies, images, and other materials related to the study of women and gender in the ancient world.

Feminae
An index to publications about topics dealing with women, sexuality, or gender in the Medieval period of European history.

Gender Studies Database (1972 - present)
Includes both Women's Studies International, the primary research database for women's studies, and the Men's Studies database.

Search Strategies

Most indexes and databases will use some subject terms that refer to women or gender issues, but those terms may not be sufficient for any given topic. Different search strategies can help identify additional materials, and being aware of the range of possible phrases and terms will help you brainstorm those relevant to your topic. For example, here are a few of the subject headings created by the Library of Congress and used in Reed's library catalog:

When searching by keyword, consider what sort of language might be used in the source: in some cases, informal, colloquial or slang terms will get results, while in others formal or conservative terms may be needed. Variant spellings can often be searched by using "wild card" or truncation techniques. For example, you may be able to use wild cards like this "w?m?n" to simultaneously search for woman, women, womon, wymyn, etc. A truncated search for "femini*" would find feminine, femininity, feminism, feminisms, feminist, feminists, etc. Check the help or search tips in each database for instructions or ask a librarian.

African American women artists	Suffragists
Autobiography -- Women authors	Women -- Employment
Businesswomen	Women engineers
Feminism	Women in Islam
Feminist literary criticism	Women -- Oregon
Girls	Women -- Psychology
Mothers	Women -- Suffrage
Muslim women	Women -- United States
Pregnant women	World War, 1939-1945 -- Women
Rural women	Young women

Library

Resource Guide for Gender and Women's Studies

Contact: Rachel Bridgewater , Electronic Resources Librarian

Getting Started

Primary Texts

Finding Journal Articles and Critical Essays

Search Strategies