Women's Studies Research Guide
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Note: Off-campus access to some online sources is restricted to current UCF students, faculty,
and staff via Pegasus or
Proxy connection
Databases
Use the following sources to find periodical articles about women's studies topics. In some
instances books or essays in books also may be found in these sources. Once you have found the
articles you want, in some instances you will need to check the
UCF Library Catalog to determine if we own the
periodicals you need. No attempt has been made to list here the many comprehensive indexes and
databases, such as
ABI/Inform,
Academic Search Premier,
America: History and Life,
Art Full Text,
ERIC,
Humanities Full Text,
Medline,
PsycINFO, and
Sociological Abstracts, where copious valuable information by and about women also may
be found. Since Women's Studies is such an interdisciplinary study - you may have to get creative
with which databases you search.
Indexes over 250 alternative, radical, and leftist journals, newspapers, and magazines.
Covers topics of cultural, political, economic, and social change, including those related
to women, women's rights, and other women's issues.
Full text access to global information on women, including journals, newsletters, research
reports from non-profit groups, government and international agencies, and fact sheets.
Information on women in over 150 countries is compiled in a single collection bringing
together such disciplines as sociology, psychology, health, education and human rights.
Focuses on the impact of gender across a broad spectrum of subject areas. Supports programs
in various social science subject areas. Publications include scholarly journals, magazines,
newspapers, newsletters, regional publications, books, pamphlets, conference proceedings,
and government reports.
Includes the immediate experiences of 1,325 women and 150,000 pages of diaries and letters.
It covers letters by Canadian and American women from the Colonial Period up to 1950.
Women Studies Abstracts
Index HQ 1180 .W65 (1972+)
Quarterly index to over 50 women's studies and related field journals, with book and
media reviews on a wide variety of subjects such as education, family, feminism, gender,
history, literature and art, physical and mental health, religion, sex roles, sexuality,
violence against women, women in development, work, and more.
Devoted to early modern women's writing beginning with the Renaissance.
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Key Journals
The following journals are devoted exclusively to women's studies. Please note, however,
that many other journals not listed here may contain articles about women's studies and related
topics; thus, the need to consult a database .
Current print issues of periodicals to which the Library subscribes are arranged by title on
the third floor; print back issues are shelved in the general collection by call number, while
microform back issues are arranged by call number on the third floor.
Differences: A Journal
of Feminist Cultural Studies
Provides an international forum for the analysis of cultural politics and gender issues
in the light of feminist criticism. Occasional articles are theme-based, such as a 1999
issue dealing with "America the Feminine."
Feminist Review
Considered the foremost feminist journal in the United Kingdom. International in scope,
it publishes articles on contemporary feminist analysis, political issues, and book
reviews.
Feminist Studies: FS
Online version (1990+)
Microfilm HQ 1101 .F18 (1972/73-1973/74)
General Collection HQ 1101 .F18 (1975+)
Publishes scholarly articles that focus on women's experience and on gender as a category
of analysis. Also has creative writing and visual art addressing interdisciplinary issues
that affect women's lives.
Feminist Theory: An International
Interdisciplinary Journal
Provides a forum for critical analysis and constructive debate within feminism and strives
to incorporate perspectives from across the broad spectrum of the humanities and social
sciences and the full range of feminist political and theoretical stances.
Frontiers: A Journal
of Women Studies
Aims to publish a broad mix of scholarly work, personal essays, and the arts that provide
multicultural and interdisciplinary perspectives offered in accessible language.
Gender and Society
Publishes peer-reviewed articles framed by a theoretical perspective or policy issue
that advances critical thinking, research reports that present data of particular interest
based upon sound and logical research design and methodology, and book reviews summarizing
and evaluating recent publications. Occasional special issues cover a single topic of
current concern, such as: sexual harassment, media representation, economic inequality,
and battered women.
Hypatia: A Journal of
Feminist Philosophy
Provides peer-reviewed articles intended to encourage and communicate many different
kinds of feminist philosophy. Two issues each year are theme-based.
Journal of Women's History
Billed as the first journal devoted exclusively to the international field of women's
history. According to the publisher's blurb, the guiding principle "is a belief that
the divide between 'women's history' and 'gender history' can be, and is, bridged by
work on women that is sensitive to the particular historical constructions of gender
that shape and are shaped by women's experience."
Ms.
General Collection HQ 1101 .M55 (1972-83)
Microfiche HQ 1101 .M55 (1984+)
Contains features about feminist issues and concerns, national and international news
concerning women, along with original fiction and poetry.
Sex Roles
An interdisciplinary, behavioral science journal with a feminist perspective. It publishes
original research reports and theoretical and review articles that illuminate the underlying
processes and consequences of gender role socialization, gendered perceptions and behaviors,
and gender stereotypes.
Signs: Journal of Women
in Culture and Society
Online version (1990+)
Microfilm HQ 1101 .S5 (1975/76)
General Collection HQ 1101 .S5 (1976+)
An interdisciplinary journal of women and society that addresses diversity issues involving
race, class, sexual preference. Articles are selected by blind review.
Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature
General Collection PN 471 .T84 (1991+)
Contains scholarly articles, notes and queries on literature from all time periods and
places, including foreign-language literature, and from every genre: poetry, prose,
drama, essays, diaries, memoirs, journalism and criticism. Focuses on women and writing,
feminist critical and literary theory.
Women and Politics: A
Quarterly Journal of Research and Policy Studies
A refereed journal encouraging research and the development of theory on women’s political
participation, the role of women in society, and the impact of public policy on women’s
lives. Articles focus on explaining and enhancing women’s roles in politics, including
the areas of political philosophy, international relations, American politics, and comparative
politics.
The Women's Review of
Books
Publishes rather lengthy book reviews for and about women presented in a wide range
of feminist perspectives. The focus is scholarly and academic; in fact, one of the features
is a list of academic job postings.
Women's Studies Quarterly
General Collection HQ 1101 .W72 (1981+)
Provides peer reviewed coverage of interdisciplinary articles on all aspects of international
women's studies.
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Definitions, Summaries, and Facts
Sources such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, chronologies, and quotation books are
good starting points for obtaining basic information about issues, events, organizations, and
the like. Below is a sampling of basic titles.
General
American Women's History: A Student Companion
Reference HQ 1410 .M378 2000
Alphabetical articles on major events, documents, persons, social movements, and political
and social concepts connected with the history of women in America.
The Dictionary of Feminist Theory
Reference HQ 1115 .H86 1995
Intended to be a broad, cross-cultural and international account of contemporary feminist
thought by presenting its terms and concepts.
Encyclopedia of Women and Gender: Sex Similarities and Differences and the Impact of
Society on Gender
Reference HQ 1115 .E43 2001
Comprehensive coverage of topics covering current scholarship on women and gender. Articles
on such topics as academic aspirations and degree attainment of women, empathy and emotional
expressivity, and gender stereotypes.
The Encyclopedia of Women's History in America
Reference HQ 1410 .C85 2000
Brief articles in alphabetical order. Includes references for further information. Contains
a bibliography and a detailed index.
Handbook of American Women's History
Reference HQ 1410 .H36 1990
Entries focus on organizations, concepts, and individuals important to American women's
history.
Historical Dictionary of Feminism
Reference HQ 115 .B65 1996
Background information on people, terms, and organizations with an American and European
approach. Valuable for its extensive bibliography and inclusion of major court cases.
A History of Women in the West
General Collection HQ 1121 .S79513
A collection of essays presenting the views of 75 historians who write about the experiences
of women in western civilization from the ancient Greeks to the twentieth century. The
essays try to understand the "condition" of women, the sources of their identities,
their roles and powers, their words and deeds, and their many images. Examines women's
changing status, comparisons between the different periods, crucial events, and some
fundamental continuities in women's history.
Volume 1: From Ancient Goddesses to Christian Saints
Volume 2: Silences of the Middle Ages
Volume 3: Renaissance and Enlightenment Paradoxes
Volume 4: Emerging feminism from Revolution to World War
Volume 5: Toward a Cultural Identity in the Twentieth Century
The Routledge Critical Dictionary of Feminism and Postfeminism
Reference HQ 1115 .R68 2000
Contains more than 400 alphabetical entries. Includes thorough coverage of the history
of feminism, as well as extensive discussions of topics such as post-feminism, men in
feminism, feminism and new technologies, and feminism and philosophy. Also has brief
biographical sketches.
The Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women: Global Women's Issues and Knowledge
Reference HQ 1115 .R69 2000
Over 900 signed alphabetical entries review the condition of women around the world,
and provides region-by-region articles on issues such as feminist movements, women's
education, spirituality, and health care systems.
Women in the Third World: An Encyclopedia of Contemporary Issues
Reference HQ 1870.9 .W6548 1998
Information is arranged in chapter format. Topics include middle aged women, the effect
of the mass media, and women's access to higher education.
Women's Studies Encyclopedia
Reference HQ 1115 .W645
Information about women from all fields and disciplines of study, with an emphasis on
American issues. Articles are written in non-specialist language and include bibliographic
references for further reading.
Atlases
Atlas of American Women
Reference G 1201 .E1 S5 1987
Draws on the 1980 Census, and covers demography, employment, education, relationships
and family, health, crime, and politics. Bibliography and index.
The Routledge Historical Atlas of Women in America
General Collection HQ 1410 .P68 2000
Through a variety of color maps and charts, documents milestones in the evolution of
the social and political rights of women. Coverage includes the rise of reform movements
such as temperance, women's suffrage, and abolition during the 19th century, and contraception,
abortion rights, and the Equal Rights Amendment in the 20th.
The State of Women in the World Atlas
Reference HQ 1154 .S42 1997
Contains maps, statistical data, and text pertaining to the status of women in the world.
Among the topics covered are education, marriage, motherhood, domestic violence, work,
poverty, and sex.
Chronologies
Chronology of Women Worldwide: People, Places and Events that Shaped Women's History
Reference HQ 1121 .C617 1997
Chronologically-arranged history of women in the world, emphasizing explanations and
significance of events. Also contains myths and legends about women, excerpts of important
documents, and a list of women-related events for each day of the year.
The Wilson Chronology of Women's Achievements: A Record of Women's Achievements from
Ancient Times to Present
Reference HQ 1121 .F65 1998
More than one-half of the 433 pages of entries discuss people or events in women's history
since 1920, and are grouped into time segments of various lengths (e.g., "2500
bc - 2001
bc").
Women's Firsts
Reference CT 3203 .W66 1996
Arranged thematically (e.g., activism, military), describes first-time accomplishments,
honors, awards, and other landmark firsts of women worldwide, from ancient times to
the present, with an emphasis on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Also includes
a calendar of Firsts and an index by year from 2300
bce.
Glossaries
The Bias-Free Word Finder: A Dictionary of Nondiscriminatory Language
Reference PE 1460 .M26 1992
Most of the 5,000 entries demonstrate some form of bias -- that is, based on gender
or race -- and 15,000 alternative expressions are offered. Some entries represent words
commonly thought to be biased, with an explanation of why they are not.
Womanwords: A Dictionary of Words about Women
Reference HQ 1115 .M546 1992
A collection of nearly 300 words that have been applied to women over the centuries,
giving their etymology, history, changing meanings, and connotations.
Guidebooks
Women Remembered: A Guide to Landmarks of Women's History in the United States
Reference E 159 .T56 1986
Indexes U.S. commemorations to women, such as monuments, buildings, streets, historical
markers or sites. Omits women living at the time of publication and women described
primarily in relation to famous men, as well as generic statues to nameless heroines
or occupations. Organized by geographic region; entries arranged by state within each
region, within each state by city or town, and within a city by alphabetical order of
women's names. Entries include birth and death dates, historical dates, and descriptions
of the woman's life and commemoration.
Quotations and Speeches
Feminist Quotations: Voices of Rebels, Reformers, and Visionaries
Reference HQ 1154 .F446 1979
Provides selections from the literature of the women's movement over the last 200 years:
from Abigail Adams and Mary Wollstonecraft to Brownmiller, Friedan, and Greer. The words
of many less well-known women are included, and these are generally difficult to locate
in the standard quotation sourcebooks.
Guide to Monologues, Women: An Index of Over 800 Monologues from Classical and Modern
Plays
Reference PN 2080 .G85 1988
Indexes brief monologues; that is, those of less than 10 minutes' length. The monologues
are keyed to a list of sources.
Index to American Women Speakers, 1828-1978
Reference PS 400 .M35
We Shall Be Heard: An Index to Speeches by American Women, 1978-1985
Reference PS 408 .M37 1988
Indexes by author, subject, and title the speeches by women appearing in more than 200
publications, including collections, proceedings of conferences and conventions, congressional
committee hearings, and documentary histories. Represents about 2,500 women, including
all women senators and representatives, 1828-1978.
The Quotable Woman: The First 5,000 Years
Reference PN 6081.5 .Q65 2001
Gathers 19,000 quotations from approximately 3,800 women throughout history. Contributors
are presented in chronological order by birth year and indexed by name, occupation,
and nationality/ethnicity.
Women's Words: The Columbia Book of Quotations by Women
Reference PN 6084 .W6 B47 1996
Contains more than 3,000 provocative, incendiary, witty, and inspirational quotations
from women over the centuries, most of them never before anthologized, including Sojourner
Truth, bell hooks, Martina Navratilova, Queen Elizabeth I, Flannery O'Connor, Golda
Meir, and Mother Jones. Arranged by subject with an index of sources.
Statistics
American Men and Women: Demographics of the Sexes
Reference HB 1755 .A3 A44 2000
Based on statistics collected by the federal government and attitude data from the General
Social Survey. Nine chapters compare men and women over 16 years of age on key issues
such as abortion and job tenure. Some tables provide historical comparisons back to
1940; others offer projections to 2009. Citations to all data sources.
American Women: Who They Are and How They Live
Reference HQ 1421 .A486 2002
Statistics divided into ten chapters, organized alphabetically: attitudes and behavior,
business, education, health, income, labor force, living arrangements, population, spending,
and wealth. Based largely on the 2000 Census.
Handbook of International Data on Women
Reference HQ 1115 .H36
Provides data on women in 159 countries during the 1970s. Includes tables on economic
activity; education and literacy; life, death, and reproduction; marital status and
migration; and political and civic participation.
Statistical Record of Women Worldwide
Reference HQ 1150 .S73 1995
A compilation of statistical data on the lives and status of women worldwide, from a
variety of sources: government documents, periodicals, reports and studies, and research
organizations. Organized in topical sections. List of sources; subject and geographic
index.
Women and Men in Europe and North America, 2000
Reference HB 1831.A3 W66 2000
In two parts. Part 1 contains 55 country profiles, setting out some key gender indicators.
Part 2 contains comparative analysis of statistical data covering population aging,
households, families and fertility, education, labor force, income, power and influence,
health and mortality, and crime and justice. Special "features" boxes highlight some
points related to the data, such as "Needs of Older Women," "Abortion Rate Trends,"
and "Labor market segregation."
WISTAT: Women's Indicators and Statistics Database
General Collection HQ 1154 .W57 1994
CD-ROM at Circulation Desk
Provides 1,600 statistical series, mainly covering 1970-1993, on women in 212 countries
in both database and spreadsheet formats. Topics covered include population, education,
economics activity, housing, health, and crime. Provides software for series search
and selection, country profiles, table layout and export, as well as the complete set
of data organized in 148 spreadsheet files.
The World's Women, 2000:
Trends and Statistics
Online version
Reference HQ 1154 .W95 2000
Covers 220 countries or regions. Provides various tables, charts, and graphs for six
areas: health, human rights and political decision-making, work, education and communication,
population, and families. See also earlier editions for historical data: The World's
Women, 1995 (Reference HQ 1154 .W95 1995) and The World's Women, 1970-1990
(Reference HQ 1154 .W95 1991).
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Biographies
There are many sources for biographical information (see, for example, the
Biography Resource Center
database), but the focus of the titles listed below is exclusively on women. Note, too, that
many general sources listed under "Definitions,
Summaries, and Facts" of this research guide contain biographies as well.
Biographical Dictionary of Ancient Greek and Roman Women: Notable Women from Sappho
to Helena
General Collection HQ 1136 .L54 2000
Biographical sketches for 447 women living throughout the Greek and Roman worlds from
the seventh century BCE to early fourth
century CE.
Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia
Reference E 185.96 .B542 1993
Contains 804 entries, 641 of which are biographies of individuals and 163 of which deal
with general topics and organizations.
The Continuum Dictionary of Women's Biography
Reference CT 3202 .C66 1989
Biographical dictionary of women, world-wide in scope. Subject index arranged by field.
Many entries include references.
http://www.distinguishedwomen.com
Biographical information on famous women from many walks of life.
Extraordinary Women of the Medieval and Renaissance World: A Biographical Dictionary
Reference HQ 1143 .E93 2000
Profiles written by scholars on 70 women representing 18 countries and 19 fields of
endeavor. Bibliographies appended to all entries.
Great Lives from History: American Women Series
Reference HQ 1412 .G74 1995
Each of the 409 profiles includes a useful annotated bibliography.
Index to Women of the World From Ancient to Modern Times: Biographies and Portraits
Reference CT 3202 .I73 1970
Index to Women of the World From Ancient to Modern Times: A Supplement
Reference HQ 1123 .I73 1988 Suppl.
Provide access to printed biographical information on over 13,000 women from Biblical
times to the present. Names are listed alphabetically along with the woman's dates and
occupations, and a list of biographical references about her.
Larousse Dictionary of Women
Reference HQ 1115 .L37 1996
Over 3000 profiles of women from Eve to Oprah Winfrey.
Native American Women: A Biographical Dictionary
Reference E 98 .W8 B38 2001
Entries for both historical and contemporary Native American women, with indexes by
tribal affiliation, state/province of birth, decade of birth, and primary area of specialization
(e.g., activism, medicine-traditional).
Notable American Women, 1607-1950: A Biographical Dictionary
Reference CT 3260 .N57
Biographical sketches of more than 1,350 women, most of whom do not appear in the
Dictionary of American Biography (Reference E 176 .D563). Volumes 1-3 cover the
historical period 1607-1950; volume 4 is a supplement which includes subjects who died
between 1951 and 1975.
Notable Hispanic American Women
Reference E 184 .S75 N68 1993
Notable Hispanic American Women: Book II
Reference E 184 .S75 N68 1998
Combined, both volumes contain approximately 500 profiles on historical and contemporary
Hispanic American women in a wide range of occupations.
Significant Contemporary American Feminists: A Biographical Sourcebook
Reference HQ 1412 .S56 1999
Highlights the lives and work of fifty feminists, women who have served as catalysts
in the developing feminist movement. Includes a selective bibliography and index.
Webster's Dictionary of American Women
Reference HQ 1412 .W85 1996
Contains over 1,500 brief biographies of the women who have shaped American history
and life.
Who's Who of American
Women
Reference CT 3260 .W647
Focuses on living persons. Brief entries provide basic facts about each individual's
life and accomplishments. The entries in the latest edition are available in the online
database
Biography Resource Center.
Women in World History:
A Biographical Encyclopedia
Reference HQ 1115 .W6 1999
An ambitious 17-volume set containing more than 10,000 biographical entries profiling
women throughout time and throughout the world. More than 2,500 signed articles written
by academics, up to 5,000 words in length, highlight a particular woman's personal background
and significance in history. Shorter entries spotlight historically important women
who are less frequently researched or for whom less information is available. Volume
17 includes an occupational index, a geographical index, an historical era index and
a master personal name index, which includes all the woman covered, their variant names,
and also the names of significant individuals mentioned in the text of entries.
Women Rulers Throughout the Ages: An Illustrated Guide
Reference D 107 .J32 1999
Covers all women rulers, de facto rulers, and constitutional monarchs, living or deceased,
since the beginning recorded history. Includes a useful chronology of rulers by century.
Entries are arranged alphabetically by ruler. Six-page bibliography.
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Primary Sources
Primary sources in women's studies include materials such as autobiographies, court cases,
diaries, government documents, letters, literary works, newspaper articles, and speeches. The
following titles are examples of primary source material available in the UCF Libraries or on
the Internet. Additional primary sources in the UCF Libraries may be located by searching the
UCF Library Catalog for specific authors, subjects, or keywords.
The Gerritsen Collection of Women's History, 1543-1945
Microfiche HQ1121 .G47
A microfiche collection spanning more than four centuries, 15 languages, 4,700 documents,
and over two million pages in full image. Users can trace the evolution of feminism
within a single country, as well as the impact of that country's feminist movement on
other countries and their movements. The bulk of the collection, however, is principally
materials published between 1880 and 1920. All documents in the collection are listed
in the UCF Library Catalog; there is also a printed index to the collection: The
Gerritsen Collection of Women's History, 1543-1945: A Bibliographic Guide to the Microform
Collection (Reference HQ 1121 .G47 Guide). Volume 1: Languages, includes author,
title, subject, and chronological indexes; Volume 2 is the subject index; and Volume
3 contains a list of periodicals.
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/women/womensbook.html
Attempts to present online documents and secondary discussions which reflect the various
ways of looking at the history of women within broadly defined historical periods and
areas.
Mary McLeod Bethune Papers: The Bethune-Cookman College Collection, 1922-1955
Microfilm E 185.97 .B34 B3 1995
Accompanied by a printed guide (Reference E 185.97 .B34 B3 Guide). Contains the administrative
records of Mrs. Bethune as president of Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Mary McLeod Bethune Papers: The Bethune Foundation Collection
Microfilm E 185.97 .B34 B32 1996
Accompanied by a printed guide (Reference E 185.97 .B34 B32 1996 Guide). Covering the
period 1915 through 1955, contains correspondence, diaries, speeches, essays, biographical
materials, news clippings, and files on the National Youth Administration and women's
organizations.
The Papers of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony
Microfilm HQ 1413 .S67 S7 1992
Accompanied by a printed guide (Reference HQ 1413 .S67 S7 1992 Guide). A major collection
of correspondence, diaries, articles, speeches, personal papers, etc., by the subjects.
Also all issues of the newspaper, The Revolution, and correspondence from the
National Woman Suffrage Association received in 1880. The printed guide includes biographies
and chronologies of Stanton and Anthony, description of the scope of the collection,
access methods, reel guides and indexes.
Politics and Friendship: Letters from the International Woman Suffrage Alliance, 1902-1942
General Collection JN 5947 .L5413 1990
Reproduces primarily the letters written to and by Aletta Jacobs, the first Dutch woman
to graduate from a university and the first female Dutch medical doctor, who founded
the International Woman Suffrage Alliance (IWSA), which eventually represented 30 nations.
A long-term research project devoted to early modern women's writing. The texts are
mainly works written in English and from the pre-Victorian period (before 1850
ce). To date, the Project has encoded
over 200 texts ranging from a 1664 ce
cookbook with recipes such as ``To make a Pigge pie'' to the speeches of Queen Elizabeth
I of England.
Women's Rights in the United States: A Documentary History
General Collection HQ 1236.5 .U6 W68 1994
Contains 125 historical documents ranging from Anne Hutchinson to Hillary Rodham Clinton
and includes personal narratives and poetry.
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Internet Sources
Directories
- WWWomen - "Premiere Search Directory for Women Online"
Distance Learning
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Ask a Librarian
If you have questions or need additional assistance, Ask
a Librarian, call the Reference Department at (407) 823-2562, or
e-mail the Department at askalibrarian@mail.ucf.edu.
Last Updated:
July 19, 2010
