Library Guides:  Cultural Heritages

Created by Kathie Lewis and Connie Fly

Reference Collection:
The Reference Collection is on the Main Floor of the COS Library

Cultural Heritages arranged by Ethnic Group

Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America     R 305.8 G151
    This two volume set provides information on the country of origin and the circumstances surrounding major immigration waves. The articles also cover acculturation, assimilation, family and community dynamics, language, religion, employment and economic traditions, politics and government. This set extends its scope to include the Native American Groups who were here before us.

American Immigrant Cultures: Builders of a Nation   R 305.8 A512
    This two volume set takes a culture and provides a brief overview of the country of origin, immigration history, the culture's assimilation in America, and social organization. Depending on the culture, this set may also cover Socioeconomic characteristics, Housing, Health care and Education, Family and Kinship, Interpersonal Relationships, Cultural Resilience and more. Each article includes a bibliography, that can lead you to some excellent sources.

Encyclopedia of World Cultures    R 306.097 En56
    The strength and weakness of this 10 volume set is that it looks at the various small cultural groups throughout the world. It doesn't necessarily follow the current political boundaries that set countries apart. The set does contain some excellent information on traditions, family units, religion and gender roles.

Encyclopedia of Multiculturalism   R 306.4 En56
    This reference set discusses both ethnic groups and topics such as Health and Medicine.

Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups  R 973.04 H339
    An older, yet useful, one volume work arranged by ethnic groups.

The Asian American Encyclopedia    R 973.0495 A832

The Latino Encyclopedia  R 973.0468 S345

Encyclopedia of the African-American Culture and History  R 973.En56

Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture   R 980.003 En56

Encyclopedia of Modern Middle East    R 956.003 En56

Cultural Diversity by subject

International Encyclopedia of Sexuality   R 306.7 In61
    Each chapter in this book is devoted to a particular country. Each of the 31 chapters includes an overview; comparisons of life cycles between men's and women's gender roles; infancy and early childhood, school years, young adulthood, and old age.

Death and the Afterlife - A Cultural Encyclopedia   R 398.03 T245
    This one volume set covers the funeral customs and views of death of various ethnic groups.

A Celebration of Customs and Rituals around the World    R 394.2 In53

Weddings: Dating and Love Customs of Cultures Worldwide  R 392.5 M834

You Eat What You Are: People, Culture and Food Traditions  R 394.2 C487

Encyclopedia of Taboos  R 390.03 H726

Encyclopedia of Religion  R 200.321 En56
    Try looking up the country or the religion that dominates the country, for example Buddhism, Hindu, Muslim, Catholic, ...ect. 

Electronic Resources

    The Electronic Resources that are available to COS students are located here.  These electronic resources are not web sites even though they are accessed through the Internet. They are databases that the COS Library has purchased. Academic Abstracts and Infotrac index over 1000 journals and many of these journals are full-text in the database. The other databases include full-text articles from newspapers and other resources.
    If you are going to access these sites off campus you will need a login and password. This information is available at the Information Desk on the main floor of the library.

    Be sure to check out Country Watch for current information concerning a specific country. This site gives the basic information for example; population, government, land use.... as well as links to the country's current news.