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Communication
 Instructor: N. Wier
Communication 124: Intercultural Communication
 

PURPOSE:  To complete library research on intercultural communication topics. Please review your assignment.

E-reference

  • Countries and Their Cultures - "Focuses on cultures and countries around the world, specifically what is and is not shared culturally by the people who live in a particular country. Entries contain descriptive summaries of the country in question, including demographic, historical, cultural, economic, religious, and political information."
  •   Encyclopedia of Food and Culture - "Presents 600 articles on food and its place in human culture and society, covering everything from agronomy to zucchini. Students, academics, and general researchers will find entries on everything from food preparation, distribution and storage to holidays and festivals, nutrition and health, and cultures and cuisines. Entries range from 250 to 10,000 words each and are supplemented by 400 photographs and illustrations, sidebars, recipes, menus, timelines, and a comprehensive index.
  • Encyclopedia of World Cultures - "This reference set lists and describes more than 1,500 global cultures. Based on research of social scientists, it is the source for historical, social, political, economic, linguistic, religious, and other information on virtually every existing culture."
  •  Countries and Their Cultures - "Focuses on cultures and countries around the world, specifically what is and is not shared culturally by the people who live in a particular country. Entries contain descriptive summaries of the country in question, including demographic, historical, cultural, economic, religious, and political information."

Reference Books

American Immigrant Cultures: Builders of a Nation 

    (Ref E 184 A1 .A63448 1997)

    This two-volume work covers 161 non-indigenous cultural groups currently living in the U.S. It discusses the cultural characteristics of each group including immigration and settlement histories, language, economic patterns, housing and marriage.
    This 2-vol. work covers 161 non-indigenous cultural groups currently living in the U.S. It discusses the cultural characteristics of each group including immigration and settlement histories, language, economic patterns, housing, religion, marriage. (Non-indigenous are groups who arrived and stayed in the U.S. after Native American were already there.)

Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America: Primary Documents 

    (Ref E 184 A1 .G15 1999)

    This two-volume set collects 210 primary documents, including letters, poems, oral history transcriptions, autobiographies, political cartoons, recipes, speeches, and photographs. Ninety national ethno-religious and Native American groups are presented that include Choctaws, Hawaiians, Palestinian Americas, Norwegian Americans, Pueblos, Sicilian Americans, Mormons, Ukrainian Americans, Laotian Americans, Jewish Americans, and English Americans. A commentary of about 800 words introduces each document. The set offers a wide range of full text and excerpts - both from members of the group themselves or from contemporaries offering a “mainstream” perspective.

Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups 

    (Ref E 184 A1 .H35)

    This is a guide to the history, culture, and distinctive characteristics of the more than 100 ethnic groups who live in the United States. Each ethnic group is described in detail. The origins, history and present situation of the familiar as well as the virtually unknown are presented succinctly and objectively. Not only the immigrants and refugees who came voluntarily but also those already in the New World when the first Europeans arrived, those whose ancestors came involuntarily as slaves, and those who became part of the American population as a result of conquest or purchase and subsequent annexation figure in these pages.

Arab American Encyclopedia

    (Ref E 184 A65 .A48 2000)

    This resource explores the history and culture of people who tract their roots to one or more of the twenty-one Arab countries. It is organized in to nineteen subject chapters, including immigration, religion, employment, education, family, health, civil rights, music and literature. Chapters include: Who are the Arab Americans; Early History; Modern History; Immigration to the United States; Community Profiles; Language; Religion; Work and Money; Education; Family and Gender Roles; Holidays and Celebrations; Health and Environmental Issues; Civil Rights and Social Justice; Organizations and Political Activism; Music; Fine Arts; Theater, Storytelling and Traditional Arts; Literature; Media. 

The Asian American Almanac: A Reference Work on Asians in the United States

    (Ref E 184 A75 .A824 1995)

    The Almanac compiles comprehensive information into more than 40 chapters that focus on all major aspects of the life and culture of Asian Americans, from early Chinese immigrants in the 1830s to the present day. Topics discussed cover a wide array of historical, political, social and cultural issues, with biographical information on important figures also provided.

The Mexican American Experience: An Encyclopedia

    (Ref E 184 M5 .M4535 2003)

    This A-to-Z guide offers comprehensive coverage of the Mexican American experience. Entries range from figures such as Corky Gonzales, Joan Baez, and Nancy Lopez to general entries on bilingual education, assimilation, border culture, and southwestern agriculture. Court cases, politics, and events such as the Delano Grape Strike all receive full coverage, while the definitions and significance of terms such as coyote and Tejano are provided in shorter entries. Resource covers the Mexican American experience from the arts to religion, popular culture, science, technology, business, and government.

Handbook of Hispanic Cultures in the United States: Literature and Art

    (Ref E 184 S75 .H365 Vol. 1-4)

    The Handbook of Hispanic Culture in the United States is a four-volume comprehensive reference, largely written by U.S. Hispanics, that explores four major areas: history, anthropology, sociology, literature, and art.

Historical and Cultural Atlas of African Americans

    (Ref E 185 .A8 1991)This single-volume encyclopedia examines African origins, the trans-Atlantic journey, African resistance to enslavement, the slave experience, African-American resistance to slavery, the abolition movement, the Civil War, effects of emancipation, killings and lynchings during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, segregation, the civil rights movement, African-American achievements, and social and economic realities.  Detailed maps, graphics, and historical photos enhance the effectiveness of the text.

The Negro Almanac: A Reference Work on the African American

    (Ref E 185 .N385 1989)The Negro Almanac is a comprehensive reference work on the Black experience in America. Using combination of historical narrative, biographical sketches, statistical data, socioeconomic and cultural material, this volume examines provides an overview of significant events in Black History from 1492-1989.

Encyclopedia of World Cultures 

    (Ref GN307 .E53 1991) Written by anthropologists and social scientists who worked among the societies they describe. Volumes for each continent detail the physical location, demography, linguistic affiliation, history, settlements, economy, kinship, marriage and family, sociopolitical organization, religion and expressive culture of 1500 cultural groups across the globe

Macmillan Compendium:  Cultures of the World

    (Ref GN307 .E532 1999) This volume is an abridged version of Encyclopedia of World Cultures listed above. The cultures described in this compendium are listed alphabetically with every region of the world. The culture summaries range up to five or six pages in length. They provide a mix of information—demographic, historical, social, economic, political, and religious. But the emphasis is on the culture, on the ways of life of the people, past and present. The volume has a standardized outline; each summary usually provides information on a core list of topics, including the following: Culture Name; Ethonoyms; Orientation; History and Cultural Relations; Settlements; Economy; Kinship; Marriage and Family; Sociopolitical Organization; Religion and Expressive Culture; Bibliography; Author’s Name.

Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture and Daily Life

    (Ref GN333 .W67 1998; another set also available to check-out) More than 500 groups ranging in size are included in this companion to the Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations. Each volume, vol. 1 Africa, vol. 2 Americas, vol. 3 Asia and Oceania, and vol. 4 Europe, begins with an overview of the cultural history of the geographical area followed by an alphabetical listing of the peoples within its borders. The groups are defined by ethnicity, race, language, religion, nationality, or geography. A few facts, population figures, a simple map, and a list of related articles are included in each entry. For each culture examined, there are 20 numbered sections that discuss such topics as clothing, holidays, food, family life, rites of passage, and social problems.

Circulating Books

Library Catalog. For books, type in the subject "subculture" .

Do's and Don'ts around the World: A Country Guide to Cultural and Social Taboos and Etiquette Series

    BJ 2137 N832 1998 – Africa

    BJ 2137 N833 1998 – Asia

    BJ 2137 N834 1998 - Russia and the independent states

    BJ 2137 N835 1998 - the Middle East

    BJ 2137 N836 1998 - USA, Canada & Australia

    BJ 2137 N8333 1998 – Europe

    BJ 2137 N8335 1998 - Oceania & Japan

    BJ 2137 N8346 1998 - the Caribbean

    Do's and taboos around the world for women in business

    G 156.5 B86 D67 1997

    Do's and taboos of international trade: a small business primer

    HF 1379 A96 1994

    Do's and taboos around the world

    HF 5387 D66 1993

    Do's and taboos of hosting international visitors

    HF 5389 A98 1990

    Do's and taboos of using English around the world

    PE 2751 A98 1995

    Do's and taboos around the world: stories and tips from business and life

    PN 6162 A96 1998
     

GeneralTrac:Onefile is an electronic database full of journal articles and magazine articles.
Go to the Library Homepage --->Magazines/Journals.
Suggested subject headings:

Vietnamese Americans
Chinese Americans
African Americans
American Jewish
Irish Americans
Puerto Ricans
Latino Americans
Hispanic Americans, Hispanic American consumers

Websites

  • Library of Congress Country Studies - A series of country-specific and area handbooks published by the U.S. government. Not intended for travelers, but for scholarly researchers.
     
  • United Nations Home Page - The UN's general site. Click on 'Welcome' in the desired language (English, Russian, Chinese, Spanish, French, Arab). For languages that use non-Roman characters, your computer must be loaded with the correct font set.
     
  • NYU Research Guide - Area and Country studies.