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Which do I use Ethnography or Ethnology ? - While the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably they are subtly different. Ethno logy is the study of cultures in an effort to explain their similarities and differences. The term combines ethnos, race or people, and logia , science or theory, ethnology literally translated means "science or theory of peoples". Meanwhile, Ethno graphy is a qualitative description of a culture based on the researcher's observation, and sometimes immersion into the culture. The term combines ethnos, race or people, and graph , writing or picture, ethnography literally translated means "writing or picture of peoples". Therefore, ethno graphy provides descriptive analysis of culture(s) and ethnology provides the theoretical analysis.
Overview
The following reference resources will provide you with a basic understanding of ethnographic and ethnologic terms, issues, research methodologies, and researchers. No matter what your level of expertise an overview is an invaluable research tool.
Covering All Geographic Areas:
|
Cultural Anthropology: a guide to reference and information sources LML Ref GN42 K53 1991 |
International Dictionary of Regional European Ethnology and Folklore LML Ref GN307 H8 (2 vols.) |
|
Encyclopedia of Cultural Anthropology LML Ref GN307 E52 1996 (4 vols.) UGL Ref GN307 E52 1996 (4 vols.) |
World Directory of Minorities UGL Ref GN495.4 W67 1997 |
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Encyclopedia of Social and Cultural Anthropology LML Ref GN307 E648 1996 UGL Ref GN307 E648 1996 |
Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life UGL Ref GN333 W67 1998 (4 vols.) |
|
Ethnic Relations: a Cross-cultural Encyclopedia UGL GN496 L48 1994 |
Covering Specific Geographic Areas:
| North America | |
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Encyclopedia of African American Culture and History LML Ref E185 E54 1996 (5 vols.) UGL Ref E185 E54 1996 (5 vols.) |
Handbook of North American Indians LML Ref E76.2 H36 (20 vols. some not yet published) UGL Ref E76.2 H36 LML Book E76.2 H36 |
|
Gale Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes LML Ref E77 G15 1998 (4 vols.) UGL Ref E77 G15 1998 |
Racial and Ethnic Relations in America UGL Ref E49 R33 2000 |
|
Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico UGL Ref E77 H693 (2 vols.) |
UXL Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes UGL Ref E76.2 U85 1999 |
| Central and South America | |
|
Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas: Mesoamerica LML Ref F1219 M67 2000 (2 parts) UGL Ref F1219 M67 2000 (2 parts) |
Handbook of Middle American Indians LML Book F1434 H3 (specifically vols. 13-15) UGL F1434 H3 |
|
Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas: South America LML Ref F2229 S66 1999 (2 parts) UGL Book F2229 S66 1999 (2 parts) |
Handbook of South American Indians UGL Ref F2229 S75 (7 vols.) |
| Africa | |
|
Encyclopedia of African Nations and Civilizations UGL Ref DT14 E43 2002 |
Encyclopedia of African Peoples UGL Ref DT15 E53 2000 LML Ref DT15 E53 2000 |
| Eastern Europe | |
|
Encyclopedia of Eastern Europe LML Ref DJK6 E53 2000 UGL Ref DJK6 E53 2000 |
Slavic Studies: a guide to bibliographies, encyclopedias, and handbooks LML Ref DJK27 S554 1993 (2 vols.) |
| Scandinavia | |
|
Dictionary of Scandinavian History LML Ref DL43 D53 1986 |
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| Middle East/North Africa | |
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Peoples of the World: The Middle East and North Africa LML Ref DS58 M66 1992 |
Regional Survey of the World: The Middle East and North Africa 2002 LML Ref DS49 M5 2002 |
| Australia/Asia | |
|
Cambridge Encyclopedia of Australia LML Ref DU90 C364 1994 UGL Ref DU90 C364 1994 |
Encyclopaedia of Indian Culture LML Ref DS423 S218 1981 (5 vols.) |
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Encyclopedia of Asian Culture LML Ref DS12 E53 1999 |
Regional Surveys of the World: The Far East and Australasia 2002 LML Ref DS1 F3 2002 |
Search Terms
Creating a list of search terms is always a crucial step in the research process. Taking the time to formulate a search strategy can greatly reduce your research time and limit the number of non-relevant resources you need to sift through. The following terms can be used as subjects or keywords in UB Catalog, database, or Internet searches.
| ethnology ethnologic ethnological ethnography ethnographic ethnographical ethnic identity ethnicity |
ethnic group ethnic groups |
| cultural anthropology ethnocultural cultural evolutionsocial anthropology societies social developmentcomparative comparison relative |
study observation investigation interview |
These terms can now be combined in a search with ethnic or geographic terms by using Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT). And will allow you to retrieve books in the UB catalog, journal articles found in one of the many databases UB Libraries subscribes to, or Web sites using a search engine.
Books
Decolonizing Methodologies : research and indigenous peoples
LML Book GN380 .S65 1999
Designing & Conducting Ethnographic Research
UGL Reserve (2 Hr/In-Library) GN345 .L43 1999
Ethnographic Bibliography of North America
LML Ref Z1209 .M8 1975 (v.1-3 & supplements)
Ethnography
LML Book GN345 .B74 2000
Ethnohistory : a researcher's guide
LML Book GN308 .E83 1986
Ethnologue
LML Book P371 .E83 2000 (v.1-2 + CD-ROM) Volume 1 contains 345 overviews of language situations and 6809 language descriptions listed by country.
Volume 2 contains 164 language maps, 41,791 alternate names and dialect names, and 109 language family trees.
CD-ROM contains volumes 1 and 2 plus color maps and 78,381 hypertext links.
FieldWorking : reading and writing research
LML Book GN346 .S86 1997
Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology Annual Reports
LML Microform MicCard E169.1 .L4 LAC21886-900 (1st (1879/1880) -15th (1893/1894))
LML Microform MicCard E169.1 .L4 LAC 21900-36 (16th (1894/1895) -48th (1930/1931)
The first 47 reports include administrative reports, ethnological papers, and monographs covering all phases of aboriginal life plus numerous archaeological surveys. The 48th report includes an index to all preceding reports. Many of these valuable publications are now out of print.
Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletins
LML Microform MicCard E169.1 .L4 LAC22790-821 (v.1 (1887) -199 (1970))
LML Book E51 .U6 no.200 (v.200 (1971))
This segment contains articles, memoirs, and monographs for probing such subjects as language, native arts and industries, institutions and organizations, myths and beliefs, ethnobotany, ethnogeography, physical anthropology, and archaeology. Volume 200 is a list of publications of the Bureau of American Ethnology, with index to authors and titles.
Toward Reflexive Ethnography : participating, observing, narrating
LML Book GN345 .T59 2001
Journal Articles
As a rule journal articles are not found online, full-text. The most you can hope to get is an abstract (1 paragraph) highlighting the contents of an article. What you normally end up with is a citation. A citation is the reference or information regarding an article. A citation consists of the Author, Title (of the article), Source (the journal it is found in), Publication Issue (volume and number), Publication Year, and page numbers.
Therefore, looking for journal articles is often a three step process: 1) find a citation to an article by searching in a database or print index, 2) search the UB Catalog to find the call number of the journal the article is in, and 3) locate the journal on the shelves and photocopy the article. On rare occasions it is a two step process: 1) find a citation to an article by searching in a database, and 2) print or e-mail the full-text of the article directly from the database.
Try using the following databases or indexes to search for journal articles:
America: History and Life
<http://library.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/am_history_life.html>
Anthropological Index
<http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/AIO.html>
Anthropological Literature
<http://library.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/anthro.html>
eHRAF Collection of Ethnography
<http://library.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/ehraf.html>
Ethnic Newswatch
<http://library.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/ethnic.html>
Historical Abstracts
<http://library.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/histabst.html>
Social Sciences Index (print only)
LML Ref AI3 .R472
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses
http://library.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/dissertations.html
Try browsing the following journals:
American Ethnologist
LML Per GN1 .A53 (v.1 (1974) - current)
Anthropology Today
Online (v.1 (1985) - v.12 (1996))
Bulletin of the International Committee on Urgent Anthropological and Ethnological Research
LML Book GN1 .I55 (no.1 (1958)-no.40 (1999/2000))
L'Ethnographie
LML Book GN1 .E84 (no 107 (1990)-no 121 (1997))
LML In-Storage GN1 .E84 (no.1-106)
Ethnohistory
Online (v.47 (2001) - current)
Ethnology
LML Per GN1 .E86 (v.1 (1962) - current)
Ethnos
LML Per GN1 .E88 (v.1938-current)
Online (v.65 issue 1 (Mar. 2001) - current)
Journal of Contemporary Ethnography
LML Per HT101 .U677 (v.16 (1987) - current)
Online (v.27 issue 4 (Jan. 1999) - current)
Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
Online (v. 6, no. 1 (2000) - current)
Websites
Biblio
<http://www.mae.nw.ru/biblio/default.asp>
This database has been created by Yuri Chistov, Department of Physical Anthropology of Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography . The database contains information on most magazines that publish articles on anthropology, archaeology and ethnography of the Middle East and the adjacent regions. Users can place the selected records in the Personal Publication Set and both view and print them in a brief or full view mode.
Bibilografia Mesoamericana
<http://research.famsi.org/mesobib.html>
From FAMSI and the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, an online bibliography of Mesoamerican resources. Currently over 57,000 items and growing.
Bubl Link: Internet Resources in Ethnography
http://bubl.ac.uk/link/e/ethnography.htm
Contains links to Internet resources on African-American, Latino(a), ethnic, and gender ethnographies.
Ethnologue: Bibliography
<http://www.ethnologue.com/bibliography.asp>
Contains about 31,000 searchable references to books, journal articles, book chapters, dissertations, and other academic papers about lesser-known languages and cultures.
Ethnologue: Languages of the World
<http://www.ethnologue.com/web.asp>
A catalog of the world's languages including information on alternate names, number of speakers, location, dialects, linguistic affiliation, and other sociolinguistic and demographic information.
John D. Calandra Italian American Institute of Queens College (CUNY)
<http://www.qc.edu/calandra/>
The primary purpose of the Institute is to foster higher education among Italian-Americans. The Institute has a non-lending Library & Archive.
Libera
<http://zrcalo1.zrc-sazu.si/libera/search.asp?lang=en>
Libera is a database primarily of archaeological literature. It covers Europe, the Near East, and North Africa during the 5/6th-10/11th centuries. The database consists only of publications in the library of the Institute of Archaeology (Scientific Research Center at the Slovene Academy of Sciences and Arts) in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The database is intended only as a starting point for researching particular problems.
Metropolitan Museum of Art: African Art and Rituals of Divination
<http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/oracle/index.html>
This online exhibit provides numerous images from the Museum's collection along with essays, a glossary of African terms, and an extensive bibliography.
Metropolitan Museum of Art: Master Hand: Individuality and Creativity among Yoruba Sculptors
<http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/YORUBA/HTM/main.htm>
Metropolitan Museum of Art: Explore and Learn
<http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/el_find_it.htm>
Table of contents listing of Met educational Web sites organized alphabetically by subject.
NativeWeb
<http://www.nativeweb.org/>
Provides on-line assistance for research and education about indigenous cultures and issues.
Resources in Ethnographic Studies
<http://lcweb.loc.gov/folklife/other.html>
Put together by the American Folklife Center this site provides resources and additional links.
Roots Institute: Bibliographies
<http://cti.itc.virginia.edu/~roots/site/biblios.html>
The Roots Institute has created several pages of bibliographies for students and teachers studying the African background of American culture through the slave trade.
Social Sciences Information Gateway: Ethnology, Ethnography, Anthropology
<http://www.sosig.ac.uk/ethnology_ethnography_anthropology/>
Contains a list of the latest publications and reports in the fields of ethnology, ethnography and anthropology. In some cases links to full-text articles are available.
Visual Ethnographies: Links
<http://www.usc.edu/dept/elab/urlist/ur05.htm>
Contains links to visual ethnographic collections worldwide.
Organizations
American Anthropological Association
<http://www.aaanet.org/>
Primary professional society of anthropologists in the United States since its founding in 1902, is the world's largest professional organization of individuals interested in anthropology. Additional links and valuable information can be found at their Anthropology Resources on the Internet page.
International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences
<http://ruls01.fsw.leidenuniv.nl/~nas/>
From their Web site: The I.U.A.E.S. is a world organization of social and biological anthropological scientists and institutions working in the fields of anthropology and ethnology, but also of interest to archaeologists and linguistics specialists, among others.
Society for Applied Anthropology
<http://www.sfaa.net/>
The Society aspires to promote the integration of anthropological perspectives and methods in solving human problems throughout the world; to advocate for fair and just public policy based upon sound research; to promote public recognition of anthropology as a profession; and to support the continuing professionalization of the field.
