History 231: History of Africa to the 19th Century: From Ancient Times to the Slave Trade

This guide has been designed as a starting point for your research for History 231.  If you need further assistance, please contact Rebecca Dowson, the interim History Librarian at 778-782-4304 or rda26@sfu.ca or Ask a Librarian.

Contents

1) Library Website - a few pointers!
2) Background Information
3)Getting What You Need from the Library Catalogue
4) Databases HRAF and Empire Online
5) A few more hints and tips

1) The Library Website - a few pointers!

Key Points

Research and Writing Guides - It's a good place to start with any subject you are researching.
Library Catalogue - Remember to try the Advanced Keyword search
Article Indexes and Databases - I will show you two databases today eHRAF and Empire Online. You may want to explore some of the other databases that are good for History Research. Click here for the full list.
SFU Library Style guides - This page is very helpful and contains our new and imrpoved style guides as well as pointers on citing and writing.

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2) Background Information

• Africa South of the Sahara (Bennett Reference DT 351 A37) - includes regional organisations
• Encyclopedia of cultural anthropology.  3rd floor, Bennett Reference, GN 307 E52 1996
• Encyclopedia of social and cultural anthropology. 3rd floor, Bennett Reference, and 4th floor, Bennett Library 3week, GN 307 E527 1996
• Encyclopedia of world cultures. 3rd floor, Bennett Reference, and Belzberg Reference, GN 307 E53 1991
• Greenwood Press Endangered Peoples Of The World Series.   Includes volumes on the peoples of Europe, Latin America, Oceania, Southeast and East Asia and the Arctic. Check the library's catalogue of books for volume locations.
• The New Encyclopedia Britannica. 3rd floor, Bennett Reference, AE 5 E 363 2002

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3) Getting What You Need From the Library Catalogue

Use the Library Catalogue to find books owned by SFU Library.

For the purposes of your assignment you will need to use Advanced Keyword Search from the Library Catalogue ( the fourth link from the topic under Other Types of searches.

Make sure that you select a time period for your search; I would suggest 1600 - 1950. Then enter your keywords such as your country name and the type of document you are looking for.

i.e.sudan and ethnology
south africa and travel

Examine your results. You may want to look at the oldest item in the list. Don't select the first item on your list for your project, instead make a list of intriguing or interesting items and plan to make your selection after you have found them in the Libray and looked at them.

You may also want to explore the subject headings applied to a particular book to find similar documents, but make sure your sort your list by date so that the publication dates fall within the parameters of your assignment.

Ethnology -- Sudan
Ethnology Sudan -- 27 Related Subjects

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4) Databases HRAF and Empire Online

Every library now has a virtual collection as well as a physical collection. Many very old diaries, journals, maps and ethnologies have been digitally photographed and made available through online databases. This is another area of the library collection that you can explore for your assignment. You may want to use the databases discussed here to find material on a specific group of people or to view a very old document.

• Human Relations Area Files: Collection of Archaeology (HRAF) is a cross-cultural database that currently contains nearly 60,000 pages of information on the world's prehistory.  This unique, annually-growing eHRAF database is organized by archaeological traditions.
  Enter the databases and click on the Browse tab (3rd tab near the top of the screen) and then the small link saying browse traditions by region. Click on the hyperlink under the area you are interested in. This will take you to a list of items on this particular tradition.
  You may also want to try a keyword search (I will use sudan and travel) and then click on a term under Tradition (such as Khartoum Neolithic, MS50) and then click on the link on the right hand side that says more about this tradition.
• Empire Online Empire Online is a collection of over 70,000 images of original manuscripts and printed material, 1492-1969, taken from libraries and archives around the world, including Africa, the Americas, Australasia, Oceania, and South AsiaNote that this database defaults to a basic search.
  Enter the database and click on the Documents tab (3rd tab from the right). You can either do a document search (search box is in the upper right corner of the screen). You can use the terms that you would use for the library catalogue such as sudan and diary. You can also click on one of the major categories such as Section II: Empire Writing and the Literature of Empire and see which documents deal with Africa.

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5)A Few More Hints and Tips:

Some useful websites:

Internet Africa History Sourcebook

Don't forget: you can always Ask a Librarian for help.

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