Welcome!
Welcome to the subject guide for Humanities! This guide is designed to walk you through all of the library services and resources that can help you with your research.
To get started, click on the resources page most suited to your topic needs in the main menu (example: General Resources, Humanities Resources, American Studies Resources, etc). There you will find relevant databases, websites, books, and other topic related resources.
Need more help? Contact your subject librarian, Lauren DeCelle at lauren.decelle@sjsu.edu
General Resources
Most Useful Databases
-
Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
Multidisciplinary full text, peer reviewed academic journals that support scholarly research in key areas of academic study.
-
Arts & Humanities Full Text This link opens in a new windowExplore the areas of art and design, Archaeology, anthropology and classical studies, architecture, urban planning, philosophy, geography and religion, modern languages and literatures, music, theatre, film and cultural studies. and more. Titles include both scholarly peer-reviewed journals and selected trade and consumer titles relevant to applied arts and cultural studies
-
Education Research Complete This link opens in a new window
Bibliographic and full text database covering scholarly research and information relating to all areas of education. Topics span every level of education—from early childhood through higher education—and encompass a wide range of specialties, including multilingual education, health education, and assessment. The database also covers curriculum and instruction, as well as key issues in administration, policy, funding, and related social issues.
-
Ethnic Diversity Source This link opens in a new window
Covers the culture, traditions, social treatment and lived experiences of different ethnic groups in America. Includes peer-reviewed journals, magazines, e-books, biographies and primary source documents. The subscription also includes access to the ebooks Diversity & Ethnic Studies collection covering diversity, equity and inclusion.
-
Humanities Full Text This link opens in a new window
Encompasses all key fields of the humanities, covering topics including art, classical studies, dance, film, journalism, philosophy, religion and more. Content includes feature articles, interviews, obituaries and original works of fiction, drama, poetry and more.
-
JSTOR Journals and Books This link opens in a new window
The journals archive consists of older (at least 2-5 years) issues of core scholarly journals across a wide range of subjects including the arts, humanities, and social sciences. The eBook collections are DRM-free and allow for unlimited concurrent use and unlimited chapter downloads and printing.
-
Gale Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new windowFull text scholarly articles on literary topics, authors, and their works. Also includes reviews of books, biographies of authors, background essays on literary topics and full text versions of poems and short stories that have been published in contemporary journals.
-
MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
Produced by the Modern Language Association (MLA), the electronic version of the bibliography dates back to the 1920s and contains over 2.3 million citations from more than 4,400 journals & series, and 1,000 book publishers. Also see MLA Directory of Periodicals
-
Project Muse This link opens in a new windowFull-text scholarly articles in literature and criticism, history, visual and performing arts, cultural studies, education, political science, gender studies, social science, mathematics.
-
Race Relations in America This link opens in a new windowDiscover a wealth of primary source material on the Civil Rights Movement, segregation, discrimination and racial theory in America during three pivotal decades of the twentieth century (1943-1970). Based at Fisk University, the Race Relations Department and its annual Institute were set up by the American Missionary Association to investigate problem areas in race relations and develop methods for educating communities and preventing conflict. Documenting three pivotal decades in the fight for civil rights, this resource showcases the speeches, reports, surveys and analyses produced by the Department’s staff and Institute participants, including Charles S. Johnson, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Thurgood Marshall.
Also Useful
-
Atla Religion Database with AtlaSerials This link opens in a new window
This database combines the premier indexing from ATLA Religion Database with access to ATLA's online full-text collection of major religion and theology journals.
-
Bibliography of the History of Art: BHA This link opens in a new windowCovers art of Europe and the Americas (4th century to modern). Citations (publication information) and summaries of art-related books, articles, conference proceedings, dissertations, exhibition and dealer's catalogs.
-
Education Full Text This link opens in a new window
Covers key areas of education and related fields of study, as well as educational specialties, administration, funding and more. The database indexes nearly 1,025 periodicals, with records dating back to 1983. It also offers extensive resources on special education, featuring over 50 dedicated journals that address this critical field in depth.
-
Philosophers' Index This link opens in a new windowOffers informative, author-written abstracts covering scholarly research in all areas of philosophy. The literature covered goes back to 1940 and includes journal articles, books, book chapters such as contributions to an anthology and book reviews. Covers ethics, aesthetics, social & political philosophy, epistemology, metaphysic logic.
-
Religion & Philosophy Collection This link opens in a new window
This resource provides an in-depth collection of full-text scholarly journals covering topics such as world religions, major denominations, biblical studies, religious history, epistemology, political philosophy, philosophy of language, moral philosophy and the history of philosophy.
-
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
Covers 1923 to the present. This weekly publication gives background information on current and controversial issues. Unbiased coverage of health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology and the economy.
e-Book Collections
-
ACLS Humanities E-book This link opens in a new windowA collection of scholarly humanities titles offered in collaboration with 30+ learned societies, 100+ contributing publishers, and librarians at the University of Michigan’s Scholarly Publishing Office.
-
Perseus Digital LibraryAn open source digital library that mainly covers history, literature, and culture of the Greco-Roman world. But also researches and collects on early modern English, the American Civil War, the history and topography of London, the history of Mechanics, automatic identification and glossing of technical language in scientific documents, customized reading support for Arabic language, and others.
-
Classic BookshelfFree online resource to reach classic literature
-
HathiTrust Digital Library This link opens in a new windowHathiTrust provides keyword search capabilities for millions of digitized books both in and out of copyright and the ability to download full volumes of public domain works. Eligible members with disabilities may qualify to receive digitized in-copyright works. Click the Log In button and select San Jose State University from the partner institution drop-down menu. The platform is integrated with your SJSUOne account.
-
Project GutenbergOnline library of free eBooks. Founded to encourage the creation and distribution of ebooks.
-
Civil Rights Digital Library This link opens in a new window
Delivers educational content on the Civil Rights Movement and promotes an enhanced understanding of the Movement by helping users discover primary sources and other educational materials from libraries, archives, museums, public broadcasters, and others on a national scale. Access a digital video archive of historical news film, a civil rights portal to related digital collections on a national scale, and a learning objects component delivering secondary Web-based resources - such as contextual stories, encyclopedia articles, lesson plans, and activities.
-
Kanopy Streaming This link opens in a new window
Distributes online educational videos including documentaries, films, interviews plus a range of short video series. The videos are arranged by collections: Arts, Business, Communication/Media, Education (K-12), Health, Humanities, Science. Note: SJSU students, staff, and faculty: You will be asked to authenticate on and off campus. Kanopy uses copyright protection and DRM technology to block video streaming over platforms like Zoom. As a result, screen sharing is not permitted for restricted titles—viewers must watch individually, either outside of class or on their own devices during class. When screen sharing via Zoom, only the presenter is authenticated, so others will see a blank screen.
-
San Francisco Bay Area Television Archive This link opens in a new windowEstablished in 1982, the TV Archive preserves 6000 hours of newsfilm, documentaries and other TV footage produced in the Bay Area and Northern California from the Twentieth Century. We are a part of the J. Paul Leonard Library's Department of Special Collections and oversee material owned by local TV stations KPIX-TV, KRON-TV, KQED and KTVU.
-
Smithsonian Global Sound for Libraries This link opens in a new windowAn online listening service and encyclopedia of the world’s musical and aural traditions with more than 35,000 tracks of music, spoken word, and natural and human-made sounds. Includes the published recordings of Smithsonian Folkways and the archival audio collections of Folkways Records and other labels. Also included is music recorded around the African continent for the International Library of African Music as well as material collected on the South Asian subcontinent from the Archive Research Centre for Ethnomusicology. Limited to 3 concurrent users
-
The Internet ArchiveA non-profit digital library containing millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more.
-
National Endowment for the Humanities: EdsitementEDSITEment offers free resources for teachers, students, and parents searching for high-quality k-12 humanities education materials in the subject areas of history, social studies, literature and language arts, foreign languages, arts, and culture. All websites linked to EDSITEment have been reviewed for content, design, and educational impact in the classroom by humanities specialists.
-
Stanford Presidential Lectures in the Humanities & ArtsThe Stanford Presidential Lecture Series in the Humanities and Arts brings the most distinguished scholars, artists, and critics of our time to the Stanford University campus for lectures, seminars, panel discussions, and a variety of related interactions with faculty, students, and the community at large.
-
World Digital Library projectWorld Digital Library was a project of the U.S. Library of Congress in partnership with libraries, archives, museums, educational institutions, and international organizations around the world to preserve and provide access to some of the world's most important cultural objects and historical documents. It ran from 2009 - 2020. It's full collection is available online
- Oxford English Dictionary Online
Traces the evolution of the English language over the last millennium and includes definitions, history, and pronunciation of over half a million English words, present and past. Also known as OED. Help Guide
- Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary & Thesaurus
This dictionary includes more than 75,000 definitions, pronunciation guides and word histories for English words.
- Brill Dictionary of Religion
The Brill Dictionary of Religion explicitly reflects the transformation that the academic study of religion has undergone within the last twenty years. This dictionary contains 500+ entries on the different theologies and doctrinal declarations of the official institutionalized religions as well as their role in daily life and public discourse. vol. 1. Aborigines - Dualism -- vol. 2. Eastern Mediterranean - Luther, Martin -- vol. 3. Machine - Rome -- vol. 4. Sabbath - Zoroastrianism. This subscription is supported by an NEH Challenge Grant: "Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this database do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities."
- Brill Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism
Provides critical overviews discussing the nature and historical development of Gnosticism and Hermetism to Astrology, Alchemy and Magic, Christian Theosophy, Freemasonry, and more. It also contains articles about the life and work of all the major personalities in the history of Gnosis and Western Esotericism, discussing their ideas, significance, and historical influence. This subscription is supported by an NEH Challenge Grant: "Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this database do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities."
-
Encyclopaedia Britannica This link opens in a new windowFull text of the 32-volume Encyclopedia Britannica (additional articles and images not available in the print set); Merriam Webster's Dictionary; over 130,000 links to web sites selected, rated, and reviewed by Britannica editors. Other resources include country comparisons and data analysis; history timeline; brief biographies; as well as articles from the New York Times and the BBC.
To find an encyclopedia or other reference resource for a particular topic, search your topic in OneSearch (the library's catalog) and in the left hand menu of the search results list select "Reference Entries" from the "Resource Type" dropdown menu. This will pull chapters and sections from encyclopedias, dictionaries, and textbooks that mention your topic.

-
ProQuest News and Newspapers This link opens in a new windowSearch all of the ProQuest news databases: Alt+PressWatch, Canadian Major Dailies, Ethnic NewsWatch, GenderWatch, Global Newsstream, International Newsstream, U.S. Newsstream, Historical NYT, Historical SF Chronicle. Alternatively, these databases may be searched separately in the Articles and Databases list.
-
Gale OneFile News This link opens in a new windowThis full-text newspaper resource allows users to search articles instantly by title, headline, date, author, newspaper section, or other fields. It provides access to 2,300+ major U.S. regional, national, and local newspapers, as well as leading titles from around the world. It also includes thousands of images, radio and TV broadcasts and transcripts.
-
Google's Historical Newspapers Archive This link opens in a new windowAn historical collection of more than 2,400 newspapers, listed from A-Z in a searchable and browseable archive.
-
NewsBank California Collection This link opens in a new windowA collection featuring California news sources including newspapers, university and college newspapers, web only content, blogs, newswires, and America's News magazines. The collection includes San Jose Mercury News.
-
Los Angeles Times This link opens in a new windowThe Los Angeles Times (also known as the LA Times) is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California and distributed throughout the Western United States.
-
Mercury News This link opens in a new window
This is the major newspaper in Silicon Valley. The link above provides free access to some current articles. Subscription access is available from Newsbank Mercury News Historical and Current (1884 to present) . Access is also available from ProQuest Newsstand (2010 to 2016) and ProQuest Newsstream (2016-2019)
-
New York Times Online This link opens in a new windowAccess the New York Times website with your SJSU email address. Once you have created your NYTimes account, use it to sign into the NY Times website from anywhere. Includes interactives, video, and audio, plus digital images of the newspaper back to 1851.
-
Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition) This link opens in a new windowdetailed news and commentary on political, economic, and social issues worldwide affecting the world of business. Other editions available in the OneSearch Journals Index