Reference for History

Consumerism and Commodities

This is a brief guide to material at BC providing reference (dictionaries, encyclopedia, biographies, bibliographies, indices, and more) on historical topics.

What's on This Page

This page has a lot on it. You can use the following anchors (links down the page) to jump straight to a relevant box.

Find Definitions

Oxford Reference Online
This is a quick go-to for high-quality, short, dictionary style descriptions, definitions, facts, and figures. Great for date and name checking.

Individual Titles

American economic history: a dictionary and chronology
Call Number: HeinOnline
Publication Date: 2017
"A study of the U.S. economy is important to understanding U.S. politics, society, and culture. To make that study easier, this dictionary offers concise essays on more than 1,200 economics-related topics. Entries cover a broad array of pivotal information on historical events, legislation, economic terms, labor unions, inventions, interest groups, elections, court cases, economic policies and philosophies, economic institutions, and global processes. Economics-focused biographies and company profiles are featured as sidebars, and the work also includes both a chronology of major events in U.S."

Find Scholarship

Oxford Bibliographies Online This link opens in a new window
This tool helps researchers find reliable sources of information selected by experts in the subject. Access bibliographies on more than two dozen topics, including:
- African American Studies
- African Studies
- American Literature
- Anthropology
- Architecture Planning and Preservation
- Art History
- Atlantic History
- Biblical Studies
- British and Irish Literature
- Buddhism
- Childhood Studies
- Chinese Studies
- Cinema and Media Studies
- Classics
- Communication
- Criminology
- Ecology
- Education
- Environmental Science
- Evolutionary Biology
- Geography
- Hinduism
- International Law
- International Relations
- Islamic Studies
- Jewish Studies
- Latin American Studies
- Latino Studies
- Linguistics
- Management
- Medieval Studies
- Military History
- Music
- Philosophy
- Political Science
- Psychology
- Public Health
- Renaissance and Reformation
- Social Work
- Sociology
- Urban Studies
- Victorian Literature
Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Premier index of journal articles, book chapters, book reviews, and dissertations pertaining to the study of World History (Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa, Latin America), from 1450 to the present. Coverage is 1955-present.

Find Background Biographical Information (Who's Who)

American National Biography This link opens in a new window
Scholarly biographical articles with short bibliographies on deceased notable Americans.
Biography in Context This link opens in a new window
Biographical information on thousands of people throughout history and from around the world.
Marquis Biography Online This link opens in a new window
International in scope, this database includes biographies of people in business, law, science, medicine, the arts, government, and entertainment. Updated daily, this source also includes biographies that have appeared in 24 Marquis Who's Who print titles since 1985, plus historical biographies from our Who Was Who in America volumes from 1607-1985.

Find Background Information

Oxford Reference Online
This is a quick go-to for high-quality, short, dictionary style descriptions, definitions, facts, and figures. Great for date and name checking.

Individual Titles

Business

The SAGE Encyclopedia of Business Ethics and Society by Robert W. Kolb (ed.)
Call Number: SAGE
Publication Date: 2018

Food and Beverages

The SAGE Encyclopedia of Alcohol: Social, Cultural, and Historical Perspectives by Scott C. Martin (ed.)
Call Number: SAGE
Publication Date: 2015
The SAGE Encyclopedia of Food Issues by Ken Albala (ed.)
Call Number: SAGE
Publication Date: 2015

Handbooks and Companions

Cambridge Companions Online This link opens in a new window
Cambridge Collections Online offers subject or theme based collections of content. At present, there are two collections comprising the Cambridge Companions in Literature and Classics and the Cambridge Companions in Philosophy, Religion and Culture. Each collection is updated with new Companions on publication and are cross-searchable.

Individual Titles

The Cambridge Histories of Communism by Silvio Pons and Stephen A. Smith (eds.)
Call Number: Cambridge histories online
Publication Date: 2017
The Cambridge History of "Capitalism" by Larry Neal and Jeffrey G. Williamson (eds.)
Call Number: Cambridge histories online
Publication Date: 2014
Handbook of Material Culture by Christopher Tilley, Webb Keane, Susanne Küchler, Michael Rowlands, Patricia Spyer (eds.)
Call Number: SAGE
Publication Date: 2006
The Oxford handbook of American economic history by Louis P. Cain, Price Van Meter Fishback, Paul Webb Rhode (eds.)
Call Number: Oxford Handbooks Online
Publication Date: 2018
"Topics covered include: population and health, demographic research including disease and sanitation, immigration, and health policy research; production and structural change, agriculture, manufacturing, and services, how business has been organized over time and how executives have been compensated; factors of production, questions of labor (and retirement), capital, and natural resources; technology and urbanization, innovation and patenting, technology, and energy, urbanization, housing, and professional team sports; government and economic policy, macroeconomic policy (monetary, fiscal, and trade) and microeconomic policy (property rights, antitrust and regulation, and welfare)."
The Oxford Handbook of Business History by Geoffrey Jones; Jonathan Zeitlin (eds.)
Call Number: O'Neill and Oxford Handbooks Online
ISBN: 9780199573950
Publication Date: 2009
"Brought together leading scholars to provide a comprehensive, critical, and interdisciplinary examination of business history, organized into four parts: Approaches and Debates; Forms of Business Organization; Functions of Enterprise; and Enterprise and Society. The Handbook shows that business history is a wide-ranging and dynamic area of study, generating compelling empirical data, which has sometimes confirmed and sometimes contested widely-held views in management and the social sciences."
The Oxford Handbook of Slavery in the Americas by Robert L. Paquette (Editor); Mark M. Smith (Editor)
Call Number: Oxford Handbooks Online
Publication Date: 2010
The Oxford Handbook of Slavery in the Americas offers penetrating, original, and authoritative essays on the history and historiography of the institution of slavery in the New World. With essays on colonial and antebellum America, Brazil, the Caribbean, the Indies, and South America, theHandbook has impressive geographic and temporal coverage.

For Additional Help

For additional recommendations, contact your History Liaison, Erin, at erinkate.scheopner@bc.edu or schedule an appointment.

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Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies

Reference for History

Consumerism and Commodities

What's on This Page

Find Definitions

Individual Titles

Find Scholarship

Find Background Biographical Information (Who's Who)

Find Background Information

Individual Titles

Business

Food and Beverages

Handbooks and Companions

Individual Titles

For Additional Help