Special Library Collection On Diversity

Link to the Collection

About the Collection

This resource is a growing body of materials which provide ideas for infusing courses with diversity as well as information and activities to use in the classroom. Resources include books, journals, notebooks, and videos. Library materials are available through interlibrary loan. The library collection is housed at Scottsdale Community College.

An additional resource, presented here, has been created by Dr. Ed SantaVicca while working at Phoenix College Library as his contribution to the Diversity Infusion Program.

Three resource guides have been created: Ethnic Identity and Diversity Resources; Gender & Diversity: Issues and Resources; and Religion, Diversity and Religious Identity. The guides were created for library faculty for use during bibliographic instruction sessions, and also for use by teaching faculty for incorporation into appropriate modules of course curricula. Each guide includes concepts of vocabulary control and search strategies; pertinent information regarding the scope of the topic; exercises that can be incorporated into research processes; and resources leading to the Maricopa Online Catalog, periodical and newspaper databases, and selected Internet/World Wide Web resources. Initial response from faculty has been positive.

ETHNIC IDENTITY AND DIVERSITY RESOURCES (TOP)
Ethnicity generally refers to a person’s affiliation with a particular ethnic group, or to their sharing qualities, characteristics or customs of that ethnic group. Ethnic identity is quite personal and individual, and it has many facets. It can be based on geography, nationality, ancestry, family, culture and sub-culture, religion, language, race—or any combination of these. For example, a Japanese-American man marries a woman of pure Peruvian ancestry. They move to Australia and have three children, all of whom are raised in Australia until the age of adulthood. The nationality of the children may be Australian, but what is their ethnicity? Is it Oriental, Asian or Japanese? Is it American? Is it Hispanic? Is it Australian? The answer is: “It depends.” From a personal point of view, each of the three children might identify themselves differently. One might identity herself as Oriental; another might identify herself as Hispanic; and her brother might self-identify as Australian. Also consider there are other factors that influence ethnic identity. As countries go to war with each other, or invade each other, political boundaries can change. This can influence ethnic identity. When territories gain independence from a larger country, ethnic identity can change. When new countries (such as Israel) are created, new ethnicities are created. When countries cease to exist (such as the U.S.S.R), ethnic identities change. Because ethnic identity is such a personal issue, many people become offended if you mistakenly identify them with a particular group, or if you fail to recognize all of their ethnicities. Throughout our lives, we must fill out many different forms or applications that ask us about our ethnic background. Most of these forms (such as the U.S. Census) force us to reduce out ethnicity to a single group. Sometimes such information can lead to stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination, racial profiling and other offensive practices.

Vocabulary and Search Terms
In searching for information about ethnic groups, ethnicity and ethnic identity, it is important to be as specific as possible in your choice of search terms, and to understand the exact perspective you are trying to take. If you are not entirely clear as to which terms should be used, you might want to begin your research by looking in a general encyclopedia under the entry for a particular ethnic group. This will help you develop additional search terms, and perhaps narrow your search to find the specific items you need.
Examples of very general or broad concepts pertaining to ethnic identity include: Acculturation; Ethnic groups; Identity; Prejudice; Assimilation; Ethnic relations; Immigration; Race relations; Biracial; Ethnicity; Minorities; Racism; Discrimination; Ethnocentrism; Multiculturalism; Diversity; Ethnohistory; Multiracial; Ethnic attitudes; Ethnology; Pluralism

If you are interested in searching for information on specific ethnic groups, simply use the name of that group as a search term, e.g. African, African-American, Russian, Hispanic, etc. If that is not the term used in the source you are using, it will generally cross-reference you to the term that is used to identify that group. If you need help, ask a librarian for assistance.

You can also combine any of the general terms with any specific group—again, depending on your information need. This will allow you to narrow your search. You can also narrow your search in the following ways:

1. By time period (20th century, Renaissance)

2. Geographically (United States, Spain, China, Arizona)

3. Cultural, ethnic or racial group (Jewish, Hispanic, African-American)

4. Discipline or subject area (science, mathematics, history)

5. By type of material (encyclopedia, Executive Directory, etc.)

Searching electronic resources such as the library online catalog, periodical and
newspaper databases and the World Wide Web will allow you to combine any of the terms or concepts you want to use. By adding more terms, you can be as specific as possible.

Sample Exercises
Here are five sample exercises that are typical of research and/or personal information needs of students. Look at these and decide which terms you would use to find information—using both print and electronic resources such as the World Wide Web. In some cases, you might want to use additional terms, or use synonyms for the terms that are used here. You might also need to use terms that are broader or narrower in scope and meaning.

1. I’m trying to understand what happened when Yugoslavia split up into different countries, and all the fighting that seems to be going on in Bosnia.
   Who exactly is fighting whom? And how many different ethnic groups are involved?

2. One of my assignments is to locate maps, if there are any, of the migration of
   Spanish-speaking groups onto the United States. I need to find out when they
   started coming here, and from where. I also need to find out why they settled
   where they settled, and how their culture influenced the cultures that were
   already here. Where do I begin?

3. I’ve notice that not all cultures count the same way. I know some cultures use
   Arabic numerals, and some cultures use Roman numerals. I want to find out what other number systems are used by different cultures around the world.
   Is it possible to identify somebody by how they count?

4. When I lived in new York City, I remember reading a few articles about the
   on-going tensions between the Jewish and the African-American communities. I’m trying to locate some good Web sites that have some information about this. Like, is it true? And if it is, why does that happen?

5. I’m doing research about native peoples that lived in the United States before
   it was discovered by European explorers. Was there anybody here before all the Indian tribes, and what was their culture like?

RESOURCES
Maricopa Online Catalog
This is a library catalog to all materials located in any of the ten Maricopa community colleges. The Online Catalog includes books, videotapes and DVDs, music and audiotapes, and many other materials. You can search this catalog using author’s name, title, subject or keyword.

You can limit your search according to format of material, individual library, date of publication and other criteria. For example, if you wanted videotapes about abortion that were made after 1995, and that were located at Phoenix College Library, the Online Catalog will list only those items for you.

Periodical, Magazine and Newspaper Databases
All of the Maricopa Community Colleges libraries have full-text periodical and newspaper databases available for you to use. Some of these are both indexes and full-text databases. This means that they can provide you—free of charge—with full-text articles about your topic. These can be searched in the same way that you search the Online catalog, and many of them will allow you additional methods of limiting your search.

There are general indexes, such as InfoTrac, MasterFile Premier and NewsBank. In addition to these, there are specialized databases—for example: nursing, health, business, law, education—available to you. Some of these are also available to you at home or at your office, if you are a registered library user.

Check your library homepage, or consult with a Reference Librarian, to determine which of these databases would be best for your research.

Internet/World Wide Web Resources
In addition to searching the Online Catalog and the newspaper/periodicals databases, you might be able to find valuable information related to ethnic identity on the World Wide Web. Be careful!!! Remember that no one controls the quality of information here, so you might find a lot of sites that are not reliable or accurate or timely.

Using search engines such as Google, Metacrawler, Yahoo, etc., you should be able to find some information on your topic. When you enter search terms, be sure to be as specific as possible. If you simply enter the word ethnic, you will get more results than you could read in a lifetime!

Interesting sites include the following. Some of these sites are very general in nature, while others focus on specific ethnic groups.
Affirmative Action and Diversity: A Web Site for Research
Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies
Multicultural and National WWW Service Links
Stitching Vada: Your Portal to the Multicultural World
African-American Mosaic
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
Asian American Studies Research Guide
Asian American Studies
Chicano/Latino Electronic Network
Hispanic Pages USA
American Indian Studies
Native American Resource Guide
Statistical Resources on the Web: Sociology
(Yahoo) Society and Culture: Cultures and Groups: Biracial and Multiracial
Interracial Voice
Ethnomusicology, Folk Music and World Music

Additional Research Guides are available at the SCC Library site, addressing the following ethic groups: African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans.

RELIGION, DIVERSITY AND RELIGIOUS IDENTITY(TOP)
Of all the areas of recorded knowledge, religion is the area that is most pervasive. Religion has influenced every area of knowledge; and aspects of religion or religious studies can be found in every discipline of the humanities, the sciences and the social sciences. Information about religion appears in every type of publication, including books, videotapes, general magazines and newspapers, scholarly journals, the World Wide Web, and other formats that are unique to the field of religion.

Concepts related to religion and diversity include religious freedom, religious tolerance, pluralism and multiculturalism.

Religious identity is, in the end, a matter of self-identification and/or self-declaration. Statistics that are compiled to reflect the relative size of any one religion are generally based on recorded or estimated memberships in organized religion, but these statistics do not indicate the degree to which any one person “believes” or follows the doctrines of that religion. Those who believe and/or follow the doctrines of a particular religion are generally referred to as adherents.

The Literature of Religion
Religious literature can be divided in a number of different ways. One method places all the information into four broad categories: personal (or individual) religion, theology, philosophy; and finally, the science of religion.

Resources generally included in the area of personal religion will include the sacred texts of a particular religion (Bible, Koran, Book of Mormon, etc.), as well as resources that interpret, explain or comment on the texts. Also included here are biographical and autobiographical resources, devotional and inspirational literature, popularizations and some self-help materials.

Theology, in general, refers to the “official” doctrines, rituals, tenets, or canon of a particular belief system. Works that focus on philosophy of religion will generally treat the influence of religion on other areas of knowledge or behavior. And materials that are included in the science of religion tend to be more comparative in nature, i.e., objective comparisons of specific aspects of religions. Mythology is an area closely related to religion, as it embraces many of the same belief systems and structures that are evident in the study of religion. Most people tend to think of mythology as legend or folklore or as some belief system that is adhered to by people of different cultures or places, or by civilizations that no longer exist. In reality, one person’s religion is another person’s mythology, because if you do not believe nor adhere to a particular religion, then you regard that religion as a mythology.

The various ways of classifying religious information and resources can help or hinder your search for information on religious identity.

Vocabulary and Search Terms
To search effectively for information about religion and diversity, and aspects of religious identity, you need to be aware of certain words, concepts and strategies. Among these are the concepts of primary, secondary and tertiary documents.

Primary documents are also referred to as original source documents. These are written by individuals, groups, and in some cases by official religious bodies. An example of a primary source document for many Christian religions would be The Bible.

Secondary documents are those that are written based upon comparing two or more primary sources and other secondary sources. Examples of these would be interpretations of The Bible, scholarly articles, encyclopedia entries, etc.

Tertiary documents are those written based upon primary, secondary and other tertiary documents. These could include encyclopedia articles, bibliographies, biographies, etc.
One of the problems in doing research on religion and religious identity is that most materials do not fall neatly into one category. They overlap. However, an effective way of doing research is to identity a particular religion—Christianity, Protestantism, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc.—and to use that as your primary search term.

You can also combine the main term with other terms that will allow you to limit or narrow your search for information. You can narrow your search in the following ways:

1. Geographically (United States, Spain, China, Arizona)
2. By time period (20th century, Renaissance, Biblical times)
3. By cultural, ethnic or racial group (Islam or Muslim, Hispanic,  African-American)
4. Discipline or subject area (science, language, philosophy)
5. By type of material (encyclopedia, history, dictionary)

Searching electronic resources such as the library online catalog, periodical and  newspaper databases and the World Wide Web will allow you to combine any of the terms or concepts you want to use. By adding more terms you can be as specific as possible and not be overwhelmed by all of the information that exists.

Sample exercises
Here are four sample exercises that are typical of research and/or personal information needs of students. Look at these and decide which terms you would use to find information, using both print and electronic resources such as the World Wide Web. In some cases, you might want to use additional terms, or use synonyms for the terms that are used here. You also might need to use terms that are broader or narrower in scope or meaning.

1. I need to find information about President Bush’s move to start funding religious programs using taxpayer money. I am a member of a Jewish congregation, and I want to know if I can apply for money and what sort of credentials I need to show that I am actually a member.
2. I’m doing a paper about death, and how different cultures deal with death in terms of rituals and all that stuff. But I want to do it in terms of religious beliefs as well. The two groups I’ve chosen are the Amish in the United States and the Hindus in India. Where can I find information about these two groups and how they deal with dead people?
3. I don’t believe it, but my cousin has chosen to marry someone outside of our Religion. She’s a Southern Baptist, and he’s a Jew. So anyway, I just wanted to know like how I’m supposed to act around this new person. I heard that he doesn’t believe in Jesus or any of that stuff. What does he believe?
4. I’m doing a paper about abortion, and I need to find the actual text from different religions that says that abortion is illegal or immoral. So how do I find that. I especially want to compare Roman Catholics with Episcopalians
   and Buddhists. I don’t even know who issues those statements, but I really need to find them.

RESOURCES
Maricopa Online Catalog
This is a library catalog to all materials located in any of the ten Maricopa community colleges. The Online Catalog includes books, videotapes and DVDs, music and audiotapes, and many other materials. You can search this catalog using author’s name, title, subject or keyword.

You can limit your search according to format of material, individual library, date of publication and other criteria. For example, if you wanted videotapes about abortion that were made after 1995, and that were located at Phoenix College Library, the Online Catalog will list only those items for you.

Periodical, Magazine and Newspaper Databases
All of the Maricopa Community Colleges libraries have full-text periodical and newspaper databases available for you to use. Some of these are both indexes and full-text databases. This means that they can provide you—free of charge—with full-text articles about your topic. These can be searched in the same way that you search the Online catalog, and many of them will allow you additional methods of limiting your search.

There are general indexes, such as InfoTrac, MasterFile Premier and NewsBank.In addition to these, there are specialized databases—for example: nursing, health, business, law, education—available to you. Some of these are also available to you at home or at your office, if you are a registered library user.
Check your library homepage, or consult with a Reference Librarian, to determine which of these databases would be best for your research.

Internet/World Wide Web Resources
In addition to searching the Online Catalog and the newspaper/periodicals databases, you might be able to find valuable information on the World Wide Web. Be careful!!! Remember that no one controls the quality of information here, so you might find a lot of sites that are not reliable or accurate or timely.

Using search engines such as Google, Metacrawler, Yahoo, etc., you should be able to find some information on your topic. When you enter search terms, be sure to be as specific as possible. If you simply enter the word religion, you will more results than you could read in a lifetime!

As an example, type the word religion, and notice how many results you get. Now type religion Christianity and notice the number of results. Now type religion Christianity rituals and notice the results. Next, type religion Christianity rituals funerals. Each time you add a word or phrase, the list of results should get smaller and smaller. (Also, with some search engines, you will need to separate your search terms with the word and.) For assistance, click on the Help or Searching Tips link for whichever search engine you are using. If you still are not getting what you want, ask a Reference Librarian for assistance.

Web Resources: Religion and Religious Identity
There are many excellent sites available on a variety of topics related to religion and religious identity. It would be impossible to list all of the good sites here, but below are some examples of selected web sites that will provide good general introductions to religion and comparative religion, and that have links that will take to other web sites that deal with specific religions, and information regarding specific issues and aspects of religion and religious studies.
Adherents. com A good source for statistics and religious geography.
Virtual Religion Index
Religion Online
Internet Sacred Text Archive
Religious Movements Page
Pluralism Project: Religious Diversity in America
Executive Directory of Religious Centers
Beliefnet: Multifaith Information
Encyclopedia Mythica

GENDER & DIVERSITY: ISSUES AND RESOURCES(TOP)
Topics pertaining to gender can be found in every academic and professional discipline—from business to religion, from genetics to literature. Information about gender and gender issues appears in every type of publication, including books, videotapes, general magazines and scholarly journals; and there are literally hundreds of thousands of sites on the Internet and the World Wide Web that contain information about gender. So, how do you find what you need?

Vocabulary and Search Terms
To search effectively for information about gender, you need to be aware of certain words and concepts. For example, the word gender can be used for many different concepts, including sex and sexuality. In fact, when you search for information on gender in the library online catalog, you will be cross-referenced to sex or sexuality.
The reason for this is that most people use the terms interchangeably, just as they do with some narrower and related concepts, such as man and woman, male and female, masculine and feminine, etc.

Be aware that these terms are related, but do not mean exactly the same thing. Male and female are terms that are more likely to be used in the sciences, including anatomy and medicine, and focus on a physical concept of gender or sexuality. Man and woman are terms more likely to be used in the social sciences, such as sociology and psychology, and focus on a social concept of gender or sexuality. Masculine and feminine are terms that are also found in the social sciences, but widely used in the humanities, as they are interpretive concepts often used in art, music, literature and related fields.

Remember that the statements above are generalizations. Because each of us uses these words to mean different things (and sometimes the same thing), when you are doing research on gender or sexuality, you should always try using different combinations of the terms above until you find what you need.

Gender Subcultures and Classifications
Be aware that there are many ways to approach gender issues and resources. Some general and commonly used concepts are those listed above; but there are many more subcategories and classifications, as well as subcultures, for which there exists a great deal of information and resources. Some examples:

• Intersexuality and intergender

• Transsexuality and transgender

• Bisexuality and bigender

• Polymorphous sexuality and polymorphous gender

• Homosexuality, homoerotic, lesbian, gay, etc.

• Genderbending

• Sexual liberation

• Sex roles, sexual identity

• Sexual minorities, sexual diversity

Any of these terms can be combined with terms listed under Vocabulary to help you narrow your search for information.
You can also narrow your search in other ways:

1. Geographically (United States, Spain, Mexico, China, Arizona)

2. By time period (20th century, Renaissance, Biblical times, World War II)

3. By cultural, ethnic or racial group (Islam or Muslim, Hispanic, African-American, etc.)

4. Discipline or subject area (politics, business, education, religion, advertising)

5. By type of material needed (encyclopedia, history, criticism, case studies)

Searching electronic resources such as the library online catalog, periodical and
newspaper databases and the Interent will allow you to combine any combination of words and concepts that you want to use! By adding more terms, you can be more specific, and not be overwhelmed by all of the information that exists.

Sample exercises
Here are three sample exercises that are typical of research students often conduct to write research papers. Look at these and decide which terms you would use to find information using electronic resources. In some cases, you might want to use additional terms, or use synonyms for the terms that are used here.

1. I need to find information about the psychology of advertising, and why women are portrayed like they are. I’d also like to find positive images of women as role models in sports and fitness advertising.

2. I’m doing research on sexual minorities, and I need to know exactly how many there are and what their civil rights are. I’m especially interested in
   the topic of gay marriage and gay adoption.

3. I’m interested in finding out about the role of women in Judaism, Islam and
   Roman Catholicism. Do they have any restrictions that are put on them by
   men or by God?

Like most research topics, these three examples are all a bit tricky. Your success in finding the information you want will be determined by how well you state exactly what you need. If you have not chosen a topic yet for your research paper or exercise, use one of the examples above to search the resources below.

RESOURCES
Maricopa Online Catalog
This is a library catalog to all the materials located in any of the ten
Maricopa community colleges. The Online Catalog includes books, videotapes and DVDs, music and audiotapes, and many other materials. You can search this catalog using author’s name, title, subject or keyword.

You can limit your search according to format of material, individual library, date of publication and other criteria. For example, if you wanted videotapes about abortion that were made after 1995, and that were located at Phoenix College Library, the Online Catalog will list only those items for you.

Periodical, Magazine and Newspaper Databases
All of the Maricopa Community Colleges libraries have full-text periodical and newspaper databases available for you to use. Some of these are both indexes and full-text databases. This means that they can provide you—free of charge—with full-text articles about your topic. These can be searched in the same way that you search the Online Catalog, and many of them will allow you additional methods of limiting your search.

There are general indexes, such as InfoTrac, MasterFile Premier and NewsBank. In addition to these, there are other specialized databases— for example: nursing, business, law, health, education—available to you. Some of these are also available to you at home or at your office, if you are a registered library user.

Check your library homepage, or consult with a Reference Librarian, to determine which of these databases would be best for your research.

Internet/World Wide Web Resources
In addition to searching the Online Catalog and the Newspaper/Periodicals databases, you might be able to find valuable information on the Internet or World Wide Web. Be careful!!! Remember that no one controls the quality of information here, so you might find a lot of sites that are not reliable or accurate or timely.
Using search engines such as Google, Metacrawler, Yahoo, etc., you should be able to find some information on your topic. When you enter search terms, be sure to be as specific as possible. If you simply enter the word gender, you will get more results than you could read in a lifetime!

As an example, type the word gender, and notice how many results you get. Now type gender issues and notice the results. Now type gender issues discrimination and notice the results. Next, type gender issues discrimination sexual preference. Each time you add a word or phrase, the list of results should get smaller and smaller. If it does not, click on the Help or Searching Tips link for whichever search engine you are using.

If you still are not getting what you want, ask a Reference Librarian for assistance.

Web Resources: Gender
There are many excellent sites available on a variety of topics related to gender, sexuality and diversity.

It would be impossible to list all good sites here, but below are some examples of selected web sites that provide a variety of resources on diversity issues and perspectives, pertinent to gender, sexuality and diversity. These sites tend to be updated regularly and are generally reliable for the information they provide.

Border Crossings: Gender
Gender Issues Page
Gender and Sexuality (EnglishServer)
African American Women on the Net
Middle East Studies Internet Resources
A Celebration of Women Writers
Feminism and Women’s Studies (English Server)
WWWomen: Diversity/Culture
Syllabi on the Web for Women- and Gender-Related Courses
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Studies
Queer Resources Executive Directory
Gender, Race and Ethnicity in Media: Cyberspace