Where to Search
Library Resources & Databases
Once you have selected an issue, find more information using the search tools listed below. Looking for more? Check out the Women's and Gender Studies library guide.
WGS Databases
- Alexander Street Collection | Women and Social Movements in the United States,1600-2000Historical analysis and documents related to women and social movements in the United States. Materials include books, films, archival documents, teaching tools, and more.
- Contemporary Women's IssuesIndexes a variety of materials from journal articles to fact sheets that focus on contemporary and international women's issues in areas such as education, health, legal status, reproductive rights, and feminism.
General Databases
- OU Libraries Discover CatalogThe Discover catalog performs a wide search across multiple kinds of information (results will be books and scholarly articles, but also images, audio clips, news articles, magazines, etc.) unlike the library's Local Catalog, which searches specifically within items owned in print or in perpetuity by OU Libraries.
- Google ScholarUse Google Scholar to find articles from a wide variety of academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories and universities, as well as scholarly articles available across the web.
- JSTORIncludes the full text and complete archives of core scholarly journals in many disciplines, some dating from the 1600s. Current issues may not be available.
- Academic Search CompleteMultidisciplinary database with abstracts or full text of journal and magazine articles, major newspaper articles, book reviews, and more.
- Project MuseFull text of scholarly journals in the humanities, arts, and social sciences.
- Annual ReviewsCurrent subscriptions to Annual Reviews in Anthropology, Ecology, Evolution & Systematics, Political Science, Sociology, and Psychology.
- PAIS IndexIndex to public and social policy issues, foreign and domestic. Materials indexed include journal articles, government documents, books, pamphlets, yearbooks, and directories.
Popular Sources
- U.S. NewspapersIncludes these papers: Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and the UK's Guardian and Observer among many others.
- Newspaper Source PlusMore than 500 U.S. newspapers and 600 international newspapers, as well as newswires, and radio and television transcripts.
- NYTimes.com (current)Users must create an account to access NYTimes.com. Click here to set up your account.
Identifying a Social Justice Issue
The resources below are not comprehensive but are intended to introduce a variety of possible issues of interest.
- CQ Researcher"CQ" stands for Congressional Quarterly, and CQ Researcher reports explore hot issues in the news each week. The front page lists Topics, one of which is "Social Movements."
- Broward College Social Justice Library GuideScroll down to the bottom of this page to find a tabbed list of different themes across social justice. Also, the Research page of this guide may provide useful additional information.
Legislative Research
In researching the social justice issue of your choosing, you will need to become familiar with legislative information. The Oklahoma Law & Legal Research Library Guide from the Law Library features extensive information if you are looking for more places to search.
Choosing a Female Leader
The resources below are not exhaustive lists but are instead intended to be browsed and to survey examples of women in leadership roles throughout history who may inspire your art. You may find inspiration while creating your art from the National Gallery of Art or from databases listed on the Video, Images, and Audio page of the WGS library guide.
- Artworks To Discuss Social Justice Issues(Word Document file of the National Gallery of Art website linked above)
- Global Women's Issues: Women in the World Today, extended versionContains themed chapters that each include a “Profile” where you can learn more about individual women who have worked in each thematic initiative.
- Women in the History of Science: A sourcebook"Arranged by time period, covering 1200 BCE to the twenty-first century... brings together primary sources that highlight women’s involvement in scientific knowledge production around the world."
- From Esmeralda Simmons to Laverne CoxUSA Today lists 19 contemporary civil rights leaders.
- From Esmeralda Simmons to Laverne Cox(Word Document file)
- Women of Color and the Fight for Women’s Suffrage"Links to exhibits, articles, videos, and timelines as well as a small snapshot of some of the suffragist heroines we don’t always get to see or celebrate."
- Women of Color and the Fight for Women’s Suffrage(Word Document file)
- LGBTQ+ History Cards"GLSEN’s LGBTQ+ History Cards feature icons and events from the LGBTQ+ community in contemporary history."
- LGBTQ+ History Cards(Word Document file)
- Lizzo Is The People's Champion | People's Choice Awards 2022Perhaps you'll find inspiration in any of the activists that Lizzo introduced on stage with her to accept her award.
- Women's History | American National Biography"This small, highly selective set of articles is recommended by Oxford editors to help students get started doing research in this massive biography collection."
- Alexander Street Collection | Women and Social Movements in the United States,1600-2000Historical analysis and documents related to women and social movements in the United States. Materials include books, films, archival documents, teaching tools, and more.
Finding Zines Online
Once again, the resources below are not exhaustive. ZineWiki has a longer list of Zine Libraries on their website if you are looking for more places to search!