We now have access to JSTOR Arts and Sciences Collection VIII, which include titles in history, language and literature, art and art history, and education. Forthcoming in this collection will be rare 19th and 20th century periodicals from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Frick Collection and the Brooklyn Museum of Art.
Tag: JSTOR
JSTOR Records Now Also in WorldCat.org
Last week, OCLC announced that 4.5 million article records from JSTOR have been added to WorldCat.org.
Language and “Oral Tradition” or “Oral Heritage”
I had variant of Stephen’s question about language just two days ago–consequently some additional information to Rita’s and Stephen’s comments for the blog. The reader asked for information about the “oral tradition” of the San tribe in Africa which despite changing and now racist and gender biased language is a group also referred to as “bushmen” even in the current literature. The search strategy I shared with the reader was successful and pleased her.
Although this inquiry was so specific or narrow, several general concepts and sources emerge, some of which are already noted. Foremost questions about language, including this, are often multidisciplinary. Answers to this question will require a Boolean search strategy including “oral tradition” or “oral heritage” in addition to “oral culture” (as Stephen mentioned) linked possibly to a place, such as a country or continent and other words.
Second while I dislike federated searching (my bias) a broader search of all the sociology (social sciences), anthropology, humanities, linguistics and multidisciplinary databases is highly productive. For general background about “oral” practices even CUNY+ has a substantial (approximately a dozen+) list of books. Consequently a more thorough list of databases and sources, depending upon depth sought by the inquirer, would include JSTOR, Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, possibly the other unnoted communications databases, the Social Science Citation Index, Social Sciences Full Text, Sociology Index Full Text, Sociology: A Sage Full Text . . . , surprisingly Science Direct (covers the social sciences too) and CUNY+. Emphasizing full-text for easier access is important too though I have listed the above without a hierarchy. I particularly tested JSTOR, Science Direct and Academic Search Premier.