Credo Reference Blog

Last week, we added 5 new titles to the Credo Reference General Reference Collection. Make sure you check out these new titles and add the MARC records to your catalog.

Encyclopedia of Women’s Autobiography, from ABC Clio. Women have been writing about their lives for hundreds of years, and their autobiographical works are a record of the eras and cultures in which they lived. Through alphabetically arranged entries (from Jane Addams through Zami: A New Spelling of My Name), written by more than 130 expert contributors, this encyclopedia overviews women autobiographers and autobiography from the Middle Ages to the present. Entries discuss individual writers, major works, national and ethnic autobiographical traditions, particular autobiographical genres, and special terms, issues, and themes related to women’s autobiography from around the world. Entries cite works for further reading, and the encyclopedia closes with a selected, general bibliography.

Women have been writing autobiographical works for centuries, and these texts are a valuable source of information about their lives and times. They reflect the personal experiences of their authors as well as the larger cultural, political, and intellectual contexts in which they lived and wrote. Multicultural in scope and the first work of its kind, this encyclopedia overviews more than 400 years of autobiographical writing by women.

Power and Succession in Arab Monarchies, from Lynne Rienner Publications. Power and Succession in Arab Monarchies provides an essential compendium of information regarding the politically charged issue of succession in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Based on scarce source material and a wide range of inside information, this exhaustive reference:

* traces the rise of each ruling family
* outlines key constitutional developments
* provides details on current rulers and their approaches to succession
* discusses potential contenders to power

The appendixes supply a chronological list of rulers for each monarchy, as well as the text of decrees, private letters, and constitutional provisions related to succession.

The Praeger Handbook of Latino Education in the U.S., from ABC Clio. Latinos in the United States have fought hard to attain equality, especially in the field of education. The Praeger Handbook of Latino Education in the U.S. focuses on this fight for equal educational access and represents a significant addition to American educational literature. The contributors to this volume reveal that many Latino children still face challenges that were present many decades ago. In addition to such obstacles as cultural conflicts and racism, they also face teachers, curricula, and assessments that are not always respectful to their backgrounds.

Educators, parents, policy makers, and communities across the country will find this work a goldmine of detailed historical and current information.

Encyclopedia of Women’s Health, from Springer. Women’s health is a multifaceted subject, and the up-to-date reference book requires considerable social awareness in addition to wide-ranging clinical knowledge. The Encyclopedia of Women’s Health meets this challenge by bringing together an impressive array of experts on topics from reproductive issues to gastrointestinal illnesses. Informed by current health issues and health-care realities, the Encyclopedia offers readers practical information, historical aspects, and future directions, all meticulously researched and conveniently presented.

Key features include:

* Accessible A-to-Z coverage, including AIDS, birth control, hormone replacement therapy, teen pregnancy, sexual harassment, violence, body image, access to health care and more.
* Entries spanning the medical, psychological, sociocultural, spiritual, and legal arenas.
* Medical topics explored from both conventional and complementary perspectives.
* Cross-cultural data illustrate issues as they apply to minority women, rural women, the elderly, and other underserved populations.
* Special chapters on disparities in women’s health and health care.
* Historical overview of women in health – as patients and as professionals.
* Suggested readings and resource lists.

Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender, from Springer. The central aim of this encyclopedia is to give the reader a comparative perspective on issues involving conceptions of gender, gender differences, gender roles, relationships between the genders, and sexuality.

The combination of topical overviews and varying cultural portraits is what makes this encyclopedia a unique reference work for students, researchers and teachers interested in gender studies and cross-cultural variation in sex and gender.