Oxford Digital Collections: Social Science

A Dictionary of Creation Myths is the first and most comprehensive work devoted to creation myths from cultures throughout the world. With an easy-to-use A-Z format, this around-the-world tour provides access to information on the beliefs (both exotic and ordinary) of ancient civilizations from Sumeria and Babylonia to Egypt, Greece, and ancient Rome, from India and China to Japan and Indonesia, as well as the rich mythological history of Native Americans, the indigenous peoples of Australia, and many other cultures.

The Encyclopedia of Africa presents the most up-to-date and thorough reference on this region of ever-growing importance in world history, politics, and culture. Its core is comprised of the entries focusing on African history and culture from 2005's acclaimed five-volume Africana - nearly two-thirds of these 1,300 entries have been updated, revised, and expanded to reflect the most recent scholarship. Organized in an A-Z format, the articles cover prominent individuals, events, trends, places, political movements, art forms, business and trade, religions, ethnic groups, organizations, and countries throughout Africa. There are articles on contemporary nations of sub-Saharan Africa, ethnic groups from various regions of Africa, and European colonial powers. Other examples include Congo River, Ivory trade, Mau Mau rebellion, and Pastoralism. The Encyclopedia of Africa is sure to become the essential resource in the field.

, the Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619-1895 documents the full range of the African American experience during that period - from the arrival of the first slave ship to the death of Frederick Douglass - and shows how all aspects of American culture, history, and national identity have been profoundly influenced by the experience of African Americans. The Encyclopedia covers an extraordinary range of subjects. Major topics such as "Abolitionism," "Black Nationalism," the "Civil War," the "Dred Scott case," "Reconstruction," "Slave Rebellions and Insurrections," the "Underground Railroad," and "Voting Rights" are given the in-depth treatment one would expect.

Focusing on the making of African American society from the 1896 "separate but equal" ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson up to the contemporary period, this encyclopedia traces the transition from the Reconstruction Era to the age of Jim Crow, the Harlem Renaissance, the Great Migration, the Brown ruling that overturned Plessy, the Civil Rights Movement, and the ascendant influence of African American culture on the American cultural landscape. Covering African American history in all areas of U.S. history and culture from 1896 to the present.

This major five-volume encyclopedia offers comprehensive coverage of all aspects of human rights theory, practice, law, and history. In addition to providing original analytical articles covering standard subjects such as the right to health and health care, Amnesty International, the Balkan wars, and former President of Ireland Mary Robinson, it offers innovative coverage of such subjects as the Internet, intellectual property rights, the American civil rights movement, globalization, and Brazil in historical context.

The Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature is a landmark work in the burgeoning field of religion and nature. It covers a vast and interdisciplinary range of material, from ecology, theology, philosophy, and beyond. Entries cover major thinkers, religious traditions, and important events, with clarity and style. Widely praised by reviewers and the recipient of major awards, this is a must-have title for anyone interested in the manifold and fascinating links between religion and nature, in all their many senses.

This 4-volume set cover all aspects of social work from practice and interventions, social environments, social conditions and challenges, to social policy and history. This new edition of the Encyclopedia includes coverage of areas that have come to the fore since the 1995 publication of the 19th edition, including demographic changes from immigration, technology, the implications of managed care, faith-based assistance, evidence-based practice, gerontology, and trauma and disaster. The Encyclopedia presents an in-depth look at the ever-changing field of social work.

This comprehensive reference source on American business and management includes over 250 in-depth entries tracing the development of management thinking and business culture in North America. There are also numerous entries on people who pioneered management techniques in new industries, such as hospitals and tourism, film and media, computers and information technology, including figures as diverse as William Randolph Hearst, Samuel Goldwyn and Ray Kroc. Entries contain concise biographical details, a critical analysis of the thinkers' doctrines and ideas, and a bibliography including the subject's major works and a helpful listing of minor works. All entries are fully indexed and cross-referenced.

This A to Z Handbook provides exhaustive coverage of international financial terms with detailed cross referencing, examples and descriptions of different uses in different markets and countries. Containing over 14,000 entries this is an invaluable tool for anyone directly involved with the financial world, as well as those in the related professions of law, accounting, and management. The Handbook will also be an excellent reference for students of finance, business, and accounting.

From St. Augustine and early Ethiopian philosophers to the anti-colonialist movements of Pan-Africanism and Negritude, this encyclopedia offers a comprehensive view of African thought, covering the intellectual tradition both on the continent in its entirety and throughout the African Diaspora in the Americas and in Europe. The term "African thought" has been interpreted in the broadest sense to embrace all those forms of discourse - philosophy, political thought, religion, literature, important social movements - that contribute to the formulation of a distinctive vision of the world determined by or derived from the African experience. The Encyclopedia is a large-scale work of 350 entries covering major topics involved in the development of African Thought including historical figures and important social movements, producing a collection that is an essential resource for teaching, an invaluable companion to independent research, and a solid guide for further study.

This Encyclopedia includes readily at hand information about key economic concepts and theories, major economists, diverse sectors of the economy, the history of economic and financial crises, major business organizations and their founders, labor organizations and their leaders, and specific government policies and judicial rulings that have shaped US economic and labor history as well as guides to the best and most recent scholarly works related to the subject covered by each entry.

The Oxford Guide to the United States Government is the ultimate resource for authoritative information on the U.S. Presidency, Congress, and Supreme Court. Compiled by three top scholars, its pages brim with the key figures, events, and structures that have animated U.S. government for more than 200 years. In addition to coverage of the 2000 Presidential race and election, this Guide features biographies of all the Presidents, Vice Presidents, and Supreme Court Justices, as well as notable members of Congress, including current leadership; historical commentary on past elections, major Presidential decisions, international and domestic programs, and the key advisors and agencies of the executive branch; in-depth analysis of Congressional leadership and committees, agencies and staff, and historic legislation; and detailed discussions of 100 landmark Supreme Court cases and the major issues facing the Court today.

This innovative, multivolume encyclopedia charts the interdisciplinary field of Peace Studies, offering a comprehensive survey of the full range of historical, political, theoretical and philosophical issues relating to peace and conflict. All major figures are covered, as well as major events, organizations, theories, and much more. Each entry is signed by a leading scholar in the field, contains a bibliography for further reading, and is cross-referenced with other useful points of interest within the encyclopedia. In addition to A-to-Z entries, the Encyclopedia also includes a peace chronology, key documents and appendices.