Theater 130: Contemporary Playwrights of Color

A library research guide for students in Priscilla Page's class at UMass Amherst.

Library Research for Theater 130:

Contemporary Playwrights of Color

Your assignment: Write your own research based performance piece!

Undesirable Elements: Real People, Real Lives, Real Theater by Ping Chong
Available in paper and as an ebook

You will work both in class and on your own on this project which is, ultimately, an interview theater piece. Your model text for this project is Undesirable Elements: Real People, Real Lives, Real Theater by Ping Chong. Using this book, you will model your work after Chong’s approach to community-based storytelling. It will include personal writing, interviews and research that you will develop into a one-act script.

Doing research on contemporary communities and playwrights of color

Where to research playwrights and communities of color?

Start with these databases: Make sure to read the descriptions so you know what kinds of research resources you are searching.

America: History & Life This link opens in a new window
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Journal articles, dissertations, and book reviews, many in full text, relating to United States and Canadian history and prehistory, 1954-present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Bibliography of Indigenous Peoples in North America This link opens in a new window
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Index to journal articles, essays and government documents on native North American history and culture from pre-history to the present, 1800-present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Ethnic NewsWatch This link opens in a new window
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Full-text articles from newspapers, magazines and journals of ethnic communities in the United States. In several languages, 1965-present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.

You can access Google Scholar with UMLinks buttons from outside the UMass Amherst IP range ("off campus") by two methods:

1. Access Google Scholar through the Library web site by using this link.
2. Go to generic Google Scholar.
a. Click on "Settings."
b. Click on Library links.
c. Type in "University of Massachusetts" or "UMass Amherst" (or a few other variations).
d. Check "University of Massachusetts Amherst - UMass Check for Full Text" and Save.
e. You will be asked to authenticate somewhere along the way to full text.
Hispanic American Periodicals Index (HAPI) This link opens in a new window
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Articles from scholarly journals on Latin America & the Caribbean, the US-Mexico border area, and U.S. Latinos, 1970-present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Historical Abstracts Full Text This link opens in a new window
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Journal articles, many in full text, and citations to books and dissertations on world history from 1450, published 1954-present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Historical Newspaper: New York Times This link opens in a new window
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Full-text of The New York Times, with coverage from 1851 to three years ago.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Performing Arts Periodicals Database This link opens in a new window
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Articles in journals covering theater, dance, film, and puppetry, 1864-present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
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News, business and legal sources
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
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An index to journal articles and other scholarly literature on literature, literary theory and criticism, linguistics, folklore, and (since 1996) film, 1920s -
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new window
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References to scholarly journal articles, dissertations, and conference papers on sociology and related disciplines, 1960-present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.

Tip for databases

After you've run a search, use the button to retrieve articles or to be taken directly to the Interlibrary Loan request page, so you can order the article if UMass does not have it.

Citation Management

Use a citation manager, such as Zotero to keep track of your research.

Put all your references in one place, create quick and easy bibliographies, build your knowledgebase for the rest of your career. For help, check out the online guides and webinars or Ask a Librarian.

Some tips on using Chicago notation style with Zotero.