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History 108R (Martin)

Women in African Nationalism

UC Library Search

What are Subject Headings?

Think of the Library of Congress (LOC) Subject Headings as hashtags that can point you to more sources with the same tags.

When you find an interesting book in UC Library Search, click on the title and navigate to the Virtual Browse carousel at the very bottom of your screen. You can also scroll down to Subjects and if you select one of the blue headings, the hyperlink will lead you to a list of other items with the same heading.

Here is an example of the headings for the book African Women's Movements: Transforming Political Landscapes (Tripp):

Keep in mind, though, that this shared vocabulary is approved by Congress and is a product of society, based within a historically white, Western culture. Librarians involved in social justice work seek to disband antiquated and offensive terms, though not always approved by Congress. For example, efforts to change the subject heading illegal alien to noncitizen and unauthorized immigration were not approved by Congress. (See the 2016 Library Journal article "Library of Congress Drops Illegal Alien Subject Heading, Provokes Backlash Legislation.")

Interesting books about cataloging:

Databases

Use More than One Subject-Specific Search Tool

You may want to look for databases in several subject categories.