Resources for Research on Christianity and Mission in Africa

Newly Redesigned Website for WCC Library and Archives (Parts 1 & 2)

A number of valuable resources in the World Council of Chuches archives have been microfilmed or microfiched and are held at the Yale Divinity Library (among other places.) Microform collections include:

International Missionary Council Archives: 1910-1961:
http://www.idcpublishers.com/ead/138.xml(Yale Fiche Ms85)

World Council of Churches records:

World Student Christian Federation Archives:
(held at the World Council of Churches and Yale Divinity Library) http://www.idcpublishers.com/ead/312.xml  (Yale Fiche Ms1123)

Old and New in Shona Religion Website

A new resource recently unveiled by the Center for Global Christianity and Mission at Boston University School of Theology, this multimedia website showcases the photography and work of Dr. M. L. Daneel. His decades of research among the Shona people of Southern Africa have yielded a wealth of photographs and publications documenting African initiated churches and traditional religions. The Old and New in Shona Religion website makes these resources available online.

Yale Divinity Library Special Collections

Strengths of the library’s special collections include, among other things, documentation of the Protestant missionary endeavor. Click here to access the collection.

For those interested in developing an archive, Martha Smalley has developed an Archival Primer.

Yale’s Mission Periodicals Online can be accessed here.

Mission 21 / Basel Mission Image Archive

Photographs taken at the intersection of European, African, and Asian cultures from 1850 to 1950 Selections from the Archive. See www.bmarchives.org

Writing Biography

To read our new articles on writing biography: “The Strengths and Limitations of Biography” by Director Jonathan Bonk and “The Craft of Writing Religious Biography,” by Dr. Dana Robert, DACB Editorial Committee member, click here.

Programs and Associations

Doctoral Dissertations

History of Missiology and AIC Photo Archive

The Theology Library of Boston University has a collection of missionary biographies, reports, sermons and theologies that provide a rich resource for mission studies.

Day Missions Periodicals Listing

The Yale Divinity Library’s NEH-funded digitization project is now substantially complete. More than 5,500 reports and periodical issues have been digitized. Links to the online materials are available at:

Video Resources from James Ault

James Ault is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, author and scholar. He has recently released his African Christianity Rising documentary film series (plus ancillary educational materials) filmed largely in Ghana and Zimbabwe. You can view his materials on his Vimeo site and on his African Christianity Rising webpage. His African Christianity channels can be accessed here and here.

The Story of Africa from the BBC

The Story of Africa, an online resource presented by the BBC.

Evaluating Sources

Guides for evaluating the authority and reliability of information sources found online or in print:

International Mission Photo Archive

The International Mission Photo Archive offers historical images from Protestant and Catholic missionary collections in Britain, Norway, Germany, France, Switzerland, and the United States. The photographs, which range in time from the middle of the nineteenth to the middle of the twentieth century, offer a visual record of missionary activities and experiences in Africa, China, Madagascar, India, Papua-New Guinea, and the Caribbean.

The Center for the Study of Global Christianity

On its Web site, the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon Conwell Seminary offers resources for research and a list of their [publications and citations.](http://www.gordonconwell.edu/resources/CSGC-Publications-and-Citations.cfm