During my time at UC Sa nta Cruz, I kept a list of the off-the-beaten-path resources and references that I found myself using on a regular basis. I present them here as a gift to future students... or anyone looking for a good read.

American Studies and Political Theory

• American Studies Web: An index of American Studies sites and programs.
• Political Theory on the Internet: an easy-to-use guide. A bit weak on early-mid twentieth century theorists, but a strong section on what's happening today.
• Noam Chomsky Archives: Easily my favorite contemporary theorist, and right up there with Hannah Arendt on my all-time list. If you haven't heard of him, please take a minute to peruse what he has to say about the world.
  

Literature

• Rose's Recommended Reading List: A list of books that I'm glad I read.
• Coyote stories: An archive devoted to stories of Coyote, a trickster present in the l egends of Native Americans throughout North America.
• Dorothy Parker: Feel cynical? Need a good quote? Want to see what can be done within established poetic forms? Next to the p ewter dragon a friend brought me from Prague, probably my greatest literary inspiration. Really.
• The Blake Archive: Billy Bragg succinctly wrote: "William Blake was a radical and a visionary. A friend of Thomas Paine, he was harassed by the Establishment of the day, eventually being arrested for sedition." The back of the Penguin 60s edition of Songs of Innocence and Experience proclaims that "in Blake's prophetic and visionary world , all war and misery crumbles with the awakening of the imagination and wit the freedom of the spirit." To me, Blake was one of the most articulate critics of the Industrial Revolution, and a guy who really appreciated a good book.
  

Health

• New York Times health news: A wealth of articles on contemporary health issues. If you're curious about an ailment you heard about on the news, or want to research particular trea tments, this is an invaluable site.
• Mood Disorders home page; Grohol Mental Health Page: Mood disorders are extremely common, but for some rea son, a lot of people would rather ignore them altogether. These are two wonderful places to find information about conditions from Seasonal Affective Disorder to paranoid schizophrenia.
  

Secular Humanistic Judaism and Jewish Culture

• Humanistic Judaism: What is humanistic Judaism, and how did anyone manage to fit the multitude of answers onto a web page?
• Shamash: A central resource for all things Jewish.
• Virtual Shtetl: My personal favorite of the bunch. A shtetl was a small town or community in Eastern Europe; many of the Jews who immigrated to the U.S. during the early part of the century were born and lived in them. This site really does manage to create a sense of community for those interested in Yiddish language and culture.
  

Miscellaneous Collections

• The Straight Dope: If humans can ask it, then Cecil Adams has probably answered it. Updated monthly, or whenever Cecil makes a batch of columns available.
• NOW: The home page of the National Organization for Women.
• International Folk Dance Resource Guide: A compendium of folk dance organizations, places to dance, music guides, and articles.
• Selected Yiddish Words and Phrases: The first words you learn in any language. Senator Exon, don't bother.

Rose Ellen Auerbach
auerb ach@armory.com