Countries and Cultures
Country Studies
Online versions of the Country Studies/Area Handbooks series published by the Federal Research Division of the
Library of Congress. A basic resource for an overview of a particular country. Note: The Handbooks
found here are electronic versions of studies published between 1988 and 1998, when Congress withdrew funding for this program.
Funding was restored for 2004 and work continues on several new editions as well as updated Country Profiles. However, no funding was allocated in 2005 or 2006.
CountryWatch
Includes reports on 191 countries worldwide with up-to-date political, economic, cultural, business, and environmental information, as well as current and archived
country-specific news.
Off-Campus Access Restricted Access
Portals to the World
The Library of Congress's excellent collection of selected links to in-depth information about the nations and areas of the world. Arranged by country or area, then by categories such as "Business, Commerce, and Economy;"
"Government, Politics, and Law;" "Science and Technology;" "Society," etc.
Levinson, David, ed. Encyclopedia of World Cultures. 10 vols. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1991-1996.
Each volume is devoted to a geographic area and includes a cultural map for that area. There is an entry for each
cultural group including information on location, linguistic affiliation, history and cultural relations,
settlements, economy, kinship, marriage and family, sociopolitical organization, religion and expressive culture, as well
as a list of publications about both the traditional and current culture.
Cambridge History of....
The Cambridge University Press has published numerous multi-volume series on the history of specific regions and countries (e.g., Africa, Latin America, China, Japan, etc.). Each volume is typically devoted to
a particular historical period, with each chapter written by a different scholar. Essays are accompanied by very useful extensive bibliographies.
Statistics
United Nations Common Database (UNCDB)
Index to data elements from more than 400 UN statistical series. Includes data on international trade, national accounts, energy, industry, environment, and transport, as well as
demographic and social statistics. Data can be output in comma-delimited (.csv), Excel spreadsheet (.xls), or HTML formats.
Off-Campus Link
Restricted Access
Regional Studies
Africa
There are two major multi-volume surveys of African history:
- The Cambridge History of Africa. J.D. Fage and Roland Oliver, eds. New York, Cambridge University Press, 1975-1986. 8 volumes
Each volume consists of articles by (primarily Western) scholars accompanied by extensive bibliographies.
- General History of Africa. UNESCO International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History of Africa. Berkeley, University of California Press, 1981-1993
Each volume consists of articles by (primarily non-Western) scholars accompanied by extensive bibliographies.
Africa-Wide: NiPad
Search across 30 databases providing access to multi-disciplinary information on Africa. Indexes books, journals, newspapers, government publications, and popular
magazines.
Off-Campus Access
(Restricted Access)
Bibliography of Africana Periodical Literature Database
Index to over 55,000 articles from 462 journals that specialize in African Studies or consistently cover the African continent. Journals indexed in their entirety.
Statistics
Mitchell, Brian R. International Historical Statistics: Africa, Asia & Oceania, 1750-1993. New York, Stockton Press, 1998.
Source Collections
Bibliography of Published Primary Sources in African History (English Language)
From the Roots Institute at the University of Virginia.
Internet African History Sourcebook.
Paul Halsall's (Fordham University) compilation of prmary texts.
Voyages en Afrique
Part of the French National Library Gallica site, Voyages en Afrique offers an incredible collection of online primary source materials including books, journals, maps, and photographs accessible by
geography or theme, as well as chronologies and an extensive bibliography.
Center for Research Libraries
In addition to the materials listed in their catalog, CRL also supports and provides access to special collections such as the Cooperative Africana Microform Project (CAMP).
Among the CAMP collections available from CRL are
Asia
Encyclopedia of Modern Asia. Edited by David Levinson and Karen Christensen. New York, Scribner, 2002. 6 vols.
Some 2600 signed articles covering all aspects of modern (after 1850) Asia. List of Articles
Sample Entry
Bibliography of Asian Studies. Ann Arbor, Michigan, Association for Asian Studies, 1968-
The primary index to Western-language books, articles, book chapters, and conference papers on all parts of Asia arranged by geographical area and subject. The last print volume published was 1991;
Continued by the Bibliography of Asian Studies Online (BAS) [not at Rutgers].
1956-1968 published as the September issue of the Journal of Asian Studies;
available online via JSTOR.
Asia Studies Full-Text
Index to a database of full-text reports covering 53 countries including all of Asia, Australia/New Zealand, the Americas Pacific Rim, and the Pacific Islands. Reports cover a wide range of topics including
business, economics, the environment, politics, education, and women's studies.
Off-Campus Access Restricted Access
Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan. New York, Kodansha, 1983. 9 vols.
Scholarly essays with bibliographic notes on Japanese society, history, and culture.
Classical Historiography for Chinese History
Extensive, searchable bibliography developed and maintained by Professor Benjamin A. Elman of Princeton University.
Cambridge Encyclopedia of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives. New York, Cambridge University Press, 1989.
Over 400 signed essays on the peoples, history, geography, demography, politics, religion, economy, and culture of each country.
Digital South Asia Library
Includes online books, journals, images, maps, and statistics. A project of the Center for Research Libraries.
SARAI: South Asia Resource Access on the Internet
Includes links to online books, journals, and images. From the Columbia University Libraries.
Statistics
Mitchell, Brian R. International Historical Statistics: Africa, Asia & Oceania, 1750-1993. New York, Stockton Press, 1998.
Statistical Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific. United Nations, 1973- .
The Americas
Basic Resources
Covington, Paula H. et al. Latin America and the Caribbean: A Critical Guide to Research Sources. New York, Greenwood Press, 1992.
Includes chapters on arthropology, art, history, literature, the performing arts, politics, religion, sociology, and women's studies. Chapters include
bibliographies of principal sources plus brief descriptions of relevant special collections.
The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Latin America and the Caribbean. 2nd ed. New York, Cambridge University Press, 1992.
Authoritative, one-volume work. Brief signed articles, with suggestions for further reading, dealing with the physical environment, economy, people, history,
politics and society, and culture of the region.
Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. Barbara A. Tenenbaum, Editor in Chief. New York, Scribner's, 1996. 5 vols.
Over 5200 signed entries most with brief bibliographies. Emphasis on political, economic, and social history. With some 3000 biographical entries, this is the
basic resource for Latin American biographical information .Sample Entry
Hinds, Harold E. and Charles M. Tatum (eds). Handbook of Latin American Popular Culture. Westport, Conn., Greenwood Press, 1985.
Somewhat dated but still a valuable resource. Essays, with extensive bibliographies, on popular music, sports, television, popular religion,
comics, fotonovelas, film, cartoons, newspapers, and festivals and carnivals.
Encyclopedia of Contemporary Latin American and Caribbean Cultures. Edited by Daniel Balderston, Mike Gonzalez, and Ana M. Lopez. New York, Routledge, 2000. 3 volumes
Signed entries focusing on social, political, and cultural developments in Latin America and the Caribbean since 1920. Entries over 400 words include a short list of suggested readings.
Indexes
Handbook of Latin American Studies
1935- . Selective, annotated bibliography of books, book chapters, articles, and
conference papers published in the field of Latin American studies. Coverage alternates between social sciences and the humanities on a biennial basis.
Hispanic-American Periodical Index [HAPI]
1970- . The major multidisciplinary periodical index for Latin American Studies. Indexes over 400 scholarly
journals published in the U.S. and Latin America.
Off-Campus Access
Restricted Access.
Statistics
Statistical Abstract of Latin America. Los Angeles, UCLA Latin American Center Publications
Annual 2-volume compilation of data on Latin American countries.
Anuario estadístico de América latina y el Caribe/Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean. Santiago, Chile :
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, 1986-
Annual compilation of demographic and socio-economic data for each country in Latin America and the Caribbean. The online version
includes additional tables, and data tends to cover a greater number of years than the print version.
Europe
ERPA: European Research Papers Archive
Index to online working papers relating to European Integration research.
European Integration Current Contents
View or search tables of contents of over 100 journals relevant to European Integration research - law, human rights, economics, history and political sciences. Coverage from 1998 for most journals. A project of the
Academy of European Law at the European University Institute in Florence, and the Harvard Law School.
Eastern Europe
Modern Encyclopedia of Russian, Soviet and Eurasian History. Gulf Breeze, Fla., Academic International Press, 1976- . 60 vols.
Scholarly essays, many translated from standard Russian reference titles, with excellent bibliographies. A basic starting point for anyone looking to do research in Russian and Soviet history or culture.
Russian Academy of Sciences Bibliographies
Index to books, manuscripts, dissertations, and articles published in more than 12,500 periodicals from Russia, the republics of the former Soviet Union, and countries in Eastern Europe. Subject coverage of a variety of social science areas including area studies, economics, international relations, political science, and sociology.
Off-Campus Link Restricted Access
Libraries With Extensive Area Studies Collections
The Library of Congress
Approximately two-thirds of the books and periodicals in LC's collections are in languages other than English. Among its most notable collections are the Asian, Eastern European, Arabic, Luso-Hispanic, and Judaic collections.
The New York Public Library.
The NYPL catalog includes holdings of the
Asian and Middle Eastern Division, the
Dorot Jewish Division, and the
Slavic and Baltic Division. Some divisional holdings are only listed in the printed catalogs and their supplements: the Dictionary Catalog of the Jewish Collection (1960), the
Dictionary Catalog of the Oriental Collection (1960), and the Dictionary Catalog fo the Slavanic Collection (2d edition, 1974).
University of Texas at Austin Libraries
Includes the holdings of the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection, one of the major collections of Latin American materials
in the world. Special emphasis on Mexico, Brazil, the Río de la Plata countries, and U.S. Latino culture
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Includes the holdings of the Slavic and East European Library, one of the largest Slavic and Eastern European collections in the United States.
Harvard University Library
Includes the holdings of the Yenching East Asian Library, the "most extensive academic research collection of East Asian materials outside of Asia."
Center for Research Libraries
CRL is consortium of North American university and independent research libraries that acquires and preserves newspapers, journals, documents,
foreign dissertations, archives, and other expensive or hard to find materials. As Rutgers is a CRL member, these materials are considered part of Rutgers' collections and can be borrowed via Interlibrary Loan. In addition to
the materials listed in their catalog, CRL also supports and provides access to special collections such as the Latin American Microform Project (LAMP),
International Dissertations, and Global Newspapers
Newspapers
For links to many newspaper sites with online searchable archives, as well as to physical collections of newspapers see the
Newspapers Research Guide.
Access World News
Access to the full text of over 600 U.S. and over 700 international newspapers.
Off-Campus Access Restricted Access
World News Connection
Translated and English-language news and information from Central Eurasia, China, East Asia, Near East & South Asia,
East Europe, West Europe, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Off-Campus Access
Restricted Access.
Union Lists
Union lists identify where runs of specific newspapers are physically held;
newspapers on microform often may be requested on Interlibrary Loan.
African Newspapers Union List (AFRINUL)
Database of holdings information for newspapers (current and retrospective) published in sub-Saharan Africa. Holdings currently only reflect North American collections. Project administered by the Center for Research Libraries.
Newspapers in Microform. Foreign Countries. Washington : Library of Congress, 2 vols.
Lists newspapers by country, city, and title. Indicates which libraries have microform holdings of those titles.
Dana Call Number: Ref. Z6945.U515a yr.1948/83
Foreign Newspapers at the Center for Research Libraries
Database of more than 6000 titles of non-U.S. newspapers (current and restrospective) held by CRL.
Foreign Newspapers at the Library of Congress
Newspapers currently received and permanently retained on microfilm.
Area Studies: Selected Resources