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Regional History

This guide breaks down history Reference materials by region of the world. Please see the General History guide, as well as the American History section for other materials.

 

Reference Books

Great Britain & Ireland

  • The Cambridge history of the British Empire. 8 volumes. 1963. Reference 942 C14
  • The Columbia companion to British history. 1997. Ref 941 C72c
  • The Encyclopedia of Britain. 1993. Ref 941.003 G21e
  • Facts about the British prime ministers. 1995. Ref 941 E58f
  • The Encyclopedia of the Victorian world. 1996. Ref 941 C79e
  • Encyclopedia of the Victorian era. 4 volumes. 2004. Ref 941.081 En19
  • The Royal encyclopedia. 1991. Ref 941 R81
  • Medieval England: An Encyclopedia. 1998. Ref 942 M48m
  • Tudor England: An Encyclopedia. 2001. Ref 942.05 T912t
  • The Oxford companion to Irish history. Reference 941.5 Ox24C
  • Encyclopedia of Ireland: An A-Z guide to its people, places, history, and culture. Reference 941.5 En19 2000
  • Encyclopedia of Irish history and culture. Reference 941.5 En19D
  • Encyclopedia of Irish spirituality. Main Collection 941.5 J49


Europe

  • Modern Germany: An Encyclopedia of history, people, and culture, 1871-1990. 2 volumes. 1998. Ref 943.08 M68m
  • The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich. 1997. Ref 943.086 E56e
  • Encyclopedia of contemporary French culture. 1998. Ref 944.08 E56e
  • Encyclopedia of contemporary Spanish culture. 1999. Ref 946 E56e
  • Encyclopedia of Russian history. 4 volumes. 2004. Ref 947 E564e
  • Encyclopedia of Eastern Europe: From the Congress of Vienna to the fall of Communism. 2000. Ref 947 E56e
  • Russia and the Commonwealth: A to Z. 1992. Ref 947 W74r
  • The Cambridge encyclopedia of Russia and the Soviet Union. 1982. Ref 947.003 C14
  • Encyclopaedia of the Viking age. 2000. Ref 948.022 H427e

 

Asia

  • Encyclopedia of modern Asia. 6 volumes. 2002. Ref 950 En19M
  • Encyclopedia of Asian history. 1988. 4 volumes. Ref 950 En19
    Covering most of Asia, this encyclopedia spans all subjects of history, focusing on the last 300 years, though all periods are represented. Most entries include a suggested reading list for further study.
  • The Cambridge encyclopedia of China. 1991. Ref 951 C17c
  • Facts about China. 2003. Ref 951 F11X
  • Modern China: An Encyclopedia of history, culture and nationalism. 1998. Ref 951 M68m
  • Encyclopedia of China: The Essential reference to China, its history and culture. 1999. Ref 951 P44e
  • China today: An Encyclopedia of life in the People's Republic. 2 volumes. 2005. Ref 951.05 C44L
  • Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol empire. 2004. Ref 951.7 At95e
  • Encyclopedia of contemporary Japanese culture. 2002. Ref 952 En19
  • Japan: An Illustrated encyclopedia. 2 volumes. 1993. Ref 952.003 J27K
  • The Cambridge encyclopedia of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives. 1989. Ref 954.003 C14R
  • Historical dictionary of India. 2006. Ref 954.003 M31h
  • Encyclopedia of Singapore. 2006. Ref 959.57 En19S

 

Middle East

  • Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East. 4 volumes. 1996. Ref 956 En19
  • Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim world. 2 volumes. 2004. Ref 956 En19M
  • The Encyclopedia of Islam. 8 volumes. 1960. Ref 956.003 En19
  • Political encyclopedia of the Middle East. 1999. Ref 956.04 P75
  • Encyclopedia of the Persian Gulf War. 1995. Ref 956.8044 G98e
  • Encyclopedia of Zionism and Israel. 2 volumes. 1971. Ref 956.94 En19
  • Encyclopedia of the Palestinians. 2005. Ref 909.049274 En19
  • Encyclopedia of the Palestine problem. 2 volumes. 1991. Ref 956.94 N14
  • The Encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli conflict: A Political, social, and military history. 3 volumes. 2008. Ref 956.9405 En19A

 

Africa

  • The Cambridge encyclopedia of Africa. 1981 Ref 960 C14
  • Encyclopedia of African history. 3 volumes. 2005. Ref 960 En19S
    Covering the history of the entire African continent and it surrounding islands, this reference work spans traditional topics in history, as well as the social, economic, linguistic, anthropological, and political subjects highlighted in modern research from the earliest time of humans in Africa to the beginning of the twenty-first century.
  • Encyclopedia of Africa south of the Sahara. 4 volumes. 1997. Ref 916.7 En19
  • Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American experience. 5 volumes. 2005. Ref 960 Af839

 

Latin America

  • The Oxford encyclopedia of Mesoamerican cultures: The Civilizations of Mexico and Central America. 3 volumes. 2001. Ref 972.01 Ox22
  • The Cambridge encyclopedia of Latin America and the Caribbean. 1975. Ref 980 C14
  • Encyclopedia of Latin American history and culture. 5 volumes. 1996. Ref 980 M36e
    A massive work of scholarship, this is the first attempt at a truly global conglomeration of Latin American history. Not only includes traditionally historic topics, like politics and economics, but also has many entries regarding popular culture and social history. Entries include lists for further reading and numerous maps and photographs give the encyclopedia added diversity.
  • Encyclopedia of Mexico: History, society, and culture. 2 volumes. 1997. 972 E56e
  • The South American handbook. 2007. Ref 918 So8

 

Canada

  • The Oxford companion to Canadian history. 2004. Ref 971 Ox22H
  • The Canadian encyclopedia. 3 volumes. 1985. Ref 971 C16
  • Facts about Canada, its provinces and territories. 1995. Ref 971 W42f

 

Finding Books in our Library

Search the Online Catalog for specific aspects of the Great Depression - causes, effects, moral aspects, economic and social conditions, etc. Below I have used a sample topic to demonstrate a method for searching. Irish history is our sample topic.

  • ireland AND history as subject keywords (choose from drop-down box next to boxes where you type in these terms)
  • with this limit: Format=Book (drop-down) OR Choose a Collection from that drop-down menu on the Bottom Right of the page

Also keep in mind that you can use other terms with Ireland and you can use them as keywords only, instead of subject headings. Using Subject headings simply narrows a search a little more than using only keywords.

If you find a book that interests you, click on the "Check for Copies" link (it will have the call number displayed--click there) this will let you know if it's on the shelf or currently checked out. You will find that we have some e-books in the catalog, which you can read online.

If you find an e-Book, you should have the option to click a link, which will open a new window and allow you to view the book.

You can look for the L.C. Subject links within an individual book's record. If you click on one that seems relevant, such as "Ireland -- History...", it will create a new search of only those titles in our collection with the exact same subject heading.

If you'd like to find books and other resources that we do not have in our library, use WorldCat, a combined catalog for thousands of libraries around the world. It's listed under Essential Tools on the Library's home page.

 

Journals (electronic)

We can search for all of the periodicals pertaining to a particular subject or with a specific keyword in the journal title by searching the Library's List of Journals, Magazines, and Newspapers, linked from the Library's home page. I used keyword searching to find the items below:

  • We have 70 journals with "Ireland" in the title.
  • Twenty-seven (27) more journals have "Irish" in the title.

Once you choose a link from above, click on the Blue links under each title to go directly to a database to search that particular journal (i.e., Irish Arts Review found in the database--Wilson OmniFile Full Text Select).

 

Databases (finding articles)


Web Resources

There are many more sites out there. These are just a sampling.

To find more reliable web sites on topics dealing with a country, search Google using the nation's name, such as "Ireland site:.edu". The Site:.edu part will dictate that only educational sites can appear in the results, this brings up digital archives and other multimedia (and plain text) sites that universities have developed.

You could also try various aspects of Irish history or particular happenings. The national domain for web sites from Ireland is ".ie", so that's another option for limiting the "site:.ie".  You can limit the national domain for any country you're interested in.

Regional History

  • REESWeb Russian and East European Sites
    Browse REESWeb's annotated links to Russian and Eastern European web sites using any combination of subject, geographical region, culture, time period.

  • LANIC Latin American Network Information Center
    Its purpose is to facilitate access to Internet-based information to, from, or on Latin America. While many of our resources are designed to facilitate research and academic endeavors, our site has also become an important gateway to Latin America for primary and secondary school teachers and students, private and public sector professionals, and just about anyone looking for information about this important region.

  • EuroDocs (selected by the Western European Studies Section of the ACRL)
    EuroDocs links connect to Western European (mainly primary) historical documents that are transcribed, reproduced in facsimile, or translated. They shed light on key historical happenings within the respective countries (and within the broadest sense of political, economic, social and cultural history). The order of documents is chronological wherever possible.

Irish History

  • Ireland (IMHS)
    Out of Fordham University, the overall project -- The Internet Modern History Sourcebook -- offers a multitude of pages about different historical time periods and events. This brief collection of web sites relating to Ireland links to authoritative, educational resources. Within the IMHS, there is another section that deals with individual countries and the aftermath of WWII. Ireland has several more links to respected, useful sites that include text of the Irish Constitution, Proclamation of the Republic, and the Diary of Bobby Sands.
  • Ireland (CIA World Factbook)
    From the CIA's World Factbook online, this site offers lots of background information, maps, statistics about the people and the land, as well as some transnational issues regarding this particular country. A great site with lots of useful information. 

 



Other Research Tools

  • Credo Reference
    A conglomeration of specialized dictionaries and encyclopedias that allows you to search for definitions and encyclopedia articles, as well as develop ideas for expanding or refining a research strategy.
  • Oxford Reference Premium Online  
    Oxford University Press produces a number of extremely useful reference materials, many of which they have made available here. You can search by keyword, but you can also choose particular subjects and from there, particular books within which to search. This willl provide you with all sorts of background and broad spectrum information on a particular topic.
  • Biography Resource Center  
    Find background information about people, authors, famous personalities, and others. Search by first or last name. 


Citation Help

One of the least favorite aspects of research papers are the citations, documenting the sources where you gleaned your information. To make that a little easier, the Library offers a few resources.

  • The Citation Style Guide is a place where you can find call numbers for print Style Manuals and Handbooks, as well as online help from several different universities around the States. Check it out and see if it helps!
  • RefWorks
    is a Citation Management program. Fully available online, and linked from the Library's home page, it allows you to keep it all ELECTRONIC. Download your citations from the various databases you're using into RefWorks. This program will create the Works Cited page for you with little effort. In a database, look for the option to EXPORT - that is where you'll find this gem of a program.
  • Automatically Generated Citations can be found in our Library Catalog (to the right of the item on the Results page), as well as in most EBSCO databases (like Academic Search Premier, PsycINFO, Communications and Mass Media Complete, etc.). Most databases either provide an instant citation in a couple of different styles, or they allow Exporting to RefWorks (see above). Ask a Librarian for more help in managing your citations and creating your bibliographies and works cited pages faster.
  • WorldCat.org
    "Cite this item" within individual item record lists the citation in APA, MLA, Chicago and more.
  • The Writing Center is also a solid resource. Available in the Library, this is run by the English department. If you'd like face-to-face help individually with citing or any aspect of writing and editing your paper, the Writing Center is the place to go. For more information, see their page on the Portal, or you can contact them at writingctr@taylor.edu.

 

Created by Lana Wilson, Reference Librarian

Last revised November 04, 2009 - 05:16 AM