• Getting Started
• Finding Books
• Finding Articles
• Web Sites

Getting Started: Selected Reference Works

General Reference Works

Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture
Ref DS33 .C63 2000
Chronologies by country for East, South, Southeast, and Central Asia.

Encyclopedia of Asian History
Ref Folio DS31 .E53 1988
A four volume work; some articles include bibliographies for further reading.

International Historical Statistics: Africa, Asia & Oceania, 1750-1993
Ref HA4675 .M55 1998
Population, labor force, agriculture, industry, trade, transportation, finance and education statistics.

Central Asia

The Handbook of Central Asia
Ref DK859.5 C37 2000
One volume reference work that surveys the history, politics, economy and culture of the new central Asian republics; useful bibliographies conclude every chapter.

China

The Cambridge History of China
Ref DS735 .C3145
Multi-volume narrative history of China; excellent source of background information and citations.

China
Ref DS735 .H39 1997
An annotated bibliography of English language books on Chinese history, culture, politics, government, economics, and society.

Modern China: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture and Nationalism
Ref DS755.2 .M54 1998
A one volume encyclopedia of 19th and 20th century China; most articles conclude with a brief bibliography.

India

The Cambridge History of India
Ref DS436 .C23
Multi-volume narrative history of India; excellent source of background information and citations.

Historical Dictionary of India
Ref DS405 .M27 1996
Brief entries on important people, places, and events in Indian history; includes a chronology and a bibliography.

India
Ref DS407 .D46 1995
An annotated bibliography of English language books on Indian history, politics, and culture.

Japan

Cambridge History of Japan
Ref DS835 .C36 1988
Multi-volume narrative history of Japan; excellent source of background information and citations.

Japan
Ref DS806 .S53 1989
An annotated bibliography of English language books on Japanese history, politics, and culture.

Modern Japan: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Nationalism
Ref DS805 .M63 1998
A one volume encyclopedia of 19th and 20th century Japan; most articles conclude with a brief bibliography.

Korea

Korea: A Historical and Cultural Dictionary
Ref DS902 .P737 1999
Provides factual information about events, history and people in Korean history and culture; includes a English - Korean transliteration guide.

Selected Bibliography of Korean Studies
Ref DS902 .S44 1995
Annotated bibliography of English and Korean language books on Korean history and culture.

Middle East

Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East
Ref DS43 .E53 1996
A multivolume encyclopedia covering the area from Morocco to Afghanistan; contains articles on Middle Eastern politics, religion, history, economics, and culture.

Middle East Contemporary Survey
Ref DS62.8 .M53
Summarizes yearly events and trends in the region from 1977-1998.

Southeast Asia

Cambodia
Ref DS554.3 .J378 1997
An annotated bibliography of English language books on Cambodian history, culture, language, and society.

Thailand
Ref DS563.5 .W37 1986
An annotated bibliography of English langauge books on Thai history, culture, language, and society.

Vietnam
Ref DS556.3 M37 1992
An annotated bibliography of English langauge books on Vietnamese history, culture, language, and society.

Vietnam Studies: An Annotated Bibliography
Ref DS556.3 S57 1997
An interdisciplinary bibliography of English language books on Vietnamese history, culture, language, and society.

Finding Books

Two kinds of books, monographs and essay collections, compose the majority Gould library's collection. Monographs, extended analyses of a topic by one author, are abundant in the field of history. Essay collections bring together articles, often by different authors, on a given topic.

In Bridge, Gould Library's online catalog:

• Begin with a word search.

• Enter words that describe your topic (names, places, events, etc.).
• When you find a book on your topic, examine its subject headings for relevance to your topic.
• Click on a hyperlinked subject heading to perform subject heading search and retrieve related books.

• Perform a subject heading search in Bridge only if you know a valid Library of Congress subject heading.

• Search "Japan-- History", "China -- History", "India -- History", etc. to browse a list of relevant subject headings, such as:

  Japan-- History -- 19th century
  Japan-- History -- Meiji period, 1868-1912-- Sources
  Japan-- History -- Tokugawa Period, 1600-1868 -- Historiography

• Note that many Library of Congress subject headings relevant to Asian History do not begin with the name of an Asian country:

  Nanking Massacre, Nanjing, Jiangsu Sheng, China, 1937
  Calligraphy, Japanese -- History -- Kamakura-Momoyama periods, 1185-1600
  India-Pakistan Conflict, 1947-1949 -- Personal Narratives

Browsing the stacks can help you evaluate the library's collection in a given field of study. The following call number ranges contain works relevant to Asian history:

DK690-949.39	Central Asian History (former Soviet territories)
DS41-326	Middle Eastern History
DS327-329.4	Central Asian History
DS401-486.8	Indian History
DS520-560.72	Southeast Asian History
DS561-589	Thai History
DS701-799.9	Chinese History
DS801-897	Japanese History
DS901-937	Korean History

Search WorldCat, an online catalog for libraries throughout the world, to take your search beyond Northfield.

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Finding Articles

Periodical literature in the discipline of history presents cutting-edge research, provides reviews of historiographical trends, and hosts a forum for intellectual exchange among professional historians.

Once you have located an article citation in a database, index, or bibliography, perform a title search in Bridge using the exact title of the periodical. If Carleton and St. Olaf do not hold the journal, you may request the article through Interlibrary Loan.

Periodical Databases & Indexes

Bibliography of Asian Studies (online 1971-present)
Ref DS501 .B49 (1960-1991)
An index to Asian Studies journal articles and books written in western languages.

Historical Abstracts (1954-present)
The premier access point to the journal literature in history; provides citations to articles, books, and dissertations on all aspects of World history, 1450 - present.

MLA International Bibliography (1963-present)
Provides citations to articles dealing with literature, folklore, and popular culture.

PAIS International (1972-present)
Provides citations to articles dealing with current and historical political and public policy issues, such as globalization, foreign policy, and child labor.

Sociological Abstracts (1963-present)
Provides citations to articles dealing with current and historical sociological topics, such as development, ethnic identity, and demography.

Web of Science
Search either the Social Science Citation Index (1969-present) or the Arts & Humanities Citation Index (1975-present) to locate journal articles that cite specific works.

Academic Journals to Browse

American Historical Review
In Print and Online

The China Quarterly
In Print and Online

Chinese Studies in History (A Journal of Translations)
In Print and Online

Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies
In Print and Online

Indian Economic and Social History Review
In Print

International Journal of Middle East Studies
In Print and Online

Journal of Asian Studies
In Print and Online

Journal of Japanese Studies
In Print and Online

Late Imperial China
In Print and Online

Middle East Studies Association Bulletin
In Print

Modern Asian Studies
In Print and Online

Modern China
In Print and Online

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Web Sites

The Web sites recommended below complement other research resources.

Portal to Asian Internet Resources
An annotated database of Asian Studies Web sites maintained by the University of Wisconsin, the University of Minnesota, and Ohio State University.

Guide to History on the Web
A searchable database of history Web sites created by the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University.

H-Asia
H-Asia, an academic listserv and discussion network, allows you to read current and archived discussions on Asian history and Asian studies.

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