The research guide for International Studies is the place to begin your research; this list of resources is intended specifically to highlight resources focusing on the Middle East. For assistance with research contact Jennifer Dorner, at dorner@pdx.edu or 503.725.4125 or Kris Kern, at kernk@pdx.edu or 503.725.5218.
Topic summary | Finding articles | Using bibliographies| Finding books | Finding people and organizations | Related information | Datasets and statistics | Finding topics | Research help
Topic summary
Reference resources provide excellent background/overview information and are a great place to begin your research. They frequently contain contain articles written by experts for a general audience. Most of these tools include indexes that indicate the scope of coverage of a topic and help pinpoint articles in which a concept will be discussed. Sources for further reading are usually included.
The atlas of the Arab world: Geopolitics and society
Z3014 .R44 S55 1999 | 2nd Floor
The Chicago online encyclopedia of Mamluk studies
http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/su/mideast/encyclopedia/
Encyclopdia iranica
DS253 .E53 | Basement
Encyclopedia of the modern Middle East
DS61.5 .W5 | 2nd Floor
Historical Dictionary Series
Historical dictionaries of personalities, places, events, movements, and ideas of individual countries. Most have been compiled by foremost authorities on the area. Cataloged individually and some of them are available online from NetLibrary. The latest editions are listed here.
| Afghanistan | NetLibrary | |
| Algeria | NetLibrary | |
| Arab and Islamic organizations | DS36.55 .C57 2001 | Basement |
| Egypt | DT75 .G65 2003 | 2nd Floor |
| Jordan | NetLibrary | |
| Lebanon | DS80.9 .A28 1998 | 2nd Floor |
| Morocco | NetLibrary | |
| Pakistan | NetLibrary | |
| Palestine | NetLibrary | |
| Saudi Arabia | NetLibrary | |
| Syria | DS94.9 .C66 1996 | 2nd Floor |
| Turkey | DDR436 .H47 2002 | 2nd Floor |
| Yemen | NetLibrary |
An historical encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli conflict
DS119.7 .H554 1996 | 2nd Floor
A History of the Arab peoples
DS39 .P64 1991 | 2nd Floor
The Oxford encyclopedia of the modern Islamic world
DS35.53 .O95 1995 | 2nd Floor
Political encyclopedia of the Middle East
DS119.7 .H554 1996 | 2nd Floor
Political leaders of the contemporary Middle East and North Africa: A biographical dictionary
DS61.5 .P65 1990 | 2nd Floor
Finding articles
To find articles in journals, magazines, or newspapers, you will need to use one of the Library's print indexes or article databases. An index or article database will allow you to look for articles by title, by author, or by a few keywords that describe your topic. The indexes and databases most useful for research in Middle East Studies are listed below, however, articles related to Middle East Studies topics may be found in the literature of other disciplines.
Index Islamicus
Z7835 .M6 L623
The most important and exhaustive index to the field. Includes citations for articles published in European languages and Turkish. Also includes listings of monographs beginning in 1981 and book reviews beginning 1993.
Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies
Middle Eastern & Central Asian Studies is a bibliographic index of research, policy and scholarly discourse on the countries and peoples of the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa. This database contains more than 332,790 records and coverage spans from 1900 and earlier to present. Subject coverage includes: political affairs and law, international relations, economic affairs, business and industry, cultural heritage, arts and humanities, society and social welfare, ethnic diversity and anthropology, significant religious events and movements, recent history (1900 - present), and archaeology.
Using Bibliographies
A bibliography, in this context, is a book or electronic resource that lists primarily books and journal articles on a specific topic. A bibliography can be either a selective or exhaustive list of sources, it may just be a list of citations or could include annotations. Works included may be selected because of their publication date, or their importance, or their origin. Bibliographies are particularly useful when you need to do exhaustive research on your topic or if you need to find literature published during a period not covered by the electronic resources.
Introduction to the history of the Muslim East: A bibliographical guide
Z3013 .S314 | 2nd Floor
Middle East and Islam: A bibliographical introduction
Z3013 .M48 1979 | 2nd Floor
Introduction to the history of the Muslim East: A bibliographical guide
Z3013 .S314 | 2nd Floor
Islam in Contemporary Sub-Saharan Africa
http://www.ascleiden.nl/Publications/Bibliographies/IslamInAfrica/
The bibliography contains over 4,300 references from European language sources about Islam in contemporary Sub-Saharan Africa, from around 1960 to 2005.
U.S. foreign relations with the Middle East and North Africa: A bibliography. Supplement, 1998
Z7835 .M6 H24 1997 | 2nd Floor
Women in Islamic Societies: A selected review of the social scientific literature
http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/pdf-files/Women_Islamic_Societies.pdf
A literature review prepared by the Federal Research Division at the Library of Congress that includes recent empirical social science scholarship addressing women's lives in Muslim societies. Along with bibliographic citations of the major works and representative studies related to various aspects of Muslim women's lives, the study presents "analyses of empirical findings that emerge from these bodies of literature."
World Bibliographical Series
Volumes covers history, geography, economics, politics, religion, sociology, anthropology, and culture of an individual country. The latest editions are listed here.
| Afghanistan | Z3016 .J66 1992 | 2nd Floor |
| Algeria | Z3681 .L378 1995 | 2nd Floor |
| Bahrain | Z3028 .B34 U58 1984 | 2nd Floor |
| Egypt | Z3651 .M34 1988 | 2nd Floor |
| Iran | Z3366 .N37 1988 | 2nd Floor |
| Iraq | Z3036 .B58 1995 | 2nd Floor |
| Israel: and the West Bank and Gaza Strip | Z3476 .B55 1994 | 2nd Floor |
| Jordan | Z3471 .A55 1999 | NetLibrary |
| Kuwait | Z3028 .K87 C46 1985 | 2nd Floor |
| Lebanon | Z3483 .L4 K48 1991 | 2nd Floor |
| Libya | Z3971 .L39 1987 | 2nd Floor |
| The Maghreb | NetLibrary | |
| Morocco | Z3836 .F56 1984 | 2nd Floor |
| Oman | Z3028 .O5 C57 1981 | 2nd Floor |
| Qatar | Z3028 .Q3 U58 1982 | 2nd Floor |
| Saudi Arabia | Z3026 .C57 1988 | 2nd Floor |
| Syria | DS93 .Q85 1999 | NetLibrary |
| Tunisia | Z3685.2 .F55 1982 | 2nd Floor |
| Turkey | Z2831 .G83 | 2nd Floor |
| Tunisia | Z3685.2 .F55 1982 | 2nd Floor |
| United Arab Emirates | ZZ3028.U54 C57 1998 | NetLibrary |
| Yemen | Z3028.Y39 A93 1998 | NetLibrary |
Online Journals
The list below is solely a list of those journals that focus on the topic of Middle Eastern Studies. This list only includes online journals for which we have an ongoing subscription. Many other titles are available in print in the Library's collection and can be found by searching VIKAT. The online journals require authentication for off-campus use.
| Arab Studies Quarterly | Full text from 1990- |
| International Journal of Middle East Studies | Full text from 1970-1999 Full text from 2000- |
| Iranian Studies | Full text from 2002- |
| Journal of Palestine Studies | Full text from 1971-2001 Full text from 2002- |
| Middle East Review of International Affairs | Full text from 1997- |
| Muslim World | Full text from 2000- |
Newspapers from the Middle East can also be located online at:
worldnewspapers.com
http://www.world-newspapers.com/east.html
The Middle East Information Network
http://www.mideastinfo.com/news.html
Finding books
Search PSU Library's catalog, Vikat for books, journals (not individual articles), videos, government information, music and other material owned by the Library. You may search by keywords, author, title or subject headings.
Subject headings allow you to search library catalogs for materials on a particular topic. Often subject heading searching can be more productive than searching by simple keywords. Listed here are some major subject headings of interest for research in Middle Eastern Studies. Copies of the complete set of the Library of Congress Subject Headings are available at the 2nd floor Reference Desk.
| Search by Region | Search by Country | Search by Topic |
| Asia, central -- Foreign relations Asia, central -- Strategic aspects Middle East -- Description And travel Middle East -- Geography Middle East -- Languages | Afghanistan -- Social life and customs Pakistan-- Commercial policy Saudi Arabia -- Foreign relations Syria -- History Iran -- Politics and government | Human rights -- Syria Muslims -- Pakistan Conflict management -- Middle East Constitutional history -- Lebanon Democracy -- Kuwait Indigenous Peoples -- Oman |
Remember, too, that you are not just limited to what we own in our Library. Whenever you are searching, you have the option of expanding your results by clicking on the SUMMIT button in the upper right hand corner of the results screen. This automatically redoes your search in the SUMMIT catalog of the ORBIS/CASCADE Alliance. If you find an item in that catalog that you'd like to see, click on the "REQUEST THIS ITEM" link and follow the directions on the screen.
If you cannot find what you need in the our catalog (VIKAT) or the catalog of the Orbis-Cascade Alliance (Summit), then you might try WorldCat. WorldCat contains more than 30 millions records for materials cataloged by the Library of Congress and OCLC member libraries, including most academic and many public libraries in the U.S. Catalog includes books, serials (journals, magazines and newspapers), musical scores, recordings, videos, computer software, films, maps and manuscripts. If you find materials unavailable in the Portland State Library or through SUMMIT, you can request them through Interlibrary Loan.
Finding people and organizations
Middle East Studies Association (MESA)
http://fp.arizona.edu/mesassoc/
"A non-political association that fosters the study of the Middle East, promotes high standards of scholarship and teaching, and encourages public understanding of the region and its peoples through programs, publications and services that enhance education, further intellectual exchange, recognize professional distinction, and defend academic freedom."
Related Information
MENIC (Middle East Network Information Center)
http://menic.utexas.edu/menic.html
MENIC is an online guide to Middle East-related websites and databases that can be accessed via the World Wide Web.
Arab Culture and Civilization
http://arabworld.nitle.org
This site is organized into thematic modules, dealing with humanities and social sciences and including topics such as Arab Americans, Literature & Philosophy, Ethnicity & Identiry, Family & Society, Performing Arts, etc. Each module includes original texts, video clips and audio files. The site was developed by the Al-Musharaka Initiative of the National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education.
ArabNet
http://www.arab.net
An online resource for news and general information on 22 countries. Country listings are separated into eight categories: an overview providing essential statistics, history, geography, business, culture, government, transportation, and a tour guide. Additionally, special features are provided on such diverse topics as camels, Arab cuisine, homes, Arabic names, falconry, medical information, and an Internet service provider in the Arab world.
Arab Social Science Research
http://www.assr.org/
ASSR is the network engine of the Arab Institute for Studies and Communication (AISC) and is dedicated to develop research organizations and assist researchers in the Arab world and beyond. The resources on ASSR are organized by country and by subject and by type of resources for each of the 22 Arab countries.
Middle East Studies Internet Resources at Columbia University
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/mideast/cuvlm/
An on-going compilation of electronic bibliographic resources and research materials on the Middle East and North Africa available on the Internet, created by the Middle East Studies Department of Columbia University Libraries. Resources are organized by region, country and subject.
The Middle East, 1916-2001: a documentary record, Internet Resource
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/mideast/mideast.htm
Very well organized and simply presented, this Web site is part of the Yale Law School's Avalon Project (CH, Sup'05, 42Sup-0500), an extensive historical and legal document collection. The site is primarily aimed at students of international law, history, and political science, but the resources would certainly be useful to anyone interested in examining the Middle East through government documents, transcripts of government leaders' speeches, and UN resolutions.
Data sets and statistics
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
http://www.pcbs.org/
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics main function is to provide official and accurate statistics on demographic, social, economic and environmental states and trends to serve the Palestinian citizenry, and to serve the instrumental needs of businesses and their organizations for statistical information on states and trends.
Finding topics
The Middle East
Articles and book reviews about the business and current affairs in the Middle East.
The Middle East journal
DS41 .M5 | Basement
Includes articles of current topical interest, as well as a bibliography and current book reviews.
Research help
International and regional politics in the Middle East and North Africa : a guide to information sources
Z6465 .N35 S38 | 2nd Floor
A Middle East studies handbook
DS61 .B3 1984 | Basement
The modern Middle East : a guide to research tools in the social sciences
Z3013 .S55 | 2nd Floor