Middle East Studies: Reference Works
Why Reference Works?
Reference works are an excellent first stop in your research and are incredibly useful for the following:
- Getting an overview of a topic
- Getting topic ideas for a paper topic or narrowing your topic
- Brainstorming keywords for searching and learning the vocabulary used by authors in that area
- Learning the key works on a given topic
- Discovering the key authors on a given topic
Reference works are a good starting off point, but should not be cited in your research as they are not considered primary or secondary sources. The only exception is when reference works contain primary and secondary sources (like collections of documents and essays).
Bibliographies
Multidisciplinary Sources
- Europa World and/or the Regional Surveys of the WorldCovers political and economic information about countries and territories, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.
- Oxford Bibliographies OnlineIncludes scholarly bibliographies that provide research guidance in several topical areas. Our current subscriptions cover the classics, Jewish studies, Islamic studies, Latino studies, medieval studies, the renaissance and the reformation, British and Irish literature, childhood studies, Chinese studies, cinema and media studies, American literature, education, communication, linguistics, philosophy, public health, and international relations.
Microforms
The Thomas Naff microfilm collection on French-Ottoman relations at PSU
A description of the collection prepared by Professor Thomas Luckett of the Portland State University History Department
Encyclopedias & Dictionaries
- Brockelmann OnlineComposed of the full text of Geschichte der Arabischen Litteratur (GAL) by Carl Brockelmann (1868-1956), with indexes. The "Brockelmann" covers the Islamic world in general and the Middle East in particular.
- Encyclopaedia of IslamThe Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd edition), provides authoritative information and scholarly entries about the Middle East and the Islamic world.
- The Encyclopaedia of the Qur'ānThe Encyclopaedia of the Qur'ān Online is the first comprehensive, multivolume reference work on the Qur'ān to appear in a Western language. It includes direct access to 62 Early Printed Western Qur'āns Online and the Electronic Qur'ān Concordance, a unique online finding aid for textual research.
- Encyclopedia IranicaA comprehensive research tool dedicated to the study of Iranian civilization in the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent.
- Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic CulturesRepresenting a collaboration of international scholars, the Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures crosses history, geographic borders, and disciplines to create a reference work that reflects the current research on gender studies and the Islamic world.
Print Resources
The Arab World Today
DS39 .P64 1991 | Basement
The Continuum Political Encyclopedia of the Middle East
DS62.8 .P64 2002 | 2nd Floor
Encyclopædia Iranica is dedicated to the study of Iranian civilization in the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. The academic reference work will eventually cover all aspects of Iranian history and culture as well as all Iranian languages and literatures, facilitating the whole range of Iranian studies research.The Encyclopædia is an international, collaborative project, based at Columbia University.
Print version
DS253 .E53 | Basement
Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics
PJ6031 .E53 2006 | 2nd Floor
Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East & North Africa
DS43 .E53 2004| 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 | DT283.7 .N39 2006 | 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 | DT313.7 .P37 2006 | NetLibrary |
| Pakistan | NetLibrary | |
| Palestine | NetLibrary | |
| Saudi Arabia | NetLibrary | |
| Syria | DS94.9 .C66 1996 | 2nd Floor |
|
Turkey Western Sahara |
DDR436 .H47 2002 DT346 .S7 P39 2006 |
2nd Floor
|
| Yemen | NetLibrary |
An Historical Encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli Conflict
DS119.7 .H554 1996 | 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 | 3rd Floor
Who's Who in the Arab World
DS61.5 .W5 2005-2006 | 2nd Floor