Reference Materials
If a subject is new to you, or if you would like an overview of a topic, basic factual information, or sources for further reading, you may want to consult reference materials. This page lists only online sources. For print reference books, please search the Local Catalog.
General Reference Works
Britannica AcademicCall Number: OnlineSearch for information in Encyclopedia Britannica and Britannica Concise Encyclopedia as well as a multimedia database.
Oxford English Dictionary (OED)Includes definitions, etymologies, and quotations.
African Studies
Cambridge History of AfricaMulti-volume history of Africa.Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, & Africa
Conveys what daily life is like for people in these selected regions.
Encyclopedia of AfricaArticles cover prominent individuals, events, trends, places, political movements, art forms, business and trade, religions, ethnic groups, organizations, and countries throughout Africa.
Encyclopedia of African HistoryNearly 1,100 entries, covering the earliest evolution of humans to the new millennium.
Ethnic Groups of Africa and the Middle East: An EncyclopediaEncyclopedic entries arranged alphabetically within ethno-linguistic classifications.
Oxford Encyclopedia of African ThoughtOffers a comprehensive view of African thought, covering the intellectual tradition both on the continent in its entirety and throughout the African Diaspora in the Americas and in Europe.
Latin American Studies
Cambridge History of Latin AmericaMulti-volume history of Latin America.
Conflict in the Early Americas: An Encyclopedia of the Spanish Empire's Aztec, Incan, and Mayan ConquestsFocuses primarily on the defeat of the Aztec, Incan, and Mayan civilizations.
Mexico Today: An Encyclopedia of Life in the RepublicOver 200 entries on politics, government, economics, society, culture, and more.Oxford Bibliographies Online: Latin American Studies
Designed to help researchers efficiently locate reliable sources of information. Each subject module contains a literary research guide to the most significant sources in that area of study.
International Studies (General, Security, etc.)
Encyclopedia of DiplomacyEvents, people and terms associated with diplomacy and international relations from ancient times to the present, from a global perspective.
Globalization and Security: An EncyclopediaExamines how the interrelationships of economics, politics, and culture determine levels of stability within regions around the world.- Designed to help researchers efficiently locate reliable sources of information. Each subject module contains a literary research guide to the most significant sources in that area of study.
Oxford International Encyclopedia of PeaceOver 850 A-Z entries signed by leading scholars. Requires creating a user name and password.
Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of GlobalizationMore than 600 entries on concepts derived from across the social sciences, from sociology and anthropology to political science, economics, and human geography.
Asian Studies
Cambridge History of ChinaMulti-volume history of China.
Cambridge History of JapanMulti-volume history of Japan.- Conveys what daily life is like for people in these selected regions.
JapanKnowledge Lib (Japan narejji Lib)Provides fully searchable and browsable English-Japanese and Japanese-English dictionaries, the Encyclopedia Nipponica and Encyclopedia of Japan, articles published in the weekly magazine Ekonomisuto, the Toyo Bunko, and other resources.
New Cambridge History of IndiaMulti-volume history of India.
Middle Eastern Studies
Cambridge History of EgyptTwo volume history of Egypt.Cambridge History of Iran
Multi-volume history of Iran.
Cambridge History of IslamMulti-volume history of Islam.
Cambridge History of JudaismMulti-volume history of Judaism.
Cambridge History of TurkeyMulti-volume history of Turkey.- Conveys what daily life is like for people in these selected regions.
Encyclopaedia IranicaComprehensive research tool dedicated to the study of Iranian civilization in the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinentEncyclopaedia Judaica
Provides an exhaustive and organized overview of Jewish life and knowledge from the Second Temple period to the contemporary State of Israel, from Rabbinic to modern Yiddish literature, from Kabbalah to "Americana" and from Zionism to the contribution of Jews to world cultures.
Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd edition)Includes articles on all aspects of the Islamic World. Discusses religion, history, politics, culture, distinguished Muslims, tribes and dynasties, crafts and sciences, geography, ethnography, flora and fauna, and other topics.
Encyclopaedia of Islam ThreeBegun in 2007, the third edition of Brill’s Encyclopaedia of Islam sets out the present state of our knowledge of the Islamic world. It is published in five substantial segments each year.
Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic WorldEdited by retired OU Professor Dr. Norman Stillman, this source covers the Jews of Muslim lands particularly in the late medieval, early modern and modern periods.Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures
Focuses on women and the civilizations and societies in which Islam has played a historic role. Surveys all facets of life (society, economy, politics, religion, the arts, popular culture, sports, health, science, medicine, environment, and so forth) of women in these societies.Encyclopædia of the Qur'ān
Encyclopedic dictionary of qur'anic terms, concepts, personalities, place names, cultural history and exegesis extended with essays on the most important themes and subjects within qur'anic studies.- Ethnic Groups of Africa and the Middle East: An EncyclopediaEncyclopedic entries arranged alphabetically within ethno-linguistic classifications.
- Designed to help researchers efficiently locate reliable sources of information. Each subject module contains a literary research guide to the most significant sources in that area of study.