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Background & Overviews

Specialized encyclopedias are useful for getting a quick overview of a topic. Use these resources to familiarize yourself with the important issues, terms, dates, and trends in the subject area. You can also use the bibliographies at the end of the articles to find additional resources.

The United States in the Middle East : a historical dictionary. Reference DS63.2.U5 S384 1988 
 

Book-length bibliographies are excellent resources for indentifying key literature published over a long span of time and over a wide range of publication types.

American foreign relations since 1600. Reference E183.7 .A43 2003 
United States/Middle East diplomatic relations, 1784-1978 : an annotated bibliography. Reference Z3014.R44 B79  (1979)

Subject Headings

The library catalog uses Library of Congress Subject Headings. The list of authorized subject headings is available in the 5-volume set at the Reference Desk. However, you can start with keyword searches to gather some relevant titles, then look at their subject headings to discover the official terms to use.

Here are some subject headings related to U.S. Middle East Relations:

United States -- Foreign relations -- Middle East
United States -- Foreign relations -- Arab countries
United States -- Foreign relations -- [country]
Middle East -- Peace -- International cooperation

Consider using narrower terms, such as:

Eisenhower doctrine
Iraq-Kuwait Crisis, 1990-1991

More on Subject Searching:

Libraries and database creators try to structure language in a way to make browsable lists.  Subject terms tend to be set up in a hierarchical manner.  United States -- Foreign relations is an excellent example of this principle.  To understand this better, try a Keyword search in the Randall Library Catalog for "United States -- Foreign relations"  Then, repeat the search as a Subject search.  

You may also wish to browse the Reference Collection to see what special sources are available. A basic outline of the Library of Congress Classification Scheme is at http://library.uncwil.edu/is/outlinelc.html. For more detail, see the outline from the Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/lcco.html

Primary Sources

Search the Randall Library catalog and WorldCat for policy makers' names as authors. This should retrieve their memoirs, diaries and correspondence.

As you search subject topics in the catalog and WorldCat, note that the following subdivisions indicate primary source material:

correspondence*
diaries*
interviews*
personal narratives
pictorial works
songs and music
sources
speeches, addresses, etc.*
treaties

Don't miss these collections of source material:

The Lyndon B. Johnson national security files. The Middle East [microform] : national security files, 1963-1969 Microfilm DS63.1 .L96

The Middle East. (OSS/State Department Intelligence and Research Reports)
Microfilm DS63.2 .O34
The Middle East [microform] : 1950-1961 supplement. Microform DS63.2 .O34 1950-61

Selected documentation pertaining to U.S.-Arab relations. Reference DS63.2.U5 S34 1985

Be sure to look in broad-based documentary collections, collections covering the time period you are researching and public papers of the Presidents in office during the period:

Foreign relations of the United States. US Documents S1.1 and online at http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/FRUS

Public papers of the Presidents of the United States. J82. Online access from 1991 to date at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/pubpapers/index.html

Digital National Security Archive DNSA offers the most powerful research and teaching tool available in the area of U.S. foreign policy, intelligence and security issues since 1945. Over 55,000 of the most important, declassified primary documents – totaling more than 420,000 pages – are included in the database.

Historic Documents Significant documents from 1972 to the present. These documents range from presidential speeches, international agreements, and Supreme Court decisions to U.S. governmental reports, scientific findings, and cultural discussions.

See the guide "Finding Primary Resources for Historical Research" for a more complete discussion of the library's resources.

Newspapers and Popular Magazines can provide both factual information and insight on the prevailing views of the period.

Electronic Resources
New York Times Archive  Full-image online access for the NYT back to 1851.

Newspapers on Microfilm (Index availability)
Times of London (Palmer's Index to the Times Index Collection AI21.T458)
New York Times (New York Times Index Index Collection AI21 .N45)  
     You may want to use this index to make sure you find articles you can retrieve through the online version.
United States Congressional Record (Index at beginning of the first reel for each session of Congress.  
     Filed with periodicals on microfilm)

Print Indexes to Periodical Literature
International Index to Periodicals (Index Collection AI3 .R5)  Indexes selected scholarly periodicals.
Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature (Index Collection AI3 .R48)  Indexes selected popular magazines.

Scholarly Journal Databases & Indexes
Use these databases and journal indexes to search for articles in journals and magazines.

America: History and Life US & Canadian history. Indexes periodicals published since 1954.

Historical Abstracts Indexes and summarizes article and reviews about world history since 1450 published since 1954 in over 1, 700 journals.

JSTOR Full-text searching of an archive of over 40 history and 25 political science journals. Typically excludes the latest 3-5 years of publication.

Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe provides full text for hundreds of newspapers, typically from the late 1970s to the present. Congressional Search provides indexing for Congressional documents back to 1789.

PAIS Archive The PAIS Archive database contains references to monographs, periodical articles, government and non-governmental agency reports about public affairs, public and social policies and internation relations. The archive database contains references from 1915 to 1976.

More Databases
These databases lead to other useful information. The descriptions provide details on the publications types they lead to:

WorldCat The union catalog of over 9,000 member libraries. Over one billion bibliographic records for books, periodicals, videos, manuscripts, maps, sound recordings, and internet resources. Includes information on which libraries own an item, and links to the Randall Library Interlibrary Loan system (ILLiad).

Biography & Genealogy Master Index This resource indexes more than 12.7 million biographical sketches in more than 3,400 volumes and editions of current and retrospective reference books, covering both contemporary and historical figures throughout the world. After you find which resources contain a biographical sketch you need, search the online catalog for the book. References to Biography Index (Index CT100 .B6) will ultimately lead to books, book chapters or periodical articles.

More Web Resources

The free web is becoming a rich resource for primary source material. In particular, try these resources:

Center for Middle Eastern Studies From the University of Texas this virtual library is laid out by subject heading, additional resources and a left hand list of countries enabling the user to search by subjects such as art and humanities, government and politics, maps, religion, society, ancient and 23 countries including the Palestinian Authority.  Under additional resources are headings such as academia, computing, organizations, libraries and databases, etc.  This site is a thorough starting point for research on the middle east from ancient times to the present.

Foreign Policy in Focus "Foreign Policy In Focus (FPIF) is a think tank for research, analysis, and action that brings together scholars, advocates, and activists who strive to make the United States a more responsible global partner. The International Relations Center (IRC) in Silver City, New Mexico and the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) in Washington, DC have jointly managed FPIF since 1996."

Foreign relations of the United States. US Documents S1.1 and online at http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/FRUS

History in the News: The Middle East  Links are provided to Middle Eastern history, culture, society, religion, economics, politics, maps and news & media.  History is subdivided into general, ancient to pre-modern, modern, and bibliography categories.  Developed by the History Department, SUNY Albany.

 

 

 

Last Update:September 1, 2006