Basic Reference Sources in United States Foreign Relations
with Emphasis on International History
by Jonathan Reed Winkler, Wright State University
This is a guide to standard reference works in Dunbar Library on United States foreign relations and international history that advanced undergraduates and Master’s candidates can use for background or reasonable depth on central issues. Together with the relevant secondary surveys and core monographs on a topic, this guide should help one to begin research on a serious research paper. This list should not be thought of as definitive, but merely a start.
Search for books using keywords in:
Browse on the 3rd floor or in any other university library at the following call numbers:
JZ- International relations
In addition, you may wish to consult the leading national newspapers and popular periodicals for coverage of a particular topic. Major newspapers and periodicals would include The Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, Time, U.S. News, and other, more specialized journals as Business Week or Aviation Week & Space Technology. Explore online full text newspaper and periodical databases listed below. Date coverage varies by title.
Access World News is a comprehensive resource that includes news publications from around the world. These sources include major national and international newspapers, as well as local and regional titles. Access World News is updated daily to keep students informed of current issues and events, and it includes deep archives that provide background information on important topics, enabling students to trace an issue or event over a period of time.
The Time Magazine Archive consists of cover to cover processing dating back to issue number one in 1923 of the American popular magazine Time, published by Time Inc.
The Life Magazine Archive consists of cover to cover processing dating back to issue number one in 1936 of the American variety magazine Life, published by Time Inc.
The Historical NYT is an online digital reproduction of the New York Times, including photographs and advertisements.
Browse digital image reproductions of articles and ads from The Sunday Times (London, England) for the years 1822-2006. The newspaper is reproduced from cover to cover in pdf formatted files. Note: Does not include the content found in the Sunday Times Digital Archive.
Browse digital image reproductions of articles and ads from The Sunday Times (London, England) for the years 1822-2006. The newspaper is reproduced from cover to cover in pdf formatted files. Note: Search the Times Digital Archives for Monday through Saturday articles.
A comprehensive bibliography of articles on the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. Use with Historical Abstracts. Full-text may be available via Find-It.
Indexes journals, books and dissertations on world history (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present. Use with America History and Life. Full-text may be available via Find-It.
From the U.S. Department of State, the Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series presents the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity. [Browse the series by title (with dates) in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Digital Collections].
Some Declassified Document Collections
The Foreign Affairs Oral History Collection of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (from the LoC)
U.S. Overseas Loans and Grants (Greenbook) from 1946 - present (from USAID)
Librarian's Note: For more information about the various formats of primary sources and how to locate them, see the "Primary Sources" tab. You might also consider newspaper articles published during the time period you are studying. See the "Newspapers as Primary Sources" subtab for options.
JSTOR contains the complete digitized backfile of core scholarly journals from a broad range of academic disciplines.
These four indices below are available through the Databases tab on the Dunbar Library home page.
Get full-text access to magazines, newspapers, and scholarly journals in the sciences, social sciences, business, education, and the humanities. Full-text may be available via Find-It. Useful place to begin broad searches for general topics.
A comprehensive bibliography of articles on the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. Use with Historical Abstracts. Full-text may be available via Find-It.
Indexes journals, books and dissertations on world history (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present. Use with America History and Life. Full-text may be available via Find-It.