HIST 602G

Libraries Research Guide: HIST 602G Research Seminar: European, Politics, War, & Diplomacy, 1500-2000

Purdue Libraries provide numerous resources on this topic and serve as a gateway to a variety of remotely accessible resources as well. Helpful Library of Congress Subject searches you can do to find books in the Purdue Libraries online catalog include:

Austria History 1867-1918
Balkan Peninsula History
Eastern Question (Balkan)
Germany History 1618-1648
Germany Foreign Relations Russia
Habsburg, House of
North Atlantic Treaty Organization Military Policy
Russia Military Policy

Call number ranges for books on European history in the Dewey Decimal System range from 940-949 with books on British History being in the 942 call number range, German and Austrian History in the 943 call number range, and those on Russian History in the 947 call number range. These Dewey Decimal books will be on HSSE's 4th floor. Beginning in 2009, books received by Purdue Libraries will be classified with Library of Congress call numbers. Books on European History are classed in the D range with sample breakdowns including DB Austrian & Hungarian History, DD German History and DR Balkan History. Library of Congress books will be on HSSE's 2nd floor. Visit here for more detailed guidance on Library of Congress classification.

Databases
Numerous databases Purdue Libraries subscribe to can be used to look up journal articles and other primary and secondary source materials for class assignments including:

Academic Search Premier (Indexes articles in a variety of subjects.)
British Newspapers 1600-1900
Conditions and Politics in Occupied Western Europe 1940-1945
Digital U.S. Congressional Serial Set 1789-1969 (Features a variety of U.S. Government reports from executive branch agencies and legislative reports from congressional committees.)
Early English Books Online (Text of most books printed in the British Isles & British North America between 1473-1700.)
Economist Historical Archive 1843-2003
Eighteenth Century Collections Online
Historical Abstracts (Indexes articles from scholarly history journals covering history outside the U.S. and Canada.)
Humanities Abstracts (Indexes articles from humanities journals.)
LexisNexis Academic (Besides covering U.S. law, also covers European Union law, and the full text of many U.S. and European newspaper articles.)
Nineteenth Century British Newspapers
PAIS International (Indexes articles from political science and public policy journals, some U.S. Government documents, and selected public policy research institution reports.)
Press Display (Provides online access to current editions of 450 international newspapers.)
Source OECD (Contains recent reports and statistics from the Organization of Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD).
Times Digital Archive 1785-1985 (Articles from Times of London.)
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts (Articles from political science and public policy journals.)

Encylopedias and Handbooks
Encyclopedia of Ireland HSSE REF 941.5003 En19 2003
Modern Germany: An Encyclopedia of People, History, & Culture 1871-1990 2 vols.
HSSE REF 943.08 M719 1998
Europe 1450-1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World 6 vols. HSSE REF 940.2 Eu735 2004
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 60 vols. HSSE REF 920.042 D56 2004
(British national biographical compilation.)
Oxford Companion to Military History HSSE REF 355.003 Ox 3 2001
Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History 6 vols. HSSE REF K50.O94 2009
Palgrave Dictionary of Transnational History HSSE REF JV6035.P35 2009

Statistical Compilations
Statistics can be used to provide additional quantitative documentation of historical writing. A variety of commercial publishers and government agencies produce statistical information on European historical topics. Examples include:

United Kingdom Annual Abstract of Statistics HSSE REF & Periodicals 314.2 G79
B.K. Mitchell. International Historical Statistics: Europe 1750-2000 HSSE REF 314 M692e 2007
Annuaire Statistique de la France HSSE REF & Periodicals 314.4 F84
Access foreign national and international government organization statistical websites and datasets HERE.

U.S. Government Documents
The U.S. Government is the world's largest publisher and U.S. relations with European institutions and countries are documented in a wide variety of publications. The Catalog of Government Publications provides acces to publications distributed to federal depository libraries like Purdue from 1976 to present with many recent publications being online. Use Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications HSSE Periodicals 016.353 Un36 to search for older U.S. Government publications. Print and microform versions of most U.S. Government documents are classified with the Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc) classification system in which documents are arranged alphabetically by the agency producing them e.g. Defense Dept. D; State Department S; and congressional committee hearings Y 4. Visit HERE for a U.S. Government Printing Office explanation of the SuDoc system.

Besides the Digital U.S. Congressional Serial Set mentioned earlier, additional useful indexes for locating U.S. Government publications include:

CIS Index HSSE REF & Periodicals 328.73005 C76 (Indexes U.S. Congressional Committee hearings from 1970-present.)
CIS Index to Congressional Committee Hearings 1833-1969 HSSE REF 348.731 C76
CIS Index to U.S. Executive Branch Documents 1789-1909 and 1910-1932 HSSE REF 351.73 C497 (Covers material not included in the Congressional Serial Set.

Major U.S. Government documentary collections include:

Congressional Record. (Accessible through the Digital U.S. Congressional Serial Set and by paper in HSSE Repository). Provides the text of speeches and recorded votes by members of Congress. Some earlier content also accesible through the Library of Congress' American Memory Project's Century of Lawmaking.

Foreign Relations of the United States HSSE Periodicals 327.73 Un32 and also online through this University of Wisconsin Libraries website. (Official documentary record of U.S. foreign policy since 1860. Documents arranged by presidential administration and geographically. Volumes issues just over 30 years after events occurred.)

House Appropriations Committee HSSE Microfiche (2nd floor) & ATTIC Y 4.AP 6/1
House Foreign Affairs or International Relations Committee HSSE DOC & Attic Y 4.F 76/1 and Y 4.IN 8/16
Senate Appropriations Committee HSSE Microfiche (2nd floor) & ATTIC Y 4.AP 6/2
Senate Foreign Affairs Committee HSSE DOC & Attic Y 4.F 76/2
Commission on Security & Cooperation in Europe HSSE DOC Y 4.SE 2

(Congressional committee hearings from 1975-present are on the 1st floor of the HSSE periodical stacks and earlier years are in the HSSE ATTIC and must be requested from the Government Information Librarian. These hearings are excellent information resources for chronicling political debates and controversies and oberserving the congressional legislative oversight and funding process for U.S. Government agency programs. Appropriations Committee hearings will feature detailed project expenditure data.

Central Intelligence Agency Freedom of Information Act Reading Room (Features the text of declassified CIA National Intelligence Estimates and other reports.)
National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Books (Features the text of declassified U.S. foreign and national security documents compiled by this George Washington University organization.)
Foreign Broadcast Information Service HSSE REPO and MF PREX 7.10
(Contains translation of media broadcast reports from countries around the world. Approximate coverage late 1970s-early 1990s. Paper indexes for Eastern Europe & former Soviet Union in HSSE Repository.)
U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute
U.S. Army Foreign Military Studies Office
Army Military History Institute HSSE DOC D 114
Air Force Historical Research Agency
Air Force Historical Studies Office (Air Force historical publications can be found in the D 300s section of HSSE documents.)
Marine Corps History & Museums Division (Marine Corps history publications can be found in the D 214 area of HSSE documents.)
Naval Historical Center (Other Navy history publications can be found in the D 200s section of HSSE documents.)
National Archives State Department Records 1973-1975

For a reference guide to national security policy research see Bert Chapman, Researching National Security and Intelligence Policy HSSE REF 025.06355033573 C366r 2004. Additional guides for conducting government document research on various subjects can be found HERE and cover topics such as agriculture, banking and finance, foreign policy, intelligence, military history, national security policy, transportation, and many more.

International Government Organization Resources
United Nations General Assembly Official Records HSSE Repository 341.6306 Un25o
United Nations Security Council Official Records HSSE Repository 341.6306 Un26o
(Note: Purdue's holdings for these titles cover roughly 1946-early 1990s. More recent General Assembly and Security Council records are online.
European Union
European Union Institute for Security Studies
G8 Summit Information Centre (Courtesy-University of Toronto)
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
International Monetary Fund
League of Nations Statistical and Disarmament Documents (Courtesy-Northwestern University Library.)
North Atlantic Treaty Organization Archives
Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development
Organization for Security & Cooperation in Europe
United Nations Mission Kosovo

Useful reference guides for international government organization research include:

International Information: Documents, Publications, and Electronic Information of International Government Organizations. Peter I. Hajnal, ed. HSSE REF 021.64 In8 1997
Chad M. Kahl. International Relations, INternational Security, and Comparative Politics: A Guide to Reference and Information Sources. HSSE 016.3203 K12li 2008
Andrea Morrison & Barbara Mann. International Government Information and Country Information: A Subject Guide. HSSE REF 025.04 M834i 2004

Visit HERE for links to international government organization websites.

Foreign National Government Resources
Many foreign national government have extensive collections of historic and current government information on agency websites. REMEMBER these countries do not tend to be as liberal in freely placing these information resources on the web as the U.S. Government does, but the determined researcher can still find much useful information. Visit HERE for a gateway to European and other foreign national government agency websites.

France
Documents Diplomatiques Francaise HSSE Periodicals 327.44 D6598 and HSSE Microfiche 327.44 F844do (French foreign relations documentary collection.)
Archives de France
Bibliotheque Nationale
Defense Ministry
Foreign Ministry

Germany
Die Grosse Politik der Europäischen Kabinette 1871-1914 HSSE Repository 327.43 G31g (German foreign relations documentary collection.)
Documents on German Foreign Policy 1918-1945 (HSSE 327.43 G31ae (Produced by U.S. State Department.)
Akten zur Auswärtigen Politik der Bundesrepublik Deutschland 1949-1978 HSSE 327.4300904505 Ak79 (German foreign relations documentary collection).
Verhandlungen des Deutsches Bundestag. Stenographische Berichte 1990-1996 HIKS REPO 320.0943 G317 (Debate transcripts of German Parliament's Lower House.)
Defense Ministry
Federal Intelligence Service-Bundesnachrichtendienst
Foreign Ministry
National Archives

Italy
I Documenti Diplomatici Italiani I (1861-1953) HSSE 327.45 It1d (Italian foreign policy documentary record.)
Ministry of Defense
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
National Archives

United Kingdom
Catalogue of Government Publications HSSE PERI and HSSE Repository 016.3542 G79g
Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939 HSSE 327.42G79d
British Documents on Foreign Affairs: Reports and Papers from the Foreign Office Confidential Print Part II From the First to the Second World War: League of Nations, 1918-1941 HSSE 341.22 B777 1992
British Documents on Foreign Affairs...Turkey, Iran, and the Middle East, 1918-1939 HSSE 327.41056 B777 1985
British Library
Cabinet Office (Responsible for supporting the Prime Minister, Cabinet, and civil service. Features much recent material on intelligence such as a report on the July 7, 2005 London terrorist attacks.)
Parliament (Includes full text of Hansard Parliamentary Debates 1989-present and committee publications 1997-present.)
Hansard Parliamentary Debates HSSE REPO and HSSE Microform 328.42 G785
Historical Parliamentary Material (Some of this not accessible to non-UK users.)
Foreign & Commonwealth Office Historical Publications
Ministry of Defence
Defence Academy Research and Assessment Group
National Archives
Secret Intelligence Service (MI-6)
Royal Air Force Centre for Airpower Studies
Naval Review (Royal Navy professional journal-Free from 1913-1997).

Free Databases
Celebration of 350 Years Anniversary of Peace of Westphalia (University of Muenster (Germany) site commemorating the 350th anniversary of the 30 Years War's conclusion. Most material in German.)
Cold War International History Project (This Woodrow Wilson International Institute for Scholars project provides access to Cold War documentary resources from Western & Soviet bloc countries.)
Eurodocs: Online Sources for European History (Brigham Young University Library resource featuring links to European historical documents arranged by country and covering a variety of time periods.)
Europeana (European Union funded resource of two million digital items including images, sound, text, and videos.)
Historical Maps of the Balkans (Courtesy-Perry-Castaneda LIbrary Map Collection-University of Texas-Austin.)
Internet Modern History Sourcebook: Russian Revolution (Fordham University resource featuring documentary resources.)
Liberty, Equality, Fraternity: Exploring the French Revolution (George Mason University website on this epochal event.)
Parallel History Project (Swiss initiative featuring collections of NATO and Warsaws Pact military intelligence documents. Many in languages besides English.)
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty U.S. Government chartered organization broadcasting news and information to former Soviet bloc countries. Website features extensive news reports and analysis.

Professor Bert Chapman
Government Information and Political Science Librarian
chapmanb@purdue.edu