HIS 132: African Countries and Contemporary Issues



Internet Resources

Background Notes (from the U.S. Department of State) http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/
This web site provides profiles of countries, including statistical information regarding geography, economics, and the people. Information about the history, political conditions, foreign relations, and more is also available.

Country Profiles from the BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/country_profiles/default.stm
Choose a country from the drop down menu. Profiles include links to relevant Internet sites and news stories as well as a history and background of the country.

Country Studies / Area Handbook Series
(from the Library of Congress)
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/home.html
This web site contains the online versions of hardcover books published between 1986 and 1998 by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress as part of the Country Studies/Area Handbook Series sponsored by the U.S. Department of the Army. This series is not all-inclusive and some countries may be absent. Although the information included is generally more extensive than “Background Notes” or “The World Factbook,” the information is not updated, so check for the date and verify any information you take with another source."

Portals to the World (from the Library of Congress) http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/portals.html
A list of recommended links organized by country and then by subject area.

World Factbook (from the CIA) http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
Articles are prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency for the use of US Government officials. The articles contain maps, flags, statistics and information relating to a countries people, government, geography, economy, military, communications, and more.

Google News
http://news.google.com/
Google News presents information from approximately 4,000 news sources worldwide and automatically arranged to present the most relevant news first. This is an excellent source for the most current events.

The Internet Scout Project
Reviews of Web Sites from educators at the University of Wisconsin.  I recommend using the advanced search for your country as the subject.

Librarian's Index to the Internet
http://www.lii.org/
An index to informative web sites from the Library of California.


Library Databases

[Library databases may be accessed from the library homepage at http://library.pace.edu by clicking on Articles via Databases and then choosing a database from the complete alphabetical list.]

Research Library
Research Library from UMI contains citations, with abstracts, to more than 1,800 general-interest periodicals. Included are over 500 periodicals related to the social sciences, nearly 400 related to the humanities, more than 150 in the general sciences field, and approximately 200 business titles. More than 200 of the journals are available in Full Text.

JSTOR
JSTOR contains back issues of scholarly journals. In an advanced search, you may choose a subset or discipline of scholarly journals to search. I recommend searching “African Studies” journals. Be specific when typing search terms. Include the name of your country and then other specific ideas.

Academic Search Premier
Academic Search Premier from Ebsco provides full text for more than 3,430 scholarly publications covering academic areas of study including social sciences, humanities, education, computer sciences, engineering, language and linguistics, arts & literature, medical sciences, and ethnic studies.


Countries and their Cultures
This online reference book is a part of the Gale Virtual Reference Library database.

Reference Books

Africa: an encyclopedia for students (REF DT3 . A249 2002)
A look at the continent of Africa and the countries that comprise it, including peoples and cultures, the land and its history, art and architecture, and daily life.
(4 VOLUMES)

Africa South of the Sahara (REF DT351.A37 2004) This is an excellent reference work that includes country surveys with information regarding recent history, economic conditions, physical and social demographics, as well as statistical surveys. In addition to the country surveys, the book also includes a general survey with information regarding larger trends in Africa.
All African countries are included with the exceptions of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt - which are available in:

The Middle East and North Africa (REF DS49 .M5 2003)


Encyclopedia of African Nations and Civilizations (REF DT14.E43 2002)
This Reference Book is organized into three sections: Africa Today - which presents an overview of the political and economic status of the regions in Africa; Development of the continent - which identifies significant topics to the development of Africa as a whole and includes chronologies of important events; and A to Z of Nations and Civilizations - which presents entries on countries and peoples in alphabetical order.

Encyclopedia of Twentieth-century African History (REF DT29 .E53 2003)

Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life (REF GN333 .W67 1998) Provides information on 500 cultures throughout the world focusing on daily concerns such as food, language, clothing, and religion. Volume one focuses on cultures in Africa.
Also try:

Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations (REF G63 .W67 1998)


Created by the Pace University Library
Last updated: 02/10/2005 (BJ)
Instructional Services Team
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