When researching a new topic it is often necessary to get an overview, explanations of unfamiliar terms, or brief factual information. The print and electronic resources listed below include selected reference materials (dictionaries, encyclopaedias, handbooks, guides, and standards) for the field of Asian History. To find additional reference materials, check UNB WorldCat (the library catalogue) or our Reference Materials database.
Key Resources
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Berkshire encyclopedia of world history
[HWK-REF HIL-REF D23 .B45 2005 vols. 1-5]
A comprehensive encyclopedia of world history with 538 articles that trace the development of human history with a focus on area studies, global history, anthropology, geography, science, arts, literature, economics, women's studies, African-American studies, and cultural studies related to all regions of the world.
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Wiley/Blackwell Reference Online
Wiley/Blackwell Reference Online "is a vast new online library giving instant access to the most authoritative and up-to-date scholarship across the humanities and social sciences. With more than 350 reference volumes to be published in Blackwell Reference Online by the end of 2008, it is the largest academic reference collection available online and includes the critically-acclaimed Blackwell Companions and Handbooks, major reference works such as the Blackwell Encyclopedia of Management and the Companion to Syntax, and a whole host of other valuable reference materials such as dictionaries, encyclopedias and concise companions."
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The Europa world year book
[HIL-REFDSK JN1 .E85 ]
The most current edition (2016) is available from the Research Help Desk in the Harriet Irving Library. HIL-REFDSK
Second latest edition is shelved in HIL-REF.
Older editions (30th ed. 1989 - third latest edition) are shelved in HIL-STACKS.
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Oxford Companion to World Exploration, The
From Antarctica to the North Pole, The Oxford Companion to World Exploration offers information on all topics of exploration worldwide, including advances in navigation, the discovery of the New World, polar expeditions, and the space age. In addition to examining the lives and expeditions of heroic and influential explorers, the book covers navigational and marine sciences and ranges from ancient cultures through modern space exploration. With articles from leading scholars, this landmark set offers students, scholars, and amateurs a treasure of information on this dynamic field of study.
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Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
A digital collection of current and historical maps, from the Perry-Castaneda Library at the University of Texas at Austin. The online collection features images of over 5700 maps from the Perry-Castaneda Library, as well as extensive links to other map-related sites.
Open Access | 1896 - present -
Smithsonian Global Sound® for Libraries (Music Online)
Smithsonian Global Sound provides over 35,000 tracks of music, natural sounds and spoken words, delivered via streaming audio. It includes performances of traditional musics from around the world, poetry readings, environmental sounds, and recordings by legendary folk, jazz and blues performers. Liner notes for many recordings are also available.
Additional Resources
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The Cambridge Economic History of India (Vol.2)
From the establishment of British rule to its termination, with epilogues on the post-Independence period.
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The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC
This survey of the cultural history of pre-imperial China covers over 1000 years, giving 2 chapters for each time period included. Scholars, students and general readers with no special knowledge of Chinese history will be interested in this book.
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The Cambridge History of China (Vol.1)
Begins the historical coverage of "The Cambridge History of China" with the establishment of the Ch'in empire in 221 BC and ends with the abdication of the last Han emperor in AD 220. This volume summarizes the information given in primary sources in the light of critical scholarship.
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The Cambridge History of China (Vol.3)
This volume covers the second great period of unified imperial power, 589-906.
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The Cambridge History of China, Part1 (Vol.5)
This first of two volumes presents the political history of China from the fall of the T'ang Dynasty in 907 to the Mongol conquest of the Southern Sung in 1279. It surveys the events and personalities that marked the rise, consolidation, and demise of the Sung polity during an era of profound social, economic, and intellectual ferment.
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The Cambridge History of China (Vol.6)
Volume six deals with four non-Chinese regimes: the Khitan dynasty of Liao; the Tangut state of Hsi Hsia; the Jurchen empire of Chin; and the Mongolian Yuan dynasty that eventually engulfed the whole of China.
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The Cambridge History of China, Part1 (Vol.7)
Provides a detailed account of the Ming period in any language (1368-1644). This volume deals primarily with the political developments of the period. It also incorporates the background in social, economic, and cultural history.
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The Cambridge History of China, Part1 (Vol.9)
Willard Peterson considers the historical, political, military social and economic developments that characterised the Chinese Empire. This volume ends with the beginning of the collapse of the imperial system in the 19th century.
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The Cambridge History of China, Part1 (Vol.10)
This is the first of two volumes in the major Cambridge history dealing with the decline of the Ch'ing empire. Contributors to this volume study the complex interplay of foreign invasion, domestic rebellion and Ch'ing decline and restoration. Each chapter is written by a specialist from the international community of sinological scholars.
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The Cambridge History of China, Part2 (Vol.11)
The second of two volumes dealing with the decline of the Ch'ing empire.
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The Cambridge History of China, Part1 (Vol.12)
International scholars and sinologists discuss culture, economic growth, social change, political processes, and foreign influences in China since the earliest pre-dynastic period.
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The Cambridge History of China, Part2 (Vol.13)
International scholars and sinologists discuss culture, economic growth, social change, political processes, and foreign influences in China since the earliest pre-dynastic period.
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The Cambridge History of China, Part1 (Vol.14)
Describes the efforts of the People's Republic of China to grapple with the problems of adaptation to modern times. It deals with the achievements of the economic and human disasters of the regime's first sixteen years (1949-65).
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The Cambridge History of China, Part2 (Vol.15)
Volume 15 considers the developments in Mao's thoughts and how they related to China's government. The most comprehensive account of this turbulent period in Chinese history.
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The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia
This volume introduces the geographical setting of Central Asia and follows its history from the palaeolithic era to the rise of the Mongol empire in the thirteenth century.
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The Cambridge History of Iran (Vol.7)
'The Cambridge History of Iran' is an eight-volume survey of Iranian history and culture, and its contribution to the civilisation of the world. All aspects of the religious, philosophical, political, economic, scientific and artistic elements in Iranian civilisation are studied.
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The Cambridge History of Japan (Vol.1)
This comprehensive work surveys the historical events and developments in Japan's polity, economy, society and culture.
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The Cambridge History of Japan (Vol.2)
This volume covers the Heian period, the golden age of the Japanese imperial court. It emphasizes political history, the land system, provincial administration, the capital and its society, the acceptance of Buddhism and religious practices.
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The Cambridge History of Japan (Vol.3)
This comprehensive work surveys the historical events and developments in Japan's polity, economy, society and culture.
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The Cambridge History of Japan (Vol.4)
This comprehensive work surveys the historical events and developments in Japan's polity, economy, society and culture.
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The Cambridge History of Japan (Vol.5)
This comprehensive work surveys the historical events and developments in Japan's polity, economy, society and culture.
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The Cambridge History of Japan (Vol.6)
This comprehensive work surveys the historical events and developments in Japan's polity, economy, society and culture.
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The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism
This title is part of the Wiley/Blackwell Reference Online e-book collection available through the Wiley Online Library.
Permitted Use | Purchased multi-user unlimited access -
Civilizations of the ancient Near East
[HIL-REF DS57 .C55 1995 vols. 1-4]
This 4-vol. set examines the cultures of the ancient Near East from the Bronze Age (3200 B.C.E.) to the Hellenistic era (325 B.C.E) and describes the archaeology and the history of each subregion. Languages, religious life, governments, peace and war, commerce and agriculture, and the visual and performing arts are covered. The set explores an area ranging from North Africa to Central Asia, and treats Syro-Palestine, Mesopotamia, Iran/Persia, Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), the Arabian Peninsula, and the island cultures of the Mediterranean. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.
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A Companion to the Ancient Near East
This title is part of the Wiley/Blackwell Reference Online e-book collection available through the Wiley Online Library.
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A Companion to the Anthropology of Japan
This title is part of the Wiley/Blackwell Reference Online e-book collection available through the Wiley Online Library.
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A Companion to the Vietnam War
This title is part of the Wiley/Blackwell Reference Online e-book collection available through the Wiley Online Library.
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A Dictionary of Asian Mythology
"This dictionary features stories of revered deities, sacred places, key events and epics, with many recurring themes and traditions. Entries address the key mythologies of the regions we now call India, China, Tibet, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and Japan, and broad overviews of specific cultures and their mythic traditions round out the coverage."
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The Portuguese in India (The New Cambridge History of India)
An account of the activities of the Portuguese in India and the Indian Ocean from the 16th century onwards, written squarely from an Indian point of view. The author lays particular stress on social, economic and religious interaction between Portuguese and Indians.
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Mughal and Rajput Painting (The New Cambridge History of India)
This is one in a set of volumes on the history of India which is designed to take full account of recent scholarship and changing conceptions of South Asia's development.
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Architecture of Mughal India (The New Cambridge History of India)
Traces the development and spread of architecture under the Mughal emperors who ruled the Indian subcontinent from the early-16th to the mid-19th centuries. The book considers the entire scope of architecture built under the auspices of the imperial Mughals and their subjects.
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Architecture and Art of Southern India: Vijayanagara and the Successor States 1350–1750 (The New Cambridge History of India)
In a previously neglected area of art history, the author presents an original and much needed re-assessment of the artistic heritage of the architecture, sculpture and painting of the Vijayanagara Empire.
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Architecture and Art of the Deccan Sultanates (The New Cambridge History of India)
This is the first book to offer an overall survey of architectural and artistic traditions and to place them within their historical context. This will be a source of inspiration to all those interested in the culture of India.
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A Social History of the Deccan, 1300–1761: Eight Indian Lives (The New Cambridge History of India)
A narrative history of the Deccan, portrayed through eight Indian lives.
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Indian Society and the Making of the British Empire (The New Cambridge History of India)
This volume reassesses the role of Indians in the politics and economics of early colonialism.
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The Sikhs of the Punjab (The New Cambridge History of India)
In a revised edition of The Sikhs of Punjab, J.S. Grewal traces the history of the Sikhs, from the time of Guru Nanak right up to the present day.
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The Marathas 1600–1818 (The New Cambridge History of India)
This is one in a set of volumes on the history of India which is designed to take full account of recent scholarship and changing conceptions of South Asia's development.
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European Commercial Enterprise in Pre-Colonial India (The New Cambridge History of India)
European traders first appeared in India at the end of the 15th century and began exporting goods to Europe as well as to other parts of Asia. This book considers the impact of European trade on the pre-colonial Indian economy.
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Socio-Religious Reform Movements in British India (The New Cambridge History of India)
The author looks at the numerous 19th movements for social and religious change - Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, and Zoroastrian - that used various forms of religious authority to legitimise their reform programmes.
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Peasant Labour and Colonial Capital: Rural Bengal since 1770 (The New Cambridge History of India)
This is one in a set of volumes on the history of India which is designed to take full account of recent scholarship and changing conceptions of South Asia's development.
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The Economy of Modern India, 1860–1970 (The New Cambridge History of India)
This book presents the first comprehensive account of the history of economic growth in modern India.
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Ideologies of the Raj (The New Cambridge History of India)
Students of modern Indian history and the British Empire will find this book relevant & accessible. It examines how the British sought to justify their rule over India.
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Science, Technology and Medicine in Colonial India (The New Cambridge History of India)
From the start of East India Company rule to Independence, this analytical study demonstrates the importance of examining the role of science, technology and medicine in conjunction with the development of the British engagement in India.
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The Indian Princes and their States (The New Cambridge History of India)
A portrait of the princes of India from their pre-colonial origins to post-World War II. Barbara Ramusack's study reveals them to have been consummate political animals who were classified as stooges of the Raj but who in reality wielded considerable autonomy before independence in 1947.
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Women in Modern India (The New Cambridge History of India)
In a sympathetic and comprehensive study of Indian women, Geraldine Forbes considers their recent history from the 19th century under colonial rule, to the 20th century after Independence.
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Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age (The New Cambridge History of India)
Susan Bayly's analysis explores the emergence of the ideas, experiences and practices which gave rise to the so-called caste society from the pre-colonial period to the end of the twentieth century.
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An Agrarian History of South Asia (The New Cambridge History of India)
Adopting a long-term view of history, David Ludden's book offers a comprehensive historical framework for understanding the regional diversity of agrarian South Asia.
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