Background Information
You may not know a lot about every part of the world you'll be studying this semester. Here are some sources to get a quick summary of a country's or region's history and culture.
- Credo This link opens in a new windowCredo is an easy-to-use tool for starting research. Gather background information on your topic from hundreds of full-text encyclopedias, dictionaries, quotations, and subject-specific titles, as well as 500,000+ images and audio files and over 1,000 videos.
- CIA World FactbookExtensive statistical information on every country in the world. Good population statistics, and click on the "Communications" link for media information.
- Countries, peoples and their cultures - Central & South AmericaFor each country, there is a 20-page country profile including colorful maps, and 10 categories of information: General Information; Environment & Geography; Customs & Courtesies; Lifestyle; Cultural History; Culture; Society; Social Development; Government; and Economy. Each profile also includes full color photographs, valuable tables of information including fun “Do You Know?” facts, and a comprehensive Bibliography.
- Countries and their CulturesAn encyclopedia that examines over 200 countries. Includes information about religion, sports, food, demographics, and all aspects of culture.
- Culture and Customs SeriesThey're a little bit old, but there's a book for your country!
Historical Guide to World Media Freedom by ISBN: 9781608717651Publication Date: 2014-06-18Brings together historical data on media freedom since World War II, providing consistent and comparable measure of media freedom in all independent countries for the years 1948 to present.
Search for information
Search Belk Library's online system to find both library materials and articles in our databases. Use the search box below to do a basic search on library materials and databases.
Background - Historical, Political, Cultural
- Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new windowHistorical Abstracts covers modern world history (excluding the United States and Canada which are covered in America: History and Life) from 1450 to the present.
- America: History & Life This link opens in a new windowIndexes and abstracts the world's scholarly literature in the history of the United States and Canada from prehistoric times to the present.
- Worldwide Political Science Abstracts This link opens in a new windowAbstracts and index of international political science journals.
- Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new windowIndex and abstracts of sociology, anthropology, criminology, demography, education law and penology, race relations, social psychology and urban studies. 1963-
- SocINDEX w/Full Text This link opens in a new windowThe most comprehensive and highest-quality sociology research database. The database features millions of records with subject headings from a sociological thesaurus designed by subject experts and expert lexicographers.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowJSTOR is a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources. Coverage includes history, economics, political science, demography, mathematics, humanities and social sciences. Some current issues are available now.
- Databases listed by subjectI can't list all of them! But if your topic doesn't seem covered by the databases listed above, click here to find more possibilities.
News from the Spanish-speaking world
Depending on your topic, you might need to find out what is happening right now in the country of your text. Newspapers are a great way to do this.
- PressReader This link opens in a new windowInstant access to 6000+ newspapers and magazines from 120+ countries in 60+ languages. These are usually daily papers; no archives.
- Onlinenewspapers.comA great list of newspapers from around the world.
- Foreign Newspapers OnlineThis website compiles all of the newspapers in the world that have their own websites. Just find your country or region and click on a title.
- Latin American Network Information CenterA site from the University of Texas that compiled a list of newspapers from all over the Spanish-speaking world. Not kept current, but a lot of the links work.