Advanced Seminar in International Relations: Law, Politics and the Search for Justice

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Professor: Allen Springer
Librarian: Ginny Hopcroft
Spring 2005
Course Syllabus
 

Research Strategy

Consult the Library Research Strategy for a helpful summary/refresher of the research process. Additional tips for political science research:

  1. Use both subject and keyword searching in any electronic database or index, including the library catalog.
  2. Check descriptors or subject headings for additional search terms.
  3. Find additional sources in bibliographies and footnotes.
  4. Read the CBB Guide to Primary and Secondary Sources.
  5. Evaluate websites carefully for accuracy, timeliness and authority.
  6. Talk to Ginny Hopcroft or other reference librarians about specialized sources.

Reference Sources

Europa World Year Book
Main Ref JN1 .E852 1963-present

Yearbook of International Environmental Law
Main Ref K3581.2 .Y43 1991-present


Encyclopedia of Human Rights
Main Ref JC571 .E67 1996



Human Rights Yearbook of the International Law Commission 1949-present
Main Libr JX1261 U386


Country reports on human rights practices
Govt Doc Y 4.F 76/1-15: Govt Doc numbers for earlier years of this title vary; please check library catalog.

Journal Indexes and Full-text Databases

Academic Search Premier
Library Gateway
Academic Search Premier indexes over 1800 English language periodicals in the social sciences, humanities, and science, as well as general interest magazines and several important American newspapers. Date coverage varies between periodicals some as far back as 1980; about 60% of the articles are in full text.
LexisNexis Academic
Library Gateway
LexisNexis Academic is a fulltext database of news and legal information. Under the "World News" section, you can search for news originating in any part of the world by selecting the appropriate area from the pull down menu. "General News" has news of the world in major English newspapers and journals. "International Legal Research" under the "Legal Research" section may also be useful. Duration of coverage varies between publications within the database; some go back as far as 1980.
CIAO
Library Gateway
CIAO is a full text database of working papers, conference proceedings, policy briefs and some articles for the study of international relations, published from 1991 forward, and produced collaboratively by the Columbia University Libraries and Columbia University Press.
World News Connection
Library Gateway 1996-present
Foreign Broadcast Information Service Reports (FBIS) Index
Reference CD-ROM 1978-1996
This CD-ROM is an index to the Library's microfiche collection of these reports. The FBIS reports are daily compilations of broadcasts, speeches and newspaper articles from around the world, selected and translated by the CIA. The FBIS series is continued in online full text format by World News Connection.
Government Documents Monthly Catalog
Library Gateway, 1976-present
Government Index, 1892-1976
Bowdoin's collection of U.S. government documents is not yet fully cataloged, so this online index supplements the library catalog's records of holdings of federal publications. Produced by the Government Printing Office, the Monthly Catalog indexes government documents back to 1976. For earlier indexing, please consult the print version of the Monthly Catalog, published 1892-1976. When you locate a relevant document in the Monthly Catalog, please make note of the "Sudocs" number in order to locate the document in Bowdoin's collection.
Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS)
Library Gateway, 1972-present
Main Periodical Index, 1915-1985
PAIS indexes "publications on all subjects that bear on contemporary public issues and the making and evaluation of public policy, irrespective of source or traditional disciplinary boundaries." Sources may be periodical articles, books, government documents or the reports of public and private organizations in the U.S. and internationally. Electronic coverage begins with 1972 and continues to the present. The print version covers 1915 to 1985.
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
Library Gateway 1975-present
This service indexes scholarly journals of both domestic and international political science. It is comprised of the merged backfiles of Political Science Abstracts and ABC Pol Sci with continuing new material. Publication coverage goes back to 1975. Selected scholarly web sites may be among the retrieved sources.

United Nations Information

AccessUN
Library Gateway
Bibliographic index to United Nations official publications from 1947 to the present.
United Nations Official Website
http://www.un.org/
Substantial collection of official UN documents, for example, all General Assembly Resolutions and Decisions since 1977. Look under the name of the UN body, i.e. General Assembly, National Security Council, Social and Economic Council, etc. to find documents.
United Nations Treaty Collection
Library Gateway
Here you will find all current treaties registered with the United Nations.

UNDOC Index, 1947-2000
Main Per Index
Bibliographic Index to United Nations official publications from 1947 to 2000.
The Library holds many historical UN publications in paper:


Annual Review of United Nations Affairs
Main Libr JX 1977.A1A5


Official Records of the General Assembly. United Nations.
Main Libr JX1977 .A41 1946-1984

Official Records/Social and Economic Council, United Nations.
Main Libr JZ5007.3 .A1 1966-1986

Official Records/United Nations, Security Council
Main Libr JX1977 .A515 1946-1985

Yearbook of the International Law Commission
Main Libr JX1261 U386 1949-present

Yearbook of the United Nations, 1946-present
Main Libr JX 1977.A37 Y4


Last 5 years in Main Ref JX 1977.A37 Y4

United Nations documents and publications, microfiche edition, 1982-present
Colby College Library
The Colby library has agreed to either lend the microfiche or make copies for Bowdoin students and faculty for UN publications not held in our collection or available through the UN website. These publications may be identified through bibliographies or through the UNDOC, the UN index to official and sales publications. These requests should go through interlibrary loan; for assistance see Ginny Hopcroft.

Websites

Institute for War and Peace Reporting
http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl?top_about.html

Foreign Affairs Online
http://www.people.virginia.edu/~rjb3v/rjb.html

International Documents
http://www.library.nwu.edu/govpub/resource/internat/

Foreign Government Resources on the Web
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/foreign.html
Search Library Site / Browse Index library@bowdoin.edu