Library Guides: International Studies: Home

Subject Resources

If you're just starting out as an International Studies student and need to get some background/fundamentals, the following can help:

Encyclopedia of Contemporary German Culture
Call Number: R 306.0943 E56
Publication Date: 2001
Encyclopedia of Contemporary French Culture
Call Number: R 306.0944 E56
Publication Date: 1998
Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture
Call Number: R 306.0951 E56
Publication Date: 2005
The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Japanese Culture
Call Number: R 306.0952 E56b
Publication Date: 2009
Encyclopedia of Contemporary Italian Culture
Call Number: R 306.0945 E56
Publication Date: 2000
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures
Call Number: R 972.01 O98
Publication Date: 2001
Encyclopedia of Contemporary Spanish Culture
Call Number: R 306.0946 E56
Publication Date: 1999
Encyclopedia of Contemporary British Culture
Call Number: R 306.0941 E56
Publication Date: 2015

These databases will be the best bets for starting your research in international studies. If you are having trouble finding articles, see our Finding Articles guide, or ask a librarian for help!

Clase and Periódica This link opens in a new window
This modern languages database indexes over 2,600 journals published in Latin America. Languages include Spanish, Portuguese, French and English. Content includes science, social science and humanities. No full-text, unfortunately.
Discovery Service for Illinois College This link opens in a new window
Search many of Illinois College's databases at once. Also referred to as Multi-Database Search.
eHRAF World Cultures This link opens in a new window
This database provides access to an ethnographic archive of information on aspects of social life in a variety of world cultures. This database contains articles, manuscripts, dissertations, and monographs. eHRAF is best for anthropology and/or discovering background information about specific ethnic groups or regions of the world.
Global Issues (Gale in Context) This link opens in a new window
This current issues database provides overviews of a number of ongoing global issues, including human rights, war, globalization, poverty, etc. You will find many types of content in this database, including overviews, expert perspectives, reference content, primary sources, and multimedia.
Informe Académico (Gale OneFile) This link opens in a new window
This database contains a number of full-text Spanish and Portuguese-language journals from and about Latin America. This database is ideal for users wishing to conduct their research in Spanish or Portuguese.
World Scholar: Latin America & The Caribbean This link opens in a new window
This Latin American and Caribbean database has content dating back to the 15th century. Featuring over 1,000,000 pages of primary, secondary, reference, and multimedia content, this database is the ideal portal for researchers interested in the titular regions.

The best place to find books about international studies is in the Schewe Library Catalog or in the library on the shelves primarily in the 320 range on the lower level. If you are having trouble finding more books, see our Finding Books guide. Here are some suggested titles:

China Goes Global
Call Number: 303.482 S528
Publication Date: 2013
Africa and France
Call Number: CARLI eBooks
Publication Date: 2013
Writing Travel in Central Asian History
Call Number: CARLI eBooks
Publication Date: 2014
Thinking Globally
Call Number: CARLI eBooks
Publication Date: 2013
Brexit and Beyond
Call Number: CARLI Open Access Materials
Publication Date: 2018

You can find reliable and high-quality videos on a variety of topics below:

Kanopy Videos at Schewe Library

You can find reliable and high-quality international studies videos on the following topics:

Here is a website which might be helpful for a student in international studies:

BBC News Country Profiles
This website from the BBC provides information and history on various countries, as well as links to current BBC stories related to the area you are researching.
CEPALSTAT
Gateway to statistical information of Latin America and the Caribbean countries collected, systematized, and published by ECLAC.
CIA world factbook
This US government site provides information and statistics on countries of the world.
Eurostat
Gateway to statistical information of European Union and candidate countries.
IADB Research and Data
Searchable dataset from the Inter-American Development Bank containing statistics and indicators for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
International Affairs Resources
This site provides annotated links to English language resources on International Affairs.
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
UNESCAP provides a forum for governments of the Asian and Pacific regions to review and discuss economic and social issues and to strengthen regional cooperation.
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
UNECE provides analysis, policy advice, and assistance to governments of the European region, and gives focus to UN global mandates in the economic field and business community.
United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
ECLAC provides a forum for governments of the Latin American and Caribbean regions to review and discuss economic and social issues and to strengthen regional cooperation.
Whole Earth Web Archive
Archive of 50+ small nations' web content via Internet Archive.

For help citing in the APA format, which is often used in international studies, consider using Schewe Library's APA citation guide:

APA Guide

Other Helpful Resources

For more help finding books, click here

For more help finding articles, click here

For additional citation help, click here

Have a question?

You are welcome to contact us individually at:

Jaeda Calaway - Information Literacy Instructor and Student Research Support Specialist
217.245.3207

McKenna Jacquemet - Research Services and Information Literacy Librarian

217.245.3117

Or you can chat with a librarian here!