Afghanistan Research Guide

	Afghanistan Research Guide
Reference Desk (413) 774-1509	Research Guides \| Library Home

Selected Reference Sources

Use reference sources to choose a topic, understand terminology, locate background information, and identify good search terms.

The Islamic World: Past and Present R 956 I82wo
Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East R 956 E56
The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World R 956 098
Countries and Their Cultures R 306.03 C855
Great Literature of the Eastern World R 895 G786
The Dictionary of Art R 703 D554tu
Encyclopedia of World Art R 703 E56

Finding Books (and more) in the Online Catalog

Materials on the history of Afghanistan are found in 958 in the circulating collection. Interesting materials may also be found in the 300's (social sciences). Selected examples are:

Daughters of Afghanistan [DVD] (A documentary chronicling the struggle for women's rights in Post-Taliban Afghanistan) 305.40958 D238
Veiled threat : the hidden power of the women of Afghanistan 305.40958 A736ve
Veiled courage : inside the Afghan women's resistance 305.40958 B456ve
The women of Afghanistan under the Taliban 305.40958 S626wo
In the name of Osama bin Laden : global terrorism & the bin Laden brotherhood 364.1 B612zJ

Searching

Search the catalog by subject for Afghanistan and look for subheadings that relate to your topic such as: economic conditions, foreign relations, politics and governments, and social conditions.
Keyword searches search all the words describing the source, including the title.
Construct a keyword search using Afghanistan and some of these subject terms: Afghanistan and (economic or political). Subject terms are always good search terms.
Construct a keyword search using Afghanistan and major concepts for your topic such as: Afghanistan and war* (picks up the plural too), Afghanistan and women, Afghanistan and religio* (picks up both religion and religious), Afghanistan and education, Afghanistan and drug*, etc.

Other good subject headings are:

Islam and Politics
Taliban
Koran (this is the correct subject heading even though the word is often see as "Qu'ran")
Islam
Afghanistan-History-Soviet occupation, 1979-1989
Afghan War, 2001
Islamic art
Civilization, Islamic
Arts, Islamic
Islam and art

HINT: Subject headings that are identified in the catalog are also often used in research databases--try the search language suggested above in the databases below

Finding Articles in Research Databases
(go to DA Orgs/Library for off-campus access)

HINT: For databases that offer subject searching, use the advanced search and search Afghanistan as a subject plus another term as a subject or keyword to find articles completely about your topic

Country and international affairs databases

World Conflicts Today (full text)
Explores unresolved world conflicts, occurring in various countries, including Afghanistan--synthesizes information found in news articles, primary sources, books, and opinion pieces
CountryWatch (full text)
Provides information on each of the 192 recognized countries of the world including Afghanistan--provides CountryReviews (demographic, political, economic, business, cultural and environmental information); CountryWire (daily news coverage and a news archive); CountryWatch Forecast (a five-year macroeconomic forecast); CountryWatch Energy Forecast (a 20-year forecast of energy demand, supply, and pricing); CountryWatch Data (statistics); the CountryWatch Map Gallery; and the weekly Global News Update
CIAO (Columbia International Affairs Online)(full text)(1991-present)
A comprehensive source for theory and research in international affairs--includes "working papers from university research institutes, occasional papers series from NGOs, foundation-funded research projects, proceedings from conferences, books, journals and policy briefs"
Also see the Countries and Cultures Research Guide

General databases (include all subject areas)

Academic Search Premier (full text plus citations and abstracts only)
A general academic database that indexes over 8,000 leading publications in all subject areas and provides full text for over 4,000 of those titles
InfoTrac Web (search several databases at once)(full text plus citations and abstracts only)
Try these cross searchable databases to find information on topics relating to Afghanistan: General OneFile, Academic OneFile, Expanded Academic, General Reference, The New York Times (1995- )
JSTOR (full text)
An archive of core scholarly journals back to the 1800's --Due to agreements with journal publishers, does not include current issues from the last 3-5 years
Arts & Sciences Collection consists of over six hundred journals in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (economics; history; political science; sociology; Middle Eastern studies; language and literature; history and study of art and architecture; cultural studies; religion; education; and more)
CQ Researcher (full text)
The online version of a weekly periodical that provides in-depth, non-biased coverage of political and social issues--each weekly issue includes a chronology, a pro and con section, and a bibliography
Search the following relevant articles by date:
Dec. 21, 2001--Rebuilding Afghanistan
Nov. 3, 2006--Understanding Islam
March 23, 2000--Islamic Fundamentalism

History databases

History Reference Center (full text)
Contains the full text of over 750 historical encyclopedias and other non-fiction books and at least 60 leading history periodicals--includes over 55,000 historical documents; over 40,000 biographies of historical figures; over 10,000 historical photos and maps; and over 80 hours of historical film and video
History Study Center (full text)
Consists of digitized primary and secondary sources, reference sources, historical images, video clips, and links to reliable web sites--Topic Search provides Study Units that include sources organized and edited by historians and History Guides on various topics

Art databases

Grove Art Online (full text)
Online access to the full text of The Dictionary of Art (1996) and The Oxford Companion to Western Art (2001) --includes images, drawings, links to image databases (Art Resource, Bridgeman Art Library), and selected links to thousands of images on museum and gallery websites around the world
Browse the articles alphabetically for the article on Afghanistan

Selected Internet Resources
(Websites should always be evaluated for authorship, accuracy, relevance, and currency)

Afghanistan Studies: Directory of Online Resources for the Study of Afghanistan
Afghanistan Cultural Profile (Visual Arts)
Afghanistan and the Taliban (research guide from E. Carolina U.)
Understanding Afghanistan: Land in Crisis (National Geographic)
Country Profile: Afghanistan (Development Gateway Foundation)
Afghanistan Annual Report 2006 (United Nations Annual Development Programme)
Afghanistan Online
Afghanistan (Law Library of Congress)
Afghanistan (from the Asia Foundation)
Afghanistan (from Asia Source)
Afghanistan (Center for Middle Eastern Network Information Center, U. of Texas, Austin)
Afghanistan (from the World Bank)
Afghanistan (from the CIA World Fact Book)
Afghanistan (USAID)
Afghanistan (Institute for War & Peace Reporting)
Afghanistan (Amnesty International)
Afghanistan (Human Rights Watch)
Afghanistan (Forced Migration Online)
Afghanistan and the U.S. (U. of California, Berkeley)
Background Note: Afghanistan (from the U.S. State Department)
Afghanistan Country Study (1986) (this is a U.S. Government document from American University)(note that information is dated, but still useful according to the Library of Congress)
Afghanistan: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (2006) (U.S. State Department)
For earlier reports, use this link, choose the year, and South Asia
U.S. Embassy: Afghanistan
Rebuilding Afghanistan (U.S. Dept. of State)
Building Peace and Civil Society in Afghanistan: Challenges and Opportunities (Asia Society and Carnegie Council)
Afghanistan Reconstruction Project (Center on International Cooperation)
Middle East Research and Information Project (publishes Middle East Report, news and perspectives on the Middle East--provides "independent analysis of events and developments in the Middle East", addresses "a broad range of social, political and cultural issues, and" solicits "writings and views from authors from the Middle East not often read in the West".
Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit
Institute for Afghan Studies
Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst (bi-weekly journal of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program--search for articles on Afghanistan)
Central Statistics Office: Afghanistan
Speaking Out: Afghan Opinions on Rights and Responsibilities (Human Rights Research & Advocacy Consortium)
Afghanistan: Images from the Harrison Forman Collection
Luke Powell Photographs (Center for Afghanistan Studies, U. of Nebraska, Omaha)
William Afghan Media Project (contains 3 collections of photographs from the late 19th century to 1992)

Art

Islamic Art
Asian Art
Art, Culture, and Religion: Afghanistan (Development Gateway Foundation)
Afghanistan, Rediscovered Treasures (collections from the National Museum of Kabul)
Afghanistan: Historic Places (ArchNet)
History of Afghanistan (Wikimedia Commons)
The Dismantling of Afghan History (Institute for Afghan Studies)
Afghanistan: a Timeless History (Museum of Fine Arts, Houston)
Afghanistan: 1969-1974 (photographs of Afghan art, monuments, and sculpture by Dr. Volker Thewalt)
Islamic Art and Architecture (U. of Georgia)
Islamic Art (Los Angeles County Museum of Art)

Drugs

Afghanistan (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime)
Articles from the Center for Conflict & Peace Studies: Afghanistan
Opium Licensing: Jumping from the Frying Pan Into the Fire
The Complexities of Afghanistan's Opium War
Evidence from the Field: Understanding Changing Levels of Opium Cultivation in Afghanistan (Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit)
Narcotics, Security and Human Rights: Afghanistan (Development Gateway Foundation)
Taliban and the Drug Trade (Congressional Research Service report for Congress)
U.S. Afghan Differences Over Narcotics Persist (Central Asia-Caucasus Institute Analysis)

Education

Afghanistan Cultural Profile: Education
Publications on Education (Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit)
UNICEF: Afghanistan
Education: Afghanistan (ReliefWeb)
Education: Afghanistan (UNESCO)
Report Card: Progress on Compulsory Education (Grades 1-9) (Human Rights Research and Advocacy Consortium)
Education in Afghanistan: UIS Statistics in Brief
Afghanistan: Education (NationMaster)
Help the Afghan Children (non-profit organization)
Central Statistics Office: Afghanistan
Education and Training: Afghanistan (Development Gateway Foundation)

Ethnic groups

Afghanistan Cultural Profile: People
Art, Culture, and Religion: Afghanistan (Development Gateway Foundation)

Geography

Afghanistan Cultural Profile: Geography and Topgraphy
Afghanistan Maps (Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection, U. of Texas, Austin)
Reference Map of Afghanistan (ReliefWeb)
Map Centre: Afghanistan (ReliefWeb)
United Nations Map of Afghanistan
Maps of Afghanistan (Wikimedia Commons)
Geography of Afghanistan (Wikimedia Commons)

International presence

Islam

Afghanistan Cultural Profile: Religion
Islam (Middle East & Islamic Studies, Columbia U.)
See links on the Qu'ran
Islam: Empire of Faith (PBS)
Islam (BBC)
Internet Islamic History Sourcebook (Fordham U.)
The Noble Qu'ran (U. of S. California)
Art, Culture, and Religion: Afghanistan (Development Gateway Foundation)
Islam & Islamic Studies Resources (U. of Georgia)
Topics (from MuslimHeritage.com)

Literature

Afghanistan Cultural Profile: Literature
Literatures of the Middle East (Middle East & Islamic Studies, Columbia U.)
Afghan Poets Biographies
Selection of Afghan Poetry (Afghanistan Online)
Persian Literature in Translation (Packard Humanities Institute)
Persian Language & Literature

Social Conditions

Listening to Afghans
Publications on Livelihoods and Vulnerability (Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit)

Soviet-Afghan War

Taliban

Who are the Taleban? (from the BBC)
The Taleban (from the Federation of American Scientists)
The Foreign Policy of the Taliban (Council on Foreign Relations)
September 11 Sourcebook (National Security Archive)(see links on the left for the Taliban)
Afghanistan: the Consolidation of a Rogue State (Taliban's rise to power from the Washington Quarterly)
Who is Responsible for the Taliban? (from MERIA, Middle East Review of International Affairs)

U.S. involvement

Afghanistan and the U.S. (U. of California, Berkeley)
Afghanistan: The Making of U.S. Policy, 1973-1990
U.S. Policy in Afghanistan: Challenges and Solutions (The Afghanistan Foundation)

Women

Internet Islamic History Sourcebook (Fordham U.)(look for the section on Women in Islam)
Afghanistan Unveiled (PBS)
The Plight of Afghan Women
WAPHA (Women's Alliance for Peace and Human Rights in Afghanistan)
Women in the Arab World
Women in Qur'anic Society (article from Al-tahid)
Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA)
Stop Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan (Feminist Majority Foundation)
Beneath the Veil (Documentary about Afghanistan by the daughter of an Afghan scholar)
Publications on Gender (Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit)
Out of the Shadows: Women in Afghan Society (USAID)
Afghan Women Get Own Radio Voice
The Afghan Women's Mission
Afghan Women's Network
Photos of Women is Afghanistan (scroll down to see these links)
Women in Islam: Muslim Women (U. of Georgia)
Women's Rights (Human Rights Watch)(search women and afghanistan)
Report on the Taliban's War Against Women (U.S. Dept. of State)
Women: the Pillars of Afghanistan (Central Asia-Caucasus Institute Analysis)
Why Do Muslim Women Have to Cover Their Heads? (Institute of Islamic Information and Education)

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