Classical Studies : History & Society :
a guide to library resources
Contents:
Starting points | Finding books| Finding journal articles etc. | Primary sources |
Related Classical Studies library guides which may be helpful:
Military history | Women |
STARTING POINTS
The following will help if you need to define your topic and/or get an overview.
Oxford classical dictionary (1996) [print]
[A one volume comprehensive & authoritative source of information covering all aspects of the classical world]
Dictionary of ancient history (1994) [print]
[A one volume layman's guide to the classical world]
Oxford history of the classical world / J. Boardman, 1986 [print]
[A one volume overview of the history of Greece & Rome which was also published separately as the Oxford history of Greece and the Hellenistic world and the Oxford history of the Roman world]
Cambridge Ancient History [print]
[Now in its third edition, this multi-volume encyclopedia provides an authoritative survey of ancient history]
Brill's New Pauly : encyclopaedia of the ancient world, 2002- [print]
[Translation of Der neue Pauly : Enzyklopaedie der Antike (published 1996-), which in itself is a new edition of Pauly's Realencyclopadie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft which began publication in the 1800's & is regarded as a classic reference work for information on antiquity. Publication of the English language edition (in 20 volumes) will proceed over a number of years]
Greek and Roman historians (2003) [print]
[Concise survey of the principal Greek and Roman historians]
Roman social history (2001) [print]
[A guide for students on what Roman social history involves, and how they can study it for themselves]
Sex in the ancient world from A to Z (2005) [print]
[An A-Z of the sexual practices, expressions and attitudes of the Greeks and Romans]
Researchers undertaking a literature survey may also want to consult the following:
Annual bulletin of historical literature [electronic access from 1997; print access for earlier volumes]
[Provides an annual survey of recent books, journals & journal articles]
Classical world : bibliography of Greek and Roman history (1978) [print]
[Reprints the bibliographical surveys first published in the journal Classical World between 1954 and 1971]
Introduction to ancient history (1970) [print]
[A standard guide to ancient history up to the end of the Roman Empire. It includes basic bibliographies on a variety of historical topics]
Sources for ancient history (1983) [print]
[A good starting point for a discussion of the types of primary sources available]
FINDING BOOKS USING THE LIBRARY CATALOGUE
Books can be found by searching the library catalogue. The following are terms which can be browsed using the Subject Heading option:
GREECE
Athens (Greece) Social conditions
Athens (Greece) Social life and customs
Family Greece
Greece Historiography
Greece History
(browse the list for narrower subject headings such as Greece History 281-146 B.C.)
Greece Politics and government
(browse the list for narrower subject headings such as Greece Politics & government To 146 B.C.)
Greece Social conditions To 146 B.C.
Greece Social life and customs
Historians Greece
Slavery Greece
Sparta (Extinct city) Social conditions
Women Greece
ROME
Family Rome
Historians Rome
Rome Historiography
Rome History
(browse the list for narrower subject headings such as Rome History Empire, 284-476)
Rome Politics and government
Rome Social Conditions
Rome Social life and customs
Slavery Rome
Women Rome
Or construct your own keyword searches. Here are some examples:
hellenism and historiography
greece and slave?
rome and history and "old age"
rome and history and (children or famil?)
Click here if you need help with constructing keyword searches using techniques such as truncation and Boolean operators
FINDING JOURNAL ARTICLES USING DATABASES & BIBLIOGRAPHIES
For most topics the databases listed in the Databases for Classics guide should be sufficient, but those researchers needing to undertake a more comprehensive literature search should consult:
L'Annee philologique [print]
[The premier index for Classics - if it's unfamiliar, read this description before attempting to use it. See especially Section V. Histoire et Civilisation in each annual printed volume for topics in history & society]
The following specialised bibliographies are also available:
Ancient Greek costume: an annotated bibliography (2006) [print]
[Some of this bibliography is also available via the web]
Bibliographie zur antiken Sklaverei (2 volumes, 2003) [print]
[Covers all aspects of slavery in the classical world as well as the ancient Near East]
Bibliography of Childhood in Antiquity [web access]
[A short bibliography on children & childhood]
Diotima Bibliographies [web access]
[Bibliographies contained in the Web site Diotima : Materials for the Study of Women & Gender in the Ancient World. Topics include Matriarchy, Rape, Prostitution, Sex & Sexuality, Weddings & Marriage, Law, the Family & Daily Life, Death for Greece &/or Rome]
Die Familie und weitere anthropologische Grundlagen (1992) [print]
[A bibliography on family & social life in Rome & the early Byzantine empire. It is a companion volume to Schichten, Konflikte, religiose Gruppen, materielle Kultur listed below]
Geras : old-age in Greco-Roman antiquity : a classified bibliography (1991) [print]
[Covers works up to 1989. Also includes Judaism and Early Christianity]
History of the family and kinship : a select international bibliography (1980) [print]
[A retrospective cross-disciplinary bibliography which covers the literature up to 1976. It includes a section on Classical Antiquity]
Homosexuality in ancient Greek and Roman civilization (1982) [print]
[A critical bibliography with supplement]
Homosexuality in History [web access]
[This partially annotated bibliography of books & journal articles compiled by Paul Halsall includes a considerable number of references to classical antiquity]
Old age in Greco-Roman antiquity and early Christianity (1989) [print]
[A bibliography contained in the book Old age in Greek and Latin literature]
Pinax online bibliographies: History [web access]
[Links to bibliographies on historical topics]
Ritual and Ceremony in the Ancient Mediterranean and Near East [web access]
[a select classified bibliography covering the period 1970 to 1998]
Ritual and Ceremony in the Graeco-Roman World [web access]
[a select classified bibliography covering the period 1970 to 1996]
Schichten, Konflikte, religiose Gruppen, materielle Kultur (1998) [print]
[A classified bibliography of Roman social history with the emphasis on literature up to around 1995 supplemented by a selection of essential older works. It is a companion volume to Die Familie und weitere anthropologische Grundlagen listed above]
Sources for the study of the Roman family (1986) [print]
[Consists of a literature survey & a bibliography. Located in the book The Family in ancient Rome : new perspectives]
PRIMARY SOURCES
The following searches of the library catalogue will identify primary source material:
Athens History Sources
Greece History Sources
Greece Civilization Sources
Rome Civilization Sources
Greece Society Sources
Persia History Sources
Rome History Sources
Rome Society Sources
The following web-site also include primary source material:
The Internet Ancient History Sourcebook [web access]
[A collection of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts e-texts, maps, pictures, art objects]
This page is maintained by Jennifer Osborn
Last update: 4 September 2007
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