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Anthropology 100-401. Anthropology and the Modern World: Iraq in Perspective - Course Guide

This guide will help you to use the Penn Library when researching topics on the modern ethnography, history and political situation of Iraq and its people. It describes finding aids, useful reference works, and some web portals for discovering information on Iraq.
Materials containing relevant information are collected chiefly by Van Pelt Library (social sciences and humanities, including history and political science, and area studies, including Middle Eastern studies). The anthropology, ethnography, and archaeology collections of the University Museum Library will also contain useful materials.
BE PERSISTENT! Many terms for topics you'll be researching will have been transliterated into romanized forms. You'll soon discover that there's no one "approved" transliteration style. When searching, first try using the form you know. Look for clues -- controlled vocabulary (e.g., subject headings or uniform titles) that may appear only in full record displays, "see also" or "more info" references -- to discover the transliterated form used by the work you're consulting. Use truncated word forms: read the work's documentation to discover how to truncate. Try omitting punctuation-like characters: some computer interfaces may elide ayn, maddah, and other Arabic transliteration marks. Ask for help! Your instructors have great experience at wrestling with transliteration, and so do reference librarians.
See also these Penn Library Web research guides:
Contents
Getting Started with the Basics
Dictionaries, encyclopedias and handbooks
Dictionaries are the best places to start when you're just beginning or need basic understanding. The entries in good encyclopedias will provide brief bibliographies, too. Use "Keyword Searching" in Franklin to find encyclopedias and dictionaries:
(dictionaries OR encyclop?) AND ...
Encyclopaedia of Islam. New ed. Leiden: Brill, 1960-present, with supplements.
A truly monumental reference work, always worth consulting, and apparently never to be completed. Entries use Arabic or other local forms transliterated into the Roman alphabet. In the online version, browse the "Full Text" tab for the articles, "Irak" (vol. 3, pp. 1250a ff), "Kurds, Kurdistan" (vol. 5, pp. 438b ff), "Shia" (vol. 9, pp. 420a ff), and "Takiyya" (vol. 10, pp. 134a ff), but consult generally for biographical and factual information as well as religious and social interpretation, and see especially its strong bibliographies.
Location: Brill web (via Penn Library Web) (Requires special fonts)
Location: Van Pelt Reference, Van Pelt Middle East Seminar, Van Pelt South Asia Reference, Museum Reference DS37 .E523
Van Pelt Reference also holds, at call numbers near this work's, a number of lighter multivolume encyclopedias on the modern Muslim world.
Columbia chronologies of Asian history and culture / John S. Bowman, ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000.
Geographically arranged chronologies for major countries. Includes subject index.
Location: Van Pelt Reference DS33 .C63 2000
Encyclopedia of world cultures / [Human Relations Area Files]. 10 volumes. Boston, Mass.: G. K. Hall, 1991-1996.
An excellent survey of cultural groups worldwide. See especially vol. 9, Africa and the Middle East.
Location: Museum Reference GN550 .E53 1991
Excerpted articles for Kurds and Turkmens are provided in eHRAF Collection of Ethnography.
Location: eHRAF via Penn Library Web
Historical dictionary of Iraq / Edmund A. Ghareeb. (Historical dictionaries of Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East no. 44.) Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2004.
Location: Van Pelt Reference: DS70.9 .G47 2004
Historical dictionary of the Kurds / Michael M. Gunter. (Historical dictionaries of people and cultures no. 1.) Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2004.
Location: Van Pelt Reference, Museum Reference DS59 .K86 G86 2004
Historical dictionary of Islamic fundamentalist movements in the Arab world, Iran, and Turkey / Ahmad S. Moussalli. (Historical dictionaries of religions, philosophies, and movements; no. 23.) Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1999.
Perhaps more useful for its good bibliography, arranged by country, than for identifying Islamic groups, both benevolent and violent, within modern Iraq.
Location: Van Pelt Reference BP60 .M36 1999]
"Iraq" / Riva Simon. in Political parties of the Middle East and North Africa / Frank Tachau, ed. (Greenwood historical encyclopedia of the world's political parties.) Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1994. pages 174-197.
Identifies and briefly describes political organizations in Iraq from Ottoman times through the early 1990s. Handy timeline and genealogy of parties.
Location: Van Pelt Reference JQ1758 .A979 P65 1994
Encyclopedia of the Persian Gulf War / Richard A. Schwartz. Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland & Co., c1998.
The most recent of several dictionaries, almanacs, and bibliographies on the Persian Gulf War of 1991, all clustering around this call number.
Location: Van Pelt Reference DS79.72 .S39 1998
Mawsu'at al-Najaf al-ashraf / ishraf lajnah min rijal al-fikr wa-al-'ilm wa-al-adab ; jama'a buhuthaha Ja'far al-Dujayli. Bayrut, Lubnan: Dar al-Adwa', 1993-.
A definitive, encyclopaedic work on the history of the city of Najaf; 23 volumes have been published to date. Detailed overview of the city's history, the development and curricula of its seminaries, its importance as a pilgrimage center, its role as cultural center, biographies of prominent figures, and much more.
Location: Van Pelt DS79.89.N3 M387 1993
Mawsu'at madinat Tikrit / Wizarat al-Thaqafah wa-al-I'lam. Baghdad : al-Wizarah, 1995.
An extensive collection of articles on the history and civilization of Saddam Hussein's city of birth, published by the Ministry of Culture.
Location: Van Pelt DS79.89.N3 M387 1993
Mawsu'at tarikh al-'Iraq bayna ihtilalayn / 'Abbas al-'Azzawi. Bayrut : al-Dar al-'Arabiyah lil-Mawsu'at, 2004.
Covers Iraq's post-Abbasid (1258 AD) history through 1917 in nine volumes. Topics are arranged chronologically. A good starting point for the pre-modern period written by a well-known Iraqi historian.
Location: Van Pelt DS76.A989 2004
Mawsu'at al-'Iraq al-hadith = Encyclopedia of modern Iraq / Khalid 'Abd al-Mu'nim al-'Ani. Baghdad : al-Dar al-'Arabiyah lil-Mawsu'at, 1977.
Three volumes, in both Arabic and English. Covers all aspects of Iraqi history and civilization, including politics, culture, geography and more.
Location: Van Pelt DS70.6.M39
Mawsu'at a'lam al-'Iraq fi al-Qarn al-'ishrin / Hamid al-Matba'i. Baghdad : Wizarat al-Thaqafah wa-al-I'lam, 1995.
A "Who's who" of Iraq giving capsulized biographies of prominent political, religious social and cultural figures from Iraq's 20th-century history.
Location: Van Pelt DS79.66.A2 M37 1995
Mu'jam al-'Amiri lil-qaba'il wa-al-usar wa-al-tawaif fi al-'Iraq / Thamir 'Abd al-Hasan al-'Amiri. Baghdad : Th.A.al-H. al-Amiri, 2001-.
Biographical dictionary of Iraqi tribes and families, arranged by surname. Includes information and more often than not, photographs, of then-current heads of tribe/family.
Location: Van Pelt CS1522.A46 2001
A'lam al-adab fi al-'Iraq al-hadith / Mir Basri. London : Dar al-Hikmah, 1994.
Biographical dictionary of modern Iraqi literary authors of prose and poetry. Entries include good biographical details, extracts of authors' works, bibliogaphy of published works. A useful introduction to 20th century-Iraqi literature.
Location: Van Pelt PJ8034.B37 1994
Atlases and Statistics
Statistical abstract of the region of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia. Baghdad: ESCWA. Irregular, seemingly biennial.
Bilingual Arabic and English. Statistical tables by country, including Iraq, on population, education, health, national accounts, agriculture, forestry and fishing, industry, energy, transport, foreign trade, financial statistics and prices, and information and communication technology. Many tables provide trend years.
Location: Van Pelt HA4666 .A2a (1971/1980- . Latest issue in Reference)
UN Statistics Division common database [UNSTATS].
Online compilation of IGO statistical time series for nations, providing more than 300 statistical series mostly for 1970 to the present. Data sources from UN, FAO, ILO, IMF, Unesco, World Bank, and other international governmental organizations. Owing to its recent pariah status, statistics for Iraq may be fragmentary.
Location: UN web via Penn Library Web
International historical statistics : Africa, Asia & Oceania, 1750-2000 / B. R. Mitchell. 4th ed. New York: Palgrave, 2003.
Handy compilations of time series data culled from many sources. The geographic breadth of this work makes its subject coverage somewhat shallow.
Location: Van Pelt Reference: HA4675 .M5552 2003
Statistical abstract. Baghdad: Zahra Press.
The national annual statistical abstract, in English and Arabic.
Location: Van Pelt HA1950 .I75 A3 (1944-1970 only)
Iraq Maps. Perry-Castaneda Map Collection, University of Texas Libraries.
JPEG- and PDF-format country and city maps, and thematic and historical maps, mostly from CIA and other US government and foreign government publications. Includes images from Iraq: a map folio / Central Intelligence Agency (Van Pelt Reference G2250 .U55 1992) and Atlas of the Middle East / Central Intelligence Agency (Van Pelt Reference Oversize G2205 .U55 1993).
Location: UT Libraries web
Atlas of the Middle East. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society, 2003.
A recent, very attractively presented general atlas.
Location: Van Pelt Reference G2205 .N34 2003
Historical atlas of Islam = Atlas historique de l'Islam / Hugh Kennedy, ed. 2nd rev. ed. Leiden: Brill, 2002.
Originally published in affiliation with Encyclopaedia of Islam. CD-ROM (bound with book) provides placename searching but little else.
Location: Van Pelt Reference Atlas Cases G1786 .S1 H6 2002
Reading about Iraq: Handbooks, Literature Guides and Web Portals, Bibliographies
The literature on Iraq is robust, complicated, and long-lived. These are tools to help cut through the noise.
Handbooks
Handbooks summarize whole subject areas, evaluating research as well as identifying important research tools and resources. Similar to encyclopedias, their articles are usually more discursive.
Use "Keyword Searching" in Franklin to find handbooks:
handbook? AND ...
Iraq: a country study / Helen Chapin Metz. 4th ed. (Library of Congress Country Studies: Area Handbook series.) Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1990.
Volumes in this series provide narrative descriptions of physical environment, historical setting, society, religion, education, health and welfare, government, politics, and international relations for most countries. Be aware that these books are rather dated now.
Location: Library of Congress web
Location: Van Pelt Reference DS70.6 .I734 1990
Earlier editions provide snapshots of current conditions and inform on US perceptions of Iraq. 1979 (3rd ed): Van Pelt DS70.6 .S6 1979. 1971 ed: Van Pelt DS70.6 .N86 1971
Iraq and the Persian Gulf. (Geographical handbook series.) Londong: Naval Intelligence Division, Admiralty, 1944.
A World War II-vintage handbook similar to the Library of Congress Area Handbook series.
Location: Museum Library DS67.8 .G7
Also available as reprint in: The Middle East intelligence handbooks, 1943-1946 : Iraq and the Persian Gulf, Western Arabia and the Red Sea, Palestine and Transjordan, Syria, Persia. Gerrards Cross, Bucks., England: Archive Editions, 1987. vol. 1. Iraq and the Persian Gulf. Location: Van Pelt DS44 .M53 1987 vol. 1
The Middle East and Central Asia: an anthropological approach / Dale F. Eickelman. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2001.
A recent popular textbook, weak on bibliography but bibliographic citations to ethnographies appear in footnotes. Earlier editions are in Van Pelt and Museum.
Location: Museum GN635 .N42 E39 2001
The Middle East: an anthropological perspective / John Gulick. (Goodyear regional anthropology series.) Pacific Palisades, Calif: Goodyear Pub. Co., 1976.
A highly-praised but old general synthesis written by an anthropologist who did fieldwork in Iraq.
Location: Van Pelt, Museum DS57 .G84
The Central Middle East: a handbook of anthropology and published research on the Nile Valley, the Arab Levant, southern Mesopotamia, the Arabian Peninsula, and Israel / Louise E. Sweet, ed. New Haven: HRAF Press, 1971.
An excellent although old handbook with good annotated bibliographies. Use Strijp's two-volume bibliography (below) covering 1965-1992 as a continuation of this work. See especially, "Southern Mesopotamia and annotated bibliography" / Robert Alan Fernea, pages 233-270.
Location: Museum DS57 .S937 1971
Iraq: its people, its society, its culture / George Lawrence Harris. (Survey of world cultures 3.) New Haven: HRAF Press, 1958.
Old basic ethnographic overview of Iraq, prepared in conjunction with compilation of microfiche Human Relations Area Files [HRAF] dossier on Iraq.
Location: Van Pelt, Museum 915.67 H243. CJAS DS70.6 .H37 1958
The Kurds: a concise handbook / Mehrdad R. Izady. Washington: Crane Russak, 1992.
Surveys cultural geography, cultural history, religion, language, literature, society, political issues, economy, and culture of Kurds from prehistory through early 1990s. Provides brief bibliographical essays for each topical chapter.
Location: eHRAF via Penn Library Web
Location: Van Pelt DS59 .K86 I93 1992
Muslim peoples: a world ethnographic survey / Richard V. Weekes, ed. 2nd ed., rev. and expanded. 2 vols. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1984.
Brief survey articles on ethnic groups worldwide either wholly or partly Muslim. Each article includes a bibliography of English-language materials. Start by consulting the very useful "Appendix I: Muslim nationalities of the world" (vol. 2, pp. 882-911), where ethnonyms are arranged by country.
Location: Van Pelt Reference, Museum: DS35.625 .A1 M87 1984
The Middle East: abstracts and index.
Special-topics volumes provide abstracts of scholarly articles and, often with fulltext, government documents, speeches and broadcasts, web sites, research reports and other ephemeral literature. Some recent special-topics volumes cover: Al-Qaeda and Jihadi movements worldwide; Oil, natural gas and petrochemical industries in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia; Refugees; Women in the Middle East and North Africa. For the annual general index and fulltext anthologies, see Indexes and abstracts below.
Location: Van Pelt Reference and Van Pelt stacks DS41 .M44
Iraq Research and Documentation Project (IRDP). Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University.
Multimedia database focusing on repression in the Saddam Hussein regime and more generally on the government, politics and civil society of modern Iraq based upon official documents, maps, transcripts of testimonies and other documents of oral history, chronologies, bibliographic references, important articles, reports, photographic and other images, audio tapes, video-taped records.
Location: IRDP web
Crisis in Iraq. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Fulltext reports, hyperlink lists on reconstructing iraq, covering reconstruction efforts, weapons of mass destruction and UN inspections, regime change and Arab reform, and US policy toward Iraq.
Location: Carnegie Endowment web
"Ancient Mesopotamia and modern Iraq in the British press, 1980-2003" / Michael Seymour. Current Anthropology vol. 45, no. 3 (June 2004): 351-368.
An interesting article, with a bibliography that identifies exemplar press coverage.
Location: Univ of Chicago Press web via Penn Library Web
Guides to the Literature, Web Portals, and Bibliographies
Guides to the Literature, Web Portals, and Bibliographies provide useful entry points by evaluating and highlighting the most important research tools and resources.
Use "Keyword Searching" in Franklin to find bibliographies and guides to the literature:
skey bibliography AND ...
Iraq / C. H. Bleaney, comp. 2nd ed. (World bibliographical series v. 42.) Santa Barbara, CA: Clio Press, 1995.
One volume in an excellent series, describing mostly English-language works with brief evaluative (often tartly so) annotations on many topics.
Location: Van Pelt Reference DS70.6 .A27 1995
Iraq. The Gulf/2000 Project, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University.
Hyperlink collection from an academic program to improve awareness of Persian Gulf issues.
Location: Gulf/2000 Project web
Iraq. Political Resources on the Net.
Useful, regularly updated list of links to Iraqi political party websites, thinktanks, and other organizations involved in the current political process.
Location: Political Resources on the Net--Iraq
UT-MENIC: Countries and Regions: Iraq. Center for Middle East Studies, University of Texas-Austin.
A good, frequently-updated hyperlink list on Iraq.
Location: UT-MENIC web
Perkins Library - IAS - Middle East - Iraq Internet Resources. Perkins Library, Duke Univeresity.
Another good hyperlink list, attractively presented.
Location: Perkins Library web
Bibliographies on the Middle East. Columbia University Libraries.
A handy list of bibliographies published on the web. Use with caution as many hyperlinks appear to be defunct.
Location: CUL web
"Iraq" / A. Baram, A. and M. Eppel. in Handbook of political science research on the Middle East and North Africa / Bernard Reich, ed. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1998. pages 92-117.
This bibliographic essay identifies and in many cases evaluates classic and recent books and articles dealing with major political themes in monarchical, revolutionary, and Baath-era Iraq.
Location: Van Pelt Reference JQ1758 .A58 1998
"The historiography of modern Iraq" / Marion Farouk-Sluglett and Peter Sluglett. American Historical Review vol. 96, no. 5 (December 1991): 1408-1421.
A critical evaluation of selected major works on Iraqi history. Part of special issue, "The Modern Middle East" on the historiography of the region. Some other relevant articles cover Arab nationalism and the Baath Party.
Location: JSTOR via Penn Library Web
Cultural anthropology of the Middle East: a bibliography / Ruud Strijp. 2 vols. (Handbuch der Orientalistik. Erste Abteilung, Der Nahe und der Mittlere Osten, 10. Bd., 27 Bd.) Leiden, New York: Brill, 1992-1997.
Bibliographic citations, some with brief descriptive annotations, to ethnographies and other works providing cultural or social anthropological information on the region. Identifies 5,447 books, book chapters, articles and dissertations written in English, French, or German covering North Africa and the Middle East. Arranged by countries within genre, with a subject index. Volume 1 covers 1965-1987, Volume 2 1988-1992.
Location: Van Pelt, Museum Reference GN640 .S77 1992
"Bibliographie zur Ethnographie des Iraq" / P Heine et al. Jahrbuch zu Geschichte und Kultur des Modernen Iraq no. 1 (1991): 21-40
An article-sized list of bibliographic citations without annotation, nevertheless a useful survey of ethnographies and other works in western languages and in Arabic providing ethnographic information from the mid-nineteenth century to the late 1980s.
Location: Not available in the Penn Library. Request through Interlibrary Loan or contact Lauris Olson.
"Three approaches to the cultural anthropology of the Middle East" / Richard T Antoun. Middle East Studies Association Bulletin 5 (1971): 24-53
An oddly-presented work, consisting of course syllabi on specific topics with related bibliographies. Dated, but a clever way to present significant works.
Location: Van Pelt DS41 .M533
The American Historical Association's guide to historical literature. 3rd ed. 2 vols. Oxford University Press, 1995.
Useful for supplementing Baram and Eppel and the Slugletts. Identifies and briefly describes recent good or innovative scholarly reading on historical topics, including current history to c. 1990. Covers basic reference works, too. Earlier editions are in the Van Pelt stacks. Relevant sections include:
  • "Islamic world to 1500". vol. 1, pp. 498-526.
  • "Middle East and North Africa since 1500". vol. 1, pp. 527-559.
  • "International relations since 1920: Middle East since 1945". vol. 2, pp. 1608-1609.
Location: Van Pelt Reference Desk, Museum Reference D20 .A55 1995
"Iraq's modern Arabic literature in English translation: a preliminary bibliography" / Salih J Altoma. Arab Studies Quarterly vol. 19, no. 4 (Fall 1997): 131-172.
A lengthy list of works, mostly poetry, written since the 1940s.
Location: OneFile via Penn Library Web
Iraq: a bibliographical guide / C. H. Bleaney and G. J. Roper, comp. (Handbuch der Orientalistik. Erste Abteilung, Nahe und der Mittlere Osten, 75. Bd.) Boston: Brill, 2004.
Extracts bibliographic citations (without abstracts) from Index Islamicus and arranges them in broad topical sections. Less useful now than a few years ago, as Index Islamicus is available online.
Location: Van Pelt Reference DS79.65 .I72 2004
"The study of Islamic culture and politics: an overview and assessment" / Mansoor Moaddel. Annual Review of Sociology vol. 28 (2002): 359-386.
Although little interested in Iraq, this is a great, thick recent bibliographic survey and might be considered an update on Haddad (below)
Location: Annual Reviews via Penn Library Web
The contemporary Islamic revival: a critical survey and bibliography / Yazbeck Haddad et al. (Bibliographies and indexes in religious studies; no. 20.) New York: Greenwood Press, 1991.
Bibliographic essays on aspects of the topic, followed by a geographically-arranged bibliography. Includes a subject index.
Location: Van Pelt Reference, Van Pelt stacks BP60 .A12 H23 1991
Arabic materials in English translation: a bibliography of works from the pre-Islamic period to 1977 / Margaret Anderson. (Reference publication in Middle Eastern studies.) Boston: G. K. Hall, 1980.
Needs updating, but still very useful for identifying translations of specific Arabic-language works, especially histories and travel accounts.
Location: Van Pelt Reference: PJ7692 .E1 A54
Government Views of Iraq. CCNY Library.
Hyperlink list for US government documents and other materials on current affairs in Iraq.
Location: CCNY Library web
Kurdish culture and society: an annotated bibliography / Lokman I. Meho and Kelly L. Maglaughlin, comp. (Bibliographies and indexes in ethnic studies no. 9). Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2001.
Location: Van Pelt Reference, Museum DS59 .K86 M44 2001
ISK's Kurdish bibliography / Silvio van Rooy and Kees Tamboe, eds. 2 vols. in 1. Amsterdam: International Society Kurdistan, 1968.
A mammoth undertaking, listing more than 9,300 books, scholarly articles, and newspaper articles, covering all aspects of Kurdish society, culture, history, and political situation. Largely focused on Iraqi Kurds.
Location: Van Pelt Z3453 .K8 I53
Bibliography of English-language sources on Iraq / Iraq Foundation. Created in 2000?
Short unannotated list of books on Iraq, includes section on "Iraqi Communities". Also, a very brief list of annotated article citations. The Iraq Foundation is an expatriate nonprofit with a web site offering reports and news on the recent and current human rights and political situation in Iraq.
Location: Iraq Foundation web
An introduction to Shi`i law : a bibliographical study / Hossein Modarressi Tabataba`i. (St. Antony's Middle East monographs, no. 16.) London : Ithaca Press, 1984.
Location: Van Pelt K403 .T25 1984
The Iraq-Iran war: a bibliography / J. Anthony Gardner. London: Mansell, 1988.
Topically-arranged bibliography, with subject index. An otherwise positive reviewer commented that it had been compiled too soon!
Location: Van Pelt DS318.85 .G36 1988
al-Harb al-'Iraqiyah-al-Iraniyah fi masadir al-ma'lumat al-'Arabiyah wa-al-ajnabiyah 1980-1986 / i'dad Jasim Muhammad Jirjis, Zaki Husayn al-Wardi. Baghdad : Markaz al-Tawthiq al-I'lami li-Duwal al-Khalij al-'Arabi, 1988.
Bibliography of articles in Arab and other language sources on the Iraq-Iran War, arranged by subject and indexed by place of publication and source. Useful for locating international reaction and opinion on the war.
Location: Van Pelt DS318.85 .H37 1988
al-Azmah wa-al-harb fi al-Khalij / Sa'd al-Hajrasi, Mustafa Husam al-Din. al-Qahirah : al-'Arabi lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzi', 1993.
Bibliography and bibliometric study of the literature (in Arabic and other languages) related to the Iraqi 1990 invasion of Kuwait; arranged by subject and language.
Location: Van Pelt DS79.72 .H34 1993
A bibliography of the Iran-Iraq borderland / Keith McLachlan and Richard N. Schofield. Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, England : Middle East and North African Studies Press, 1987.
Covers a wide range of topics, including modern history (and the Iran-Iraq War), geography, geology and geomorphology, and international relations.
Location: Van Pelt Z3366 .M34
Madi al-Akrad wa-hadirihim fi al-masadir al-'Arabiyah al-qadimah wa-al-hadithah / Kurkis 'Awwad. Baghdad : al-Majma' al-'Ilmi al-'Iraqi, 1991.
Bibliography of Arabic monographs and periodical articles concerning Iraqi Kurdistan. Entry is arranged by title, also inlcudes author index. Many of the publications index are from Iraq; if Van Pelt Library does not have any particular item, use Borrow Direct.
Location: Van Pelt DS59.K86 A97 1991
Qa'imah bi-al-kutub wa-al-maraji' 'an al-Iraq / Wizarat al-Thaqafah wa-al-Irashad al-Qawmiyah. al-Qahirah : al-Wizarah, 1964.
Although out-of-date, this bibliography of monographs and journal articles on Iraq, in Arabic and English, is useful for locating resources for mid-century-Iraq.
Location: Van Pelt Z3036.C34 1964
al-Intaj al-fikri al-'Iraqi li-'am 1975 / Qism al-Biblughrafiya wa-al-Ihsa fi al-Maktabah al-Wataniyah. Baghdad : al-Qism, 1977.
Apparantly the only volume issued for this proposed series, this is a bibliography of imprints received by the Iraqi National Library for 1975. Citations are given for literature published in Arabic, French and English languages.
Location: Van Pelt Z3036.M34 1975
Jamharat al-maraji' al-Baghdadiyah / Kurkis 'Awwad, 'Abd al-Hamid al-'Alwaji. Baghdad : al-Maktabah al-Wataniyah, 1962.
Published on the occasion of the millenial festival of Baghdad and the philosopher al-Kindi, this bibliography gives citations for monographs and articles, in Arabic and European languages, concerning the history of Baghdad. Citations are arranged by author last name. With indexes for personal names, titles and subjects.
Location: Van Pelt Z3038.B3 A85 1962
'Asifat al-sahara' fi al-dawriyat al-Misriyah bi-Dar al-Kutub al-Qawmiyah, qa'imat bibliujrafiyah min awwal Yulyu 1990 - akhir Fabrayir 1991 / i'dad Idarat al-Tawthiq . al-Qahirah : al-Hay'ah al-Misriyah al-'Amah lil-Kitab, 1992.
Extensive bibliography of Egyptian press coverage of the Iraqi invation of Kuwait from July 1990 until February 1991. Citations arranged by subject; includes index of authors. Be sure to refer to the index of abbreviation to serials titles on page 9.
Location: Van Pelt Z3038.B3 A85 1962
A post war bibliography of the Near Eastern mandates, a preliminary survey of publications on the social sciences dealing with Iraq, Palestine and Trans-Jordan, and the Syrian states, from Nov. 11, 1918 to Dec. 31, 1929, arranged in an alphabetical list by authors, with a limited index by subject matter, presented in ... eight fascicles by languages ... / Stuart C. Dodd, ed. (American University of Beirut. Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Publications. Social science series no. 1.) Beirut, Syria: American Press, 1933-1936.
A huge bibliography on a critical period in Middle Eastern history. Be patient in using Franklin to track down many of the publications listed here.
Location: Van Pelt Library Middle East Seminar (Rm. 523): Z3451 .P85
Reading about Iraq - Using Franklin in the Penn Library

Use Franklin to identify and locate in the Penn Library books, periodicals, and bibliographic and numeric data files in electronic format.
CAVEAT: Biddle Law Library holdings do not appear in Franklin. Use LOLA, the Biddle catalog to search Biddle's holdings.
The best way to use Franklin is to search by Library of Congress subject heading. Some subject headings pertaining to Iraq used in Franklin are:
Arabs--Iraq Islam--Customs and practices
Basrah (Iraq: Province) Islam and politics--Iraq
Ethnology--Iraq Kurdistan (Iraq)--Social conditions
Ethnology--Tigris-Euphrates Delta (Iraq and Iran)
Euphrates River Valley--Social life and customs
Faysal I, King of Iraq, 1885-1933 Kurdistan--History--20th century
Hizb al-Ba'th al-'Arabi al-Ishtiraki (Iraq)
Hussein, Saddam, 1937- Kurds--Government Policy--Iraq
Iran-Iraq War, 1980-1988--Sources Kurds--History--20th century
Iraq President (1979- : Hussein) Marshes--Iraq
Iraq--Boundaries--Iran--Sources Material culture--Tigris-Euphrates Delta (Iraq and Iran)
Iraq--Description and travel Muslims
Iraq--Ethnic relations Persian Gulf War, 1991--Diplomatic history
Iraq--Foreign relations--Great Britain Philosophy, Islamic--20th century
Iraq--History--1534-1921 Qasim, `Abd al-Karim, 1914-1963
Iraq--History--1958- Qaida (Organization)
Iraq--History--Hashemite Kingdom, 1921-1958
Sa`id, Nuri, 1888-1958 [also Nuri al-Said, 1888-1958]
Iraq--History--Revolution, 1958 Shi`ah--Iraq
Iraq--History--Revolution, 1963 Shiite shrines--Iraq--Najaf
Iraq-Kuwait Crisis, 1990-1991 Shiites
Iraq--Politics and government--1958- Sunnites
Iraq--Social life and customs Tribal government
HINT: When searching for subject headings in Franklin, do not type the double hypherns!
Keyword searching using Library of Congress subject headings and subheadings is very useful for combining different concepts into one search, for restricting searches to geographic areas, and for identifying unfamiliar Library of Congress subject headings (e.g., from known catch-phrases):
"marsh arabs" OR ((skey tigris or skey euphrates) AND (ethnology or culture or social))
shii? AND (baath OR skey bath OR saddam)
kurd?
Some Franklin subject heading subdivisions are useful for limiting searches for specific aspects of a subject. Use skey subject keyword field code to combine these with other search terms:
skey commerce skey "foreign relations"
skey "customs and practices" skey "islamic influences"
skey "economic conditions" skey "politics and government"
skey "ethnic identity" skey "social conditions"
skey "foreign influences" skey "social life and customs"
Some Franklin subject heading subdivisions are useful for identifying genres. Use skey subject keyword field code to combine these with other search terms:
skey bibliography skey maps
skey biography skey "personal narratives"
skey "description and travel" skey sources
skey ethnology skey statistics
skey guidebooks
Consult the Penn Library Web research guide, Using Franklin to find primary resources for additional tips.
Browse by LC classification number: You can use Franklin to search by Library of Congress classification numbers. Just insert the appropriate call number listed below in Franklin search box, and Search By: Call number. This technique will enable you to "virtually browse" the shelves. Recommended call numbers for Iraqi-related works are listed as follows:
LC classification number Classification heading
DS70.7 Social life and customs
DS70.8 Ethnography
DS79, DS79.5 History 1919-1958
DS79.6.A to Z Biography 1919-1958
DS79.65 Republic of Iraq, 1958-
DS79.66 Biography 1958-
DS318.85 Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988
DS79.7 Iraq under Saddam Hussein
DS79.719 to DS79.744 Persian Gulf War 1990-1991
DS79.75 Post-Persian Gulf War, 1991-2003
DS79.76 Iraq War, 2003
DS79.89.A-Z Histories of provinces and regions
DS79.9.A-Z Histories of cities
PJ6823 to PJ6830 Arabic language of Iraq
PJ8030 to PJ8047 Arabic literature in Iraq
PK6901 to 6909 Kurdish language and literature
PN5449.I7 Journalism in Iraq
The Penn Library Web provides extensive help for searching Franklin.
Reading about Iraq - Indexes and Abstracts
Whether in print or electronic (online or CD-ROM) format, serial bibliographies, indexes, and abstracts are regularly published, continuing bibliographies offering subject and author access to periodical or newspaper articles, books, book chapters, essays in collections, etc.
HINT! To locate articles you identify using these indexes, do journal title searches in Franklin for each article's journal title. You might also want to try the PennText Article Finder
The Penn Library Web Databases tool may be used to identify relevant databases for subject communities, such as Anthropology, History, Political Science or Sociology, and for area studies.
Index Islamicus. 1665-present.
The principal index for Islamic studies, covering western-language books, articles and book chapters, and reviews on all aspects of Islam and Muslims, past and present. Geographic areas covered include all Muslim-majority countries and Muslim minority populations worldwide. The print version's backfile is awesome.
Location: CSA via Penn Library Web (1906-present)
Location: Van Pelt Reference BP166.2 .I53... (print, 1655-present)
The Middle East: abstracts and index. 1978-present.
A surprisingly useful work, arranged geographically with a separate annual volume for Central Asia and Inner Asia. Provides abstracts for scholarly journal articles and, often with fulltext, for editorials, government documents, research reports, press releases, speeches and broadcasts, and a wide range of ephemeral materials. Annual special-topics volumes are described separately under "Handbooks and Guides to the Literature. Cumulative index for 1986-2001 is at Van Pelt Reference: DS41 .M44 accompanying most recent volumes.
Location: Van Pelt DS41 .M44 (latest two years in Van Pelt Reference)
Articles on the Middle East, 1947-1971: a cumulation of the bibliographies from The Middle East Journal / Peter M. Rossi and Wayne E. White, eds. 4 volumes. Ann Arbor, MI: Pierian Press, 1980.
Rather unfriendly arrangement reproduces the original annual bibliographies. Subject indexes only for personal names or arcane "main entry" and broad topical categories (e.g., social conditions, history and politics). But it indexes many periodicals for many (older) years.
Location: Van Pelt Reference DS44 .R68
Historical abstracts. 1970-present.
Excellent coverage of worldwide scholarly journal literature (and some books and dissertations) on non-United States history during the modern period to the present. Search interface permits time-period subject searching.
Location: Penn Library Web
Anthropological plus. 19th century-present.
Combines the two principal indexes to the anthropological literature, Anthropological literature (Tozzer Library, Harvard University) and Anthropological index (Royal Anthropological Institute/Library of the British Museum Department of Ethnography). Both index most of the core literature, so there's a lot of redundancy in this union database.
Location: Eureka via Penn Library Web
International bibliography of the social sciences (IBSS). 1951-present.
Sponsored by Unesco, this index provides the best coverage of worldwide scholarly literature, including journal articles, books, and book chapters, in anthropology, economics, political science, and sociology.
Location: CSA via Penn Library Web
PAIS International. 1915-present.
Indexes, with some abstracts, articles, books, government documents, and some grey literature on contemporary political, social, and public policy issues worldwide. Covers materials in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. Print backfile provides good access to policy literature throughout the twentieth century.
Location: CSA via Penn Library Web (1972-present)
Location: Van Pelt Reference JA1 .P357 (print, 1915-1994)
al-Fihrist. 1981-present (i.e., c.1999).
The only index to Arabic periodical literature. In Arabic.
Location: Van Pelt AI19 .A6 F53
Research Collections
Large collections of documents, publications, and other primary source material may be very useful. However, these collections -- each one often represented by a single Franklin record -- may get lost among your search results. The research collections below reflect a small selection of the Penn Library's vast research materials.
Many research collections are available in microformats. Major microform sets in the Penn Library identifies large Penn Library microform collections.
eHRAF Collection of Ethnography. Human Relations Area Files.
Continues the microfiche collection, Human Relations Area Files [HRAF], held in the University Museum Library. The two resources reproduce collections of ethnographic texts on approximately 450 cultures worldwide, with indexing for more than 700 categories of human behavior. Iraq cultures covered by eHRAF and HRAF microfiche include:
  • Iraq (general). OWC MH01. HRAF: 8 documents.
  • Kurds. OWC MA11. eHRAF: 12 documents.
  • Turkmens. OWC RM02. eHRAF: 1 document.
Location: eHRAF via Penn Library Web
Iraq administration reports 1914-1932. 10 vols. Slough: Archive Editions, 1992.
Reprints British administrative reports for Mesopotamia. See Archive Editions web site for precis and contents list.
Location: Van Pelt DS79.5 .I73 1992
Records of the Hashimite dynasties: a twentieth century documentary history / Alan de L. Rush, ed.. 15 vols. Slough: Archive Editions, 1995.
Reprints diaries, unpublished correspondence, confidential reports and other material. See especially:
  • v. 10. pt. 2 and v. 11. Iraq, the reign of King Faisal I
  • v. 12. Iraq, the reign of King Ghazi
  • v. 13-14. Iraq, the reign of King Faisal II
    • .
See Archive Editions web site for precis and contents list.
Location: Van Pelt DS247 .H46 R43 1995
Islamic movements in the Arab world, 1913-1966 / Anita L.P. Burdett, ed. 4 vols. London: Archive Editions, 1998.
Reproduces British government archival documents, many confidential, on pan-Islamic organizations and local and regional efforts to formally integrate Islam into secular life. See Archive Editions web site for precis and contents list.
Location: Van Pelt BP173.7 .I868 1998
Arab dissident movements, 1905-1955 / A.L.P. Burdett, ed. 4 vols. Archive Editions, 1996.
Reproduces British government archival documents on major Arab nationalists, pan-Arabists, and regional and locally-based dissidents. Coverage includes early years of the Baath Party. See Archive Editions web site for precis and contents list.
Location: Van Pelt DS63.6 .A715 1996
Iraqgate: Saddam Hussein, U.S. policy, and the prelude to the Persian Gulf War (1980-1994). Alexandria, Va. : Chadwyck-Healy, 1995.
US government declassified documents requested through Freedom of Information Act requests by the National Security Archive.
Location: Van Pelt Microtext Microfiche 1173
Saddam Husayn wa-al-mu'amarah al-kubra / Hamid al-Bayati. London : al-Rafid, 2000.
Study by the author on the United States diplomatic documents during the tiem of the July 1968 coup d'etat that brought the Ba'th Party to power in Iraq. WIth fascimiles of the documents consulted and summary in English. The author has also written other studies examining US and British government documents related to Iraqi politics; please use Franklin to do an author search to locate these other works.
Location: Van Pelt DS79.65.B3927 2000
Iraq Watch.
Fulltext documents, reference materials, and analysis on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Provides a large collection of fulltext government documents, many only peripherally about WMDs, from many countries.
Location: Iraq Watch web
The Kurdish question in U.S. foreign policy : a documentary sourcebook / Lokman I. Meho, comp. (Documentary reference collections.) Westport, Conn. : Praeger, 2004.
Location: Van Pelt E183.8 .I57 K87 2004
The Arab League: British documentary sources, 1943-1963 / Anita L. P. Burdett, ed. 10 vols. Slough: Archive Editions, 1995.
Reproduces records generated by Arab League officials (e.g., communiques, agendas and minutes of meetings, resolutions, correspondence, reports and treaties) and internal British government reports and briefings from British Ambassadors and political officers in the field. See Archive Editions web site for precis and contents list.
Location: Van Pelt DS36.2 .A76 1995
Arabian treaties, 1600-1960 / Penelope Tuson and Emma Quick, eds. 4 vols. Slough: Archive Editions, 1992.
Reproduces regional inter-state and local treaties, agreements and exchanges of letters. Does not include boundary claims preceding the agreements. See Archive Editions web site for precis and contents list.
Location: Van Pelt JX1015 .A73 A7 1992
The Iran-Iraq border 1840-1958 / Richard Schofield, ed. 11 vols. Farnham Common: Archive Editions, 1989.
Reproduces British government archival documents regarding Kurdistan and the Shatt al Arab borders. See Archive Editions web site for precis and contents list.
Location: Van Pelt DS70.96 .I55 I635 1989
Arabian boundaries: primary documents / Richard Schofield and Gerald Blake, eds. 29-plus vols. (in progress). Farnham Common: Archive Editions, 1988- .
Reproduces British government archival documents, including treaties, letters, telegrams, memoranda and notes, (e.g., diplomatic summaries and assessments) on boundary negotiations, agreements, disputes, incursions and claims. See especially v. 7 and 8. Kuwait - Iraq. See Archive Editions web site for precis and contents list.
Location: Van Pelt DS227 .A73 1988
Historical photographs of the Middle East. 194 fiche. Zug, Switzerland: IDC, 1985.
More than 16,000 historical photographs from 1858-1973 on political, historical, archaeological, and anthropological events in the Middle East (including Iraq, 1909-1956). Collected by the Middle East Centre, St Antony's College, Oxford.
Location: Van Pelt Microtext Microbook 18]
Royal Commonwealth Society, London, photograph collection. 808 fiches. Zug, Switzerland: IDC, 1986.
Approximately 45,000 historical photographs on British colonial and Commonwealth topics from mid-1850s to mid-1980s. Coverage includes Middle East countries.
Location: Museum Library Microfiche 19
British documents on foreign affairs: reports and papers from the Foreign Office confidential print. Frederick, Md: University Publications of America.
These four multivolume sets reproduce selected confidential British government documents, 1856 through 1950. Consult tables of contents and indexing for the set relevant to your time period.
  • Part I, From the mid-nineteenth century to the First World War. Series B, The Near and Middle East, 1856-1914. 20 vols. Location: Van Pelt JX632 .B745 1984
  • Part II, From the First to the Second World War. Series B, Turkey, Iran, and the Middle East, 1918-1939. 35 vols. Location: Van Pelt DS63.2.G7 B75 1985
  • Part III, From 1940 through 1945. Series B, Near and Middle East. 10 vols. Location: Van Pelt JX632 .B762 1997
  • Part IV, From 1946 through 1950. Series B, Near and Middle East. 10 vols. Location: Van Pelt JZ632 .B772 1999
News sources on Iraq
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty - Iraq Reports. 1998-present. Weekly.
RFE/RL web
Middle East Report. 1988-2001.
Provides brief articles describing and analyzing current affairs. Preceded by MERIP Middle East Report (1986-1988) and MERIP Reports (1971-1985).
Location: Van Pelt DS42 .M46a (print, 1992-present, unbound issues in Current Periodicals)
Location: ECO via Penn Library Web (2000-2001 only)
Location: JSTOR via Penn Library Web (1988-1997)
Location: JSTOR via Penn Library Web (1986-1988)
Location: JSTOR via Penn Library Web (1971-1985)
FBIS and World News Connection.
These resources provide English-language fulltext translations for non-English local broadcast and print news reports from locations around the world. Invaluable for reading alternative or local press coverage. WNC is a "lite" product. Use FBIS whenever possible.
For more information on Penn Library FBIS holdings, consult FBIS daily reports Van Pelt Library special bibliography.
Location: WNC via Penn Library Web (1994-present)
FBIS daily reports. [Microfiche]. 1974-1996. Location: Microfiche at Van Pelt Reference Government Documents Room: SuDoc PrEx 7.10:FBIS-...]
Indexed by FBIS Index via Penn Library Web
Iraq. Yahoo! Groups/ Electronic mailing list.
"Iraq is an independent interactive electronic information and discussion list about Iraq (history, culture, politics, economy, etc.)". Started in 1997, Iraq is one of the oldest continuing electronic mailing lists on this subject still in existance. Postings may include news items and reports from alternative news sources, and there is never any real shortage of opinion from various participants of different backgrounds who at different times have included academics, expatriate Iraqis, and others. Like any other mailing list, the quality of content may be dependent on who is posting at the time. The hard work of keeping this group in focus is done beautifully by the manager Anwar al-Ghassani. Archives are searchable and go back to 2000. A great source for interesting observations on current events. Iraq on Yahoo! Groups
Middle East Microforms Project (MEMP).
Penn is a member of the Center for Research Libraries' (CRL) Middle East Microforms Project. MEMP is a membership-based progam to cooperatively acquire microform copies of Middle East-related materials, especially serials. A number of Iraq-related titles are available for loan, including Daily review of the Baghdad press from 1951-1954 and Baghdad press extracts from 1951-1953. For full listings and holdings of items available on loan, please see the MEMP Holdings List.
Send mail concerning this page to:
Lauris OlsonDennis Hyde
Social Sciences BibliographerInterim Middle East Studies Librarian
203 Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center / 62061st flr, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center
215 / 898-0119 (phone)215 / 898-6675 (phone)
olson@pobox.upenn.eduhyde@pobox.upenn.edu
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