This research guide focuses specifically on political theory and philosophy. For a more general introduction to available resources in political science, please visit the Emory Political Science Subject Guide.

• For one-on-one consultations or further research help, please contact Chris Palazzolo , Political Science Liaison/Librarian at the Woodruff Library.

• To find materials located at any of Emory's libraries, search EUCLID, Emory's online library catalog. The contents of books and articles are not searchable in EUCLID. Read Finding a Journal Article in the Woodruff Library, for further guidance.

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Using EUCLID Political Theory Reference Items

To find books, journal holdings, music, videos or other materials located at any of the Emory libraries, search EUCLID. You can search EUCLID by keywords or phrases, author, title or periodical title. For better search results, try using Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT).

Do not use EUCLID to find individual periodical articles. Use the databases listed in Locating Articles to find indexes for journal articles.

You can search EUCLID in many different manners and across/within many different fields.

You may "search everything" by keyword to broaden your search to include all fields and get some initial results (although you may also receive many irrrelevant ones). Be sure to always click on the "full record" of a particularly interesting item and look at (and/or click on) the subject headings to further your search or make it more precise.

You may also search within specific fields (subject, title, author, etc.) To combine fields and/or limit your searches to particular libraries, time periods, or locations, you may choose to perform a complex search.

When searching by subject, you may use the Browse search mode. Browsing will retrieve a list of subject headings established by the Library of Congress. A printed, multi-volume set of Library of Congress (LC) subject headings is also available at the Woodruff Library Reference desk. You may also do a keyword search under the subject field.

 

Philosophy in general is located in the B-BQ section. However, political philosophy is located in several different areas. Radicalism, Marxism, Communism, etc. are commonly located in the HX section. There are also many political theory titles, primarily in the J-JC section of political science.

Some of the classicial texts (Aristotle, Plato) may also be found in the P-PA section as well as in the DF section of History (e.g., Thucydides).

A sample list of LC subject headings for political theory is found below:

• Political Science--Philosphy
  Social Sciences--Philosophy
• Liberalism
• Socialism
• Conservatism
• Marxism
• Communitarianism
• Anarchism
• Ideology
• Citizenship
• Civics
• Radicalism
• Social Contract
• Individualism
• Utopia/Utopianism
• Republicanism
• Right and Left (Political Science)

 

 

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LOCATING BOOKS BEYOND EMORY

RLIN/Eureka
A catalog of over 75 million items held in research libraries and special libraries. Searchable by author, subject and title. Covers other formats, e.g. videos, beyond books but does not index journal articles.

WorldCat
A comprehensive catalog of items held by a wide-range of libraries including research and public institutions. Searchable by author, title and subject. Covers other formats beyond books but does not index journal articles.

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General Political Theory Reference Items

• Encyclopedia of Political Thought, Garrett Ward Sheldon, ed.
  Reference JA61. E52 2001
  Brief narratives of important and influential movements, terms, and figures in political thought. Also provides a selection of "further readings" along with each entry.
• A Companion to contemporary political philosophy
  JA71 .C565 1993
  Goodin, Robert
• Routledge Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Political Thinkers
  JA83 .R725 1998
• Encyclopedia of Democracy
  Reference JC423 .E53 1995
  Good reference for exploring terms and developments associated with democracy and democratization.
• Encyclopedia of Democratic Thought
  Reference JC423 .E54 2001
• Oxford Companion to Philosophy (1995)
  General B51 O94 1995
  Covers Western and non-Western traditions. Includes brief bibliographies (with many articles) and portraits of major philosophers. Contributors include many leading contemporary scholars in philosophy.  
• Bibliographie de la Philosophie (1937-1953)
  General Reference Z7125 I5
  Covers books and journals in Western European languages. Includes an alphabetical author listing, subject index, an index of philosophers and an index of concepts and terms. Continued by the Bibliographie de la Philosophie/Bibliography of Philosophy (see below).
• Bibliographie de la Philosophie/Bibliography of Philosophy (1954- )
  General Reference Z7125 I54
  Theology Reference Mezzanine Z7127 IN8.2
  Continuation of the Bibliographie de la Philosophie (see above) but covers books only. Includes signed abstracts.
• Bibliography of Philosophical Bibliographies (1977)
  General Reference Z7125 A1 G83
  International coverage of bibliographies from 1450 to 1974. Divided into two sections: "Bibliographies of Individual Philosophers" and "Subject Bibliographies."
• International Philosophical Bibliography/Repertoire Bibliographique de la Philosophie (1949- )
  General Reference Z7127 R42
  Focus is on books and journals in Western European languages. One issue per year is devoted to book reviews.
• Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-century Philosophers (1996)
  General Reference B804 B52 1996
  International in scope. Includes bibliographies of major publications and secondary literature and indexes by name, subject, nationality, fields of interest, and influences. Also includes a section devoted to the brief overview and basic bibliography of major schools and movements, primarily of the western world.
• British Philosophers, 1500-1799 (2002)
  General Reference B1111 .B75 2002
  Leading scholars write career biographies and selected bibliographies for 33 philosophers, from Mary Atell to Mary Wollstonecraft. Includes illustrations and photographs.
• British Philosophers, 1800-2000 (2002)
  General Reference B72 .B693 2002
  Leading scholars write career biographies and selected bibliographies for 32 philosophers, from G.E.M. Anscombe to Ludwig Wittgenstein. Includes illustrations and photographs.
• Thinkers of the twentieth century: a biographical, bibliographical and critical dictionary (Devine et al, 1983)
  General B804 .T456 1983
  The entry for each thinker consists of a biography, bibliography, a listing of critical studies on the entrant, and a signed critical essay.

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Specific Political Philosophers and Ideologies

 

Blackwell Philosopher Dictionary Series. I have highlighted those philosophers that primarily consider political theory and philosophy.

Titles in this series serve as excellent sources of biography as well as for substantial discussions of key ideas in each philosopher's thought and historical context. Includes citations to primary sources.

• Hegel Dictionary: B2901 .I58 1992
• Heidegger Dictionary: B3279 .H48 Z44 1999
• Hobbes Dictionary: B1246 .M37 1995
• Kant Dictionary: B2751 .C38 1995
• Locke Dictionary B1297 .Y64 1993
• Rousseau Dictionary: PQ2042 .D46 1992

Blackwell also has several anthologies that may be of use:

• Contemporary Political Philosophy JA71.L578
• Guide to the Philosophy of the Social Sciences H61.B4774
• Guide to Ancient Philosophy B171.B65
  

The Cambridge Companion Series. Again, I have highlighted only those that deal specifically with political philosophy and theory.

• The Cambridge Companion to ARISTOTLE
  B485.C35 1995
• The Cambridge Companion to HABERMAS
  B3258.H324C36 1995
• The Cambridge Companion to HEGEL
  B2948.C28 1993
• The Cambridge Companion to HEIDEGGER
  B3279.H49 C25 1993
• The Cambridge Companion to HUME
  B1498.C26 1993
• The Cambridge Companion to KANT
  B2798.C36 1992
• The Cambridge Companion to LOCKE
  B1297.C29 1994
• The Cambridge Companion to MARX
  B3305.M74 C35 1991
• The Cambridge Companion to NIETZSCHE
  B3317.C29 1996
• The Cambridge Companion to PLATO
  B395.C28 1992

• Encyclopedic Dictionary of Marxism, Socialism, and Communism
  Reference HX17.W54
  Economic, philosophical, political, and sociological theories, concepts, institutions, and practices. Classical and modern; east-west relations included.
• Biographical Dictionary of Marxism
  Reference HX23.B568
• Utopia and Utopians
  Reference HX626 .T73 1999
  Major names, figures, and utopian ideas. Nice set of sources for further research.
• Dictionary of Conservative and Libertarian Thought
  Reference JA61.D5
• Dictionary of American Conservatism
  Reference JA84.U5
• Encyclopedia of Political Anarchy
  Reference HX830. G39
• Routledge Companion to Fascism and the Far Right
  JC481 .D37 2002 (Stacks)
• American Radical Press (2 Volumes)
  Reference HCX1.A49
  Portraits of major periodicals/newspapers, etc. of the American Radicalist movement, 1880-1960.
• Encyclopedia of the American Left
  Reference HX86 .E58 1998
  A dictionary arrangement of articles treating "that segment of society that has sought fundamental changes in the economic, political, and cultural systems" outside existing capitalist structures. Strong emphasis on anarchists, socialists, and communists. Includes numerous biographies as well as organizations and movements. Articles include bibliographies as well as a general bibliography at end.

You should also refer to the Database Locator for relevant resources in Economics and Government, Law, and International Affairs.

What follows is a listing of resources specific to American politics and its related fields. I have listed a number of generally important political science and social science databases. Please be sure to consult the principal Political Science Subject Guide for other more general databases and resources.

The contents of articles are not searchable in EUCLID. For assistance in how to find a journal article, please see Finding Articles in Woodruff Library. However, you can look up a journal title in EUCLID by searching under "periodical title" to determine if we have access to the journal and whether or not it is available in electronic format. You can also use eJournals@Emory to search for titles.

• Many databases have integrated SFX technology. When you search library databases, such as Academic Search Premier (EBSCOhost), Web of Science (ISI), or Worldcat (FirstSearch), you’ll often see the button. Clicking on the button will bring up a menu of Emory’s holdings for the journal. The button in databases does not guarantee we own either the print or on-line versions of the journal article. Its purpose is to seamlessly look up where your journal article might be available through Emory's resources and provide links for you to check. If SFX does not provide an on-line version of the article, it will (or you can yourself) search Emory’s library catalog EUCLID for a print version.

• Also, you should check out the Database Locator, which provides quick and easy access to databases by subject and document type. Records for each of the databases provides information on the nature of the information available (full-text or abstract), the covered years, a brief description, and whether or not the materials are ENDNOTE compatible.

A useful guide to wildcards and truncations in many Emory databases can be found here: http://web.library.emory.edu/subjects/socsci/polsci/truncationguife.pdf

General Political Science and Social Science Databases

These are just a few of the principal electronic databases in political science in which you may find some political theory/philosophy articles.

• International Political Science Abstracts (1989-present)
  A bibliographic database that indexes and abstracts articles from periodicals published throughout the world. The abstracts summarize the source articles. Articles in English are abstracted in English; those in other languages are abstracted in French, with all titles translated into English.
• Worldwide Political Science Abstracts (1967-present)
  Supplies up-to-date bibliographic information and research within the political science discipline and its complementary fields, including international relations, law, and public administration/policy.
• International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (1981-present )
  A bibliographic database compiled by the British Library of Political & Economic Science of the London School of Economics & Political Science. This database contains bibliographic information from an international selection of publications (including over 2600 journals) in the fields of economics, political science, sociology, and anthropology.
• PAIS International
  (1971 to present)
  Includes bibliographic records from the literature of public policy, social policy and the social sciences. Types of publications indexed include books, periodicals and selected local, state, national and international government documents, published from 1971 to the present. Indicates whether or not Emory has the source. Print edition is available at Reference Z7163 .P92 (1915-present).
• Social Sciences Abstracts (1983-present)
  Indexes core periodicals in the fields of anthropology, economics, geography, law and criminology, political science, social work, sociology, and international relations. Print edition is available at : Reference AI3 .I53 (1974-date).
• Web of Science
  A collection of multidisciplinary citation databases, including Science Citation Index (print edition available at Reference Z7401 .S365 (1961-present), Social Sciences Citation Index (print edition is available at Reference Z7161 .S65 (1969-1993)), and the Arts & Humanities Citation Index (print edition is available at Reference Z5937 .A795 (1975-2000)). Because the information stored about each article includes the article's cited reference list (i.e., its bibliography), you can also search for articles that cite a known author or work.

General Political Theory and Philosophy

• Philosopher's Index (1967- )
  Print version also available in the stacks at Z7128 P5
  The preeminent indexing and abstracting tool for philosophy. Indexes all major philosophy journals in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian as well as selected journals in other languages and related disciplines. Since 1980, also includes coverage of books in English.
• Foundations of Political Theory
  Organized section of the American Political Science Association. The section "exists to advance the linkage of political theory and philosophy with political science as a discipline." Serves as a significant portal for online papers, publications, and philosopher-specifc sites.
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
  Detailed information on most major philosophers and philosophical concepts. A publication of the Metaphysics Research Lab, Center for the Study of Language and Information.
• Alternative Press Index
  Archives articles from the independent and alternative presses. The Index is international and interdisciplinary, spanning the social sciences and humanities, with its central focus on the practice and theory of socialism, national liberation, labor, indigenous peoples, gays/lesbians, feminism, ecology, democracy, and anarchism. Avaialble via Galileo.
• Arts and Humanities Search
  From Galileo. Searches various journals and periodicals on arts and humanities topics. Often includes articles on philosophy.
• Anarchy Archives
  Online History and Research Center for the Study of Anarchy. Bibliographies, commentaries, and biographies (in addition to other relevant information) of well-known anarchists are included here.
• Left Index
  Provides access to literature on the left, with a primary emphasis on politically and culturally engaged scholarship inside and outside the academy and a secondary emphasis on significant but little known sources of news and ideas. Topics covered include politics, economics, the labor movement, ecology and environment, women's studies, race and ethnicity, social and cultural theory, sociology, art and aesthetics, philosophy, history, education, law, and globalization.
• Working Papers in Political Science--Political Theory
  Links to webpages of scholars focusing on political theory and philosophy issues.
• Keele's Guide to Political Thought and Ideology on the Internet
  Large number of links and sources for political theory and philosophy on the internet.
• Political Thought Resources (Vanderbilt University)
  Similar web portal. Note that some links may be invalid or outdated.
• American Radicalism Collection (Michigan State University)
  Focuses on various materials (books, periodicals, pamphlets, etc.) produced by radical thinkers and groups from both the left and right sides of the political/ideological spectrum.
• Marxists Internet Archive
  Rather comprehensive and searchable guide to major thinkers and Marxist writers. Incudes an online Encyclopedia of Marxism.

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What follows is a list of journals associated with political philosophy and theory.

• Contemporary Political Theory
• Critical Review
• Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy
• European Journal of Political Theory
• European Journal of Social Theory
• Journal of Political Ideologies
• Journal of Political Philosophy
• Philosophy and Public Affairs
• Politics, Philosophy, and Economics

The following are magazines/periodicals of political thought and commentary:

• American Prospect
• Reason
• Dissent
• Nation
• National Review
• New Republic
• Commentary