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HISE 4520: War and Society in Modern Britain (Hendley), Fall 2025 4520-01

Course guide for research sources for HISE 4520

Finding Background Information

Reference books (encyclopedias, handbooks, chronologies) are valuable sources of information.

  • Brief overviews
  • Important concepts, names, and dates
  • Lists of sources for further reading
  • Free photocopying at Reference Desk
  • Do not generally count as required sources

Cambridge Histories Online                                                                                        Under Databases on library website

  Complete text of over 350 scholarly books in the Cambridge History Series and published by  

  Cambridge University Press.  Each title is also listed individually in the library's online catalog. 

  Dates vary.  Some titles are available in print.

British History

Reference books are in two locations.  Those call numbers without “SB” are on the first floor.  Call numbers followed by “SB” are in the sub-basement.  Floor plans are available at the Reference Desk.

Historical Dictionary of the British Empire                                                                           Ref DA 16 P315 2015

Historical Dictionary of the Northern Ireland Conflict                                                 Ref DA 990 U46 G545 2017

Home Front Encyclopedia***                                                                                                 Ref D 570 H54 2007

Oxford Companion to British History***                                                                     Ref DA 34 O93 1997

Oxford Companion to Black British History                                                                 Ref DA 125 N 4094 2007  SB

Oxford Illustrated History of the British Army                                                             Ref DA 50 O94 1994

Encyclopedia of European Social History 1350 – 2000                                                      Ref HN 373 E63 2001

Encyclopedia of War                                                                                                      Ref U 27 E48 2012

Biographies

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (DNB)***                                                         Ref DA 28 O95 2004

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography                                                                    Ref DA 28 O95 2009

            Supplement 2001-2004***

Dictionary of Women Worldwide                                                                                Ref CT 3202 D53

Encyclopedia of World Biography                                                                                         Ref CT 103 E56 1997

Biography and Genealogy Master Index                                                                             Under Databases on library website

  Provides citations to short entries in reference books, including the DNB, for historical and

  contemporary figures.

Great Lives from History:  The 19th Century 1801 – 1900                                                  Ref CT 119 G69 2007

Research Guide to European Historical Biography                                                       Ref CT 759 R47 1992

***Starred items are highly recommended sources