Political Theory Databases -- Best Bets
- Political Science Complete This link opens in a new windowCoverage: 1887-current. Political science database with a global scope. Contains full text for some journals, reference books, monographs and conference papers, in addition to abstracts and indexes for many journals.
- Philosopher's Index This link opens in a new windowCoverage: 1940 - current. Provides indexing and abstracts from over 40 countries of books and over 480 journals of philosophy and related fields. Covers areas of ethics, aesthetics, social philosophy political philosophy, epistemology, metaphysic logic, philosophy of law, religion, science, history, education, language.
Political Philosophies and Systems
- Constitute ProjectSearch, read and compare constitutions from around the world. Developed by the authors of the Comparative Constitutions Project at the University of Texas at Austin.
- Anarchy ArchivesOnline History and Research Center for the Study of Anarchy. Bibliographies, commentaries, and biographies.
- Marxists Internet ArchiveComprehensive, searchable guide to major thinkers and Marxist writers; includes the online Encyclopedia of Marxism and the Communist Manifesto
Additional Databases
- Social Sciences Abstracts With Full Text This link opens in a new windowCoverage: 1972 - current. International, English-language periodicals in sociology, anthropology, geography, economics, political science, and law. Broader coverage than SocIndex. Upgraded to full text version in July 2017.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowCoverage: late 1800's - most recent 0-10 years. Archival access to many scholarly periodicals. Some titles include current issues while others have a moving wall (full text embargo).
- Alternative Press Index This link opens in a new windowArticles from international alternative, radical, and left periodicals from 1969 to the present
- Ciao: Columbia International Affairs Online This link opens in a new windowCoverage: varies. Journal articles and papers relating to International Affairs.
- Women and Social Movements in the United States 1600-2000: Scholar's edition This link opens in a new windowCoverage: 1600 - 2000. Growing collection of documents related to women and social movements in U.S. history. Includes primary source documents, images, dictionary of movements, biographical dictionary, chronology, reviews, notes, and teaching tools. Organized for in-depth browsing and searching.
One approach to Political Philosophy
Professor Smith's introduction to political philosophy course at Yale.
Getting Started with Political Theory Research
Political philosophy
is the study of such topics as: liberty, justice, property, rights, law; and the enforcement by authority of a legal code. With the rise of globalization, the interplay between political philosophers and international relations is also an important area of study in political science.
Political theorists, on the whole, are concerned with how people live together collectively and examine social, economic and political arrangements.
Starting Points for Research Topics
Great Thinkers -- Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Confucius, Machiavelli, Christine de Pizan, Hobbes, John Locke, Mary Wollstonecraft, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Hegel, Alexis de Tocqueville, John Stuart Mill, Harriet Taylor Mill, Karl Marx, Susan B. Anthony, Friedrich Nietzsche, Max Weber, etc.
Isms or Political Ideologies -- classical Liberalism, socialism, communism, fascism, contemporary conservatism and liberalism, feminism, etc.
Problems or Political Issues -- poverty, religion and public life, democracy, liberty vs. equality, human rights, the welfare state, the environment, etc.
Popular Culture -- movies, architecture, TV shows, blogs, voices of ethnic minorities and women
Reference books about political theory:
Encyclopedia of Political Theory by Call Number: JA61 .E515 2010 (Reference Collection -- 2nd Floor)ISBN: 1412958652Publication Date: 2010-03-18
The Oxford Handbook of Political Theory by Call Number: Online ResourceISBN: 9780199548439Publication Date: 2008-08-18
Oxford Handbook of Classics in Contemporary Political Theory by Call Number: Online ResourceISBN: 019871713XPublication Date: 2015
