Learning More about Historical Figures, Time Periods, and Concepts
Online encyclopedias provide an excellent way to to learn more about a person, time period, or concept we're studying in this course. As a UCLA student, you have access to a number of fantastic alternatives to wikipedia that can provide essential background information and give you a foundational starting point to explore a topic:
- Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography
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Provices information on the hisotry of science through articles on the professional lives of scientists. All periods of science from classical antiquity to modern times are represented.
- Gale E-Books (formerly Gale Virtual Reference Library) This link opens in a new window
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Search multiple online encyclopedias at once, including the Encyclopedia of Philosophy, the Encyclopedia of World Biography, and the New Dictionary of the History of Ideas.
- International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences
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A scholarly encyclopedia covering disciplines of the social and behavioral sciences: Anthropology, Economics, Geography, Political Science, Psychology, Social Welfare, Sociology, and related fields and concepts.
- Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new window
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Includes the complete text of the Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. plus quarterly updates of new and revised entries. Trace the origin and history of words and their meanings in this etymological dictionary. - Reference Universe This link opens in a new window
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A good place to start, but note that it is an index to over 15 million articles in 11,000 subject encyclopedias and handbooks, both print and online and does not provide full-text articles. Instead, it will connect you to our catalog so you know where to find the appropriate encyclopedia, dictionary or other reference work. You will be linked to UCLA's holdings for any entries you find.
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy This link opens in a new window
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Academic encyclopedia of philosophy.
Example Searches for Key Concepts and Time Periods
Background readings on key time periods and concepts discussed in the course:
- EnlightenmentNew Dictionary of the History of Ideas
- HumanismEncyclopedia of Philosophy
- Humanism: RenaissanceNew Dictionary of the History of Ideas
- ImperialismInternational Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition)
- LibertyNew Dictionary of the History of Ideas.
- MaterialismEncyclopedia of Philosophy
- Modernity: OverviewNew Dictionary of the History of Ideas
- PhenomenologyNew Dictionary of the History of Ideas
- Political RepresentationInternational Encyclopedia of Human Geography
- Private PropertyEncyclopedia of Activism and Social Justice.
- Reason, Practical and TheoreticalNew Dictionary of the History of Ideas
- RenaissanceEncyclopedia of Philosophy via Gale Virtual Reference Library
- RepublicNew Dictionary of the History of Ideas
- RevolutionNew Dictionary of the History of Ideas
- RightsEncyclopedia of Philosophy. See also RIghts: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Scientific RevolutionNew Dictionary of the History of Ideas.
- SelfEncyclopedia of Philosophy
- Social ContractEncyclopedia of Philosophy
- SovereigntyNew Dictionary of the History of Ideas. See also Sovereignty: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
- Utilitarianism (History)Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy