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The Chinese in California 1850-1925: The Chinese in California 1850-1925 is a major online collection of primary sources illustrating the history of Chinese immigration to that state and the resulting social tensions. The site contains over 8,000 images and pages of text. The featured materials include photographs, cartoons, letters, diary excerpts, business records, legal documents, pamphlets, magazine articles, and various other printed sources. A large number of sources deal with Chinatown in San Francisco, but there are also materials relating to other smaller Chinese communities.
The collection may be searched or browsed by various criteria. There is also a timeline of American and Chinese history relating to immigration and social upheavals. Images are scanned at a high resolution.
The source materials have been gathered from the collections at The Bancroft Library, University of California Berkeley; The Ethnic Studies Library, University of California Berkeley; and The California Historical Society, San Francisco.
This is an excellent site that provides a major online resource for those studying the history of Chinese immigrants in the Western USA. (Humbul Staff)
Jensen's web guides: The Web site "Jensen's Web Guides" is compiled by Richard Jensen, Professor Emeritus of University of Chicago-Illinois. The Web guides cover the following subjects: Scholar's Guides to WWW; Web Sources for Military History; Jensen's Civil War Guides (US Civil War); Civil War and Reconstruction; Guide to Political Research Online; American Political History Online; Thomas Jefferson; Vietnam War Bibliography; Railroad History; and Word Population.
Jensen prefaces his annotated lists of links with information on general resource in the subject such as academic discussion fora, lists of scholarly journals, and other relevant information. The site is easy to navigate and based around a hierarchy. It is also academic in its approach and an excellent introduction to sources on the subjects covered. The links feature many scholarly articles. (Wanda Wyporska)
Vietnam war bibliography: This annotated bibliography has been compiled by emeritus professor Richard Jensen from the University of Illinois at Chicago. It is an extensive list of both print and online sources for students and scholars studying the Vietnam War, military ethics, or the war's representation in popular culture. The web site consists of a single long page with resources grouped according to subject. Links appear to be well maintained; although users should be aware that some of the online journal articles that the site links to require institutional subscriptions. This bibliography is likely to prove a valuable military history resource. (Humbul Staff)
CILT - The National Centre for Languages: The Web site "CILT" is that of The National Centre for Languages, a merger between the Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research and the Languages National Training Organisation. The Centre plays a key role in promoting and enabling language learning and teaching strategies on a national and regional basis. The Web site is of interest mainly to teachers of Modern Languages and students considering a career in languages. There is useful information on training, qualifications, publications, standards and the promotion of languages. The section on careers using languages is particularly helpful and provides fascinating case studies of graduates working in a large variety of professions. There is a catalogue, book of the month section, and information on current research projects being run by CILT. This site is a must for anyone considering, or already in a career using languages. (Wanda Wyporska)
Library of Congress: This vast site, homepage of the Library of Congress of the United States, reflects the nature of that institution. Established in 1800, it is the oldest American federal cultural institution, and the largest library in the world. It has, as the site states, "more than 126 million items on approximately 530 miles of bookshelves. The collections include nearly 19 million books, 2.6 million recordings, 12 million photographs, 4.8 million maps, and 56 million manuscripts." Such impressive collections can only be touched on in an overview of the main site. Its special foci include: business ; children's literature ; law ; local history and genealogy ; newspapers and current periodicals ; science and technology ; African and Middle Eastern studies ; Asian Studies ; European Studies ; Hispanic Studies ; geography and maps ; manuscripts ; microforms ; motion pictures and television ; performing arts ; prints and photographs ; rare book and special collections ; and recorded sound collections. There is also information posted on the location and use of the Library's main reading room.
Other subsites include the American Folklife Center and a huge online American historical collection entitled American Memory. Another subsite, Thomas, constructed in the spirit of Thomas Jefferson's ideas, is a portal for American legislative information on the internet and has online historical primary source documents. There are a number of online exhibitions, and a historical magazine subsite entitled the Loc.Gov Wise Guide. In a different vein, the Federal Research Division has its own site here, which offers specialized fee-based research for government agencies, self-proclaimed as "customized research and analytical services" on everything from drug trafficking to terrorism.
The site also covers various aspects of administration of the library: its finances ; services ; facilities ; and security provisions. It has various search engines ; a FAQ section ; mission statement ; online history of the library itself ; lists of library publications ; upcoming events announcements ; extensive links sites ; and a plethora of online teaching, archival, cataloguing and research tools. As such, the site is generally useful, interesting and accessible for the enormous audience it serves. (Larissa Douglass)
Library of Congress: This vast site, homepage of the Library of Congress of the United States, reflects the nature of that institution. Established in 1800, it is the oldest American federal cultural institution, and the largest library in the world. It has, as the site states, "more than 126 million items on approximately 530 miles of bookshelves. The collections include nearly 19 million books, 2.6 million recordings, 12 million photographs, 4.8 million maps, and 56 million manuscripts." Such impressive collections can only be touched on in an overview of the main site. Its special foci include: business ; children's literature ; law ; local history and genealogy ; newspapers and current periodicals ; science and technology ; African and Middle Eastern studies ; Asian Studies ; European Studies ; Hispanic Studies ; geography and maps ; manuscripts ; microforms ; motion pictures and television ; performing arts ; prints and photographs ; rare book and special collections ; and recorded sound collections. There is also information posted on the location and use of the Library's main reading room.
Other subsites include the American Folklife Center and a huge online American historical collection entitled American Memory. Another subsite, Thomas, constructed in the spirit of Thomas Jefferson's ideas, is a portal for American legislative information on the internet and has online historical primary source documents. There are a number of online exhibitions, and a historical magazine subsite entitled the Loc.Gov Wise Guide. In a different vein, the Federal Research Division has its own site here, which offers specialized fee-based research for government agencies, self-proclaimed as "customized research and analytical services" on everything from drug trafficking to terrorism.
The site also covers various aspects of administration of the library: its finances ; services ; facilities ; and security provisions. It has various search engines ; a FAQ section ; mission statement ; online history of the library itself ; lists of library publications ; upcoming events announcements ; extensive links sites ; and a plethora of online teaching, archival, cataloguing and research tools. As such, the site is generally useful, interesting and accessible for the enormous audience it serves. (Larissa Douglass)
Library of Congress: This vast site, homepage of the Library of Congress of the United States, reflects the nature of that institution. Established in 1800, it is the oldest American federal cultural institution, and the largest library in the world. It has, as the site states, "more than 126 million items on approximately 530 miles of bookshelves. The collections include nearly 19 million books, 2.6 million recordings, 12 million photographs, 4.8 million maps, and 56 million manuscripts." Such impressive collections can only be touched on in an overview of the main site. Its special foci include: business ; children's literature ; law ; local history and genealogy ; newspapers and current periodicals ; science and technology ; African and Middle Eastern studies ; Asian Studies ; European Studies ; Hispanic Studies ; geography and maps ; manuscripts ; microforms ; motion pictures and television ; performing arts ; prints and photographs ; rare book and special collections ; and recorded sound collections. There is also information posted on the location and use of the Library's main reading room.
Other subsites include the American Folklife Center and a huge online American historical collection entitled American Memory. Another subsite, Thomas, constructed in the spirit of Thomas Jefferson's ideas, is a portal for American legislative information on the internet and has online historical primary source documents. There are a number of online exhibitions, and a historical magazine subsite entitled the Loc.Gov Wise Guide. In a different vein, the Federal Research Division has its own site here, which offers specialized fee-based research for government agencies, self-proclaimed as "customized research and analytical services" on everything from drug trafficking to terrorism.
The site also covers various aspects of administration of the library: its finances ; services ; facilities ; and security provisions. It has various search engines ; a FAQ section ; mission statement ; online history of the library itself ; lists of library publications ; upcoming events announcements ; extensive links sites ; and a plethora of online teaching, archival, cataloguing and research tools. As such, the site is generally useful, interesting and accessible for the enormous audience it serves. (Larissa Douglass)
Ancient Japan: 'Ancient Japan' is intended as a student introduction to the history, culture, and beliefs of the Japanese up to the end of the Heian period (1192 AD). Beginning with the earliest pre-historic settlers, the historical section of the site narrates the developments, events, and waves of immigration that had an impact upon the islands. The site describes the Yayoi and Jomon cultures, the Yamoto State, the origins and beliefs of Shinto, and the 'classical' age of Japanese history covering Nara Japan and the Heian period.
The web site also includes a section on Japanese Buddhism, and discusses a number of aspects of ancient culture. There are pages on the language and writing; sections on literature, music, and the visual arts; and an introduction to women's communities and women's role in ancient Japan.
Other resources include an historical timeline and maps, a picture gallery, and a glossary of terms. Several excerpts from primary texts are available at the site including Shinto creation stories, the Taika reform edicts of 645 AD, and the story of Jimmu Tenno. There is also a good number of links to other sites.
This site forms part of an online courseware unit from Washington State University's 'World Civilizations' project. It is targeted at students about to begin university and first year undergraduates. The 'Ancient Japan' site is one of the most detailed and extensive units in the project. (James Wilson)
Voice of Hibakusha: Voice of Hibakusha is a simple web site that publishes the text of eyewitness accounts of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in the Second World War. Fifteen accounts are available on the site, and these have been transcribed from the television programme Hiroshima Witness, which was produced by the Hiroshima Peace Cultural Center and NHK. The accounts all describe what happened to the eyewitnesses during and immediately after the A-bomb blast. Amongst those interviewed is a woman who was within 300m of the blasts hypocenter, and a group of survivors who were on a streetcar in Hatchobori. (Institute of Historical Research (IHR))
Remembering Nagasaki: Remembering Nagasaki is part of the Exploratorium's online exhibition Memory, and presents online the pictures that the Japanese army photographer Yosuke Yamahata took in Nagasaki after the atomic bomb 'Fat Man' had been dropped. Some of the images featured in the exhibition are upsetting, as they show the effect of the bombing on the city and its inhabitants. It is a shame that there is not commentary accompanying the photographs to place them in a greater context. In addition to the Yamahata collection, the site also features a resources section that lists related films, books, articles and web sites, and a couple of public forums discussing atomic weapons. (Institute of Historical Research (IHR))
Trading places : the East India Company and Asia 1600-1834: This online exhibition published on the British Library website features highlights the British Library exhibition Trading Places, about the English East India Company and its impact on British and Asian history. The exhibition covers the history of the English East India Company, from its foundation in 1600 to its fall from supremacy in the early nineteenth century. Using images featured in the exhibition, including drawings, paintings and maps, a brief account of the Company's activities are given. Amongst the subjects covered are China, India, Bantam, and the effect of western and eastern companies have had on one another. Alongside the exhibition there is also a selection of historical facts, and a bibliography of further reading. (Institute of Historical Research (IHR))
Russian, East European and Central Asian studies center, University of Washington: This site is devoted to the Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies Center in the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington (REECAS). REECAS offers Master's degree and undergraduate major programmes in Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies. Information on courses from relevant courses in the following fields are listed: Art History ; Comparative Literature ; European Studies ; History ; International Studies ; Near Eastern Languages and Civilization ; Political Science ; Scandinavian Studies ; Slavic Languages and Literatures ; and other Language Courses. There are also instructions on admissions, scholarships and other financial aid for students. REECAS affiliated faculty members from within the university are listed. All relevant institute events -- from colloquia to job fairs to ballets -- are listed going back to late 2002. REECAS also runs two electronic mailing lists that circulate academic information and there is information on how to subscribe. The institute runs other outreach projects, such as its valuable online teaching materials for primary school and high school level teaching. The REECAS Newsletter is archived on the site going back to 1998.
REECAS's other major publication is the Donald W. Treadgold Papers in Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies. The site has a large links list, including community links. In addition, it provides a technical help section. (Larissa Douglass)
Yin Yu Tang : a Chinese home: 'Yin Yu Tang, A Chinese Home' is an award-winning Web site, described by reviewers as "a compelling web experience". The Web site accompanies an exhibition at the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts, and allows browsers to explore an average Chinese family's home from the turn of the 19th century (at the end of the Qing dynasty - turn of the 19th century). This merchants' home was originally located in the small village of Huang Cun, in the hills of Xiuning County in the Huizhou region of Anhui Province, southeastern China, and re-erected at the Museum. This is a very innovative, attractive,and beautifully designed Web site. Reviwers have described the interface as "intimate" with the integration of first person narratives. The experience comprises thematic sections that provide a variety of views like the family or the architecture. As browsers navigate between scenes, a persistent 3D model view of Yin Yu Tang reacts to reveal different features of the house. A visual interactive family tree, dozens of audio interviews, hundreds of historical and contemporary photographs, and many videos are sprinkled throughout the experience. The museum's project and preservation guidelines are also provided. The accolades this visual treat has been awarded includes: the Best On-line Exhibition or Activity Site in the 2003 Best of the Web competition sponsored by the Museums and the Web conference, to recognise achievement in heritage Web site design; and the Bronze MUSE Award 2003 for History and Culture by the Media and Technology Standing Professional Committee of the American Association of Museums (AAM).
(Alun Edwards)
American Museum of Natural History: This is the dynamic and colourful Web site of The American Museum of Natural History, New York. The museum's collections, exhibitions, research centres, education programmes, and some of the 32 million specimens and artifacts, in the field of scientific research and education, are available through this resource. Recent online exhibitions include Life in Vietnam and Einstein. More permanent exhibits are displayed through a 3-dimensional floor-plan of the museum. The description of a hall or collection or subject offers links to some of the artifacts.
For example: from the Culture Halls you can look at: Indians of the Northwest Coast, Eastern Woodlands, and the Plains; African Peoples; Asian Peoples; Mexico and Central America; South American Peoples; and Pacific Peoples. Teachers' guides (mainly school-level) are available for each, providing PDF articles, evidence and analysis on subjects that range through the fields of anthropology (archaeology briefly features), history of astronomy, biology, earth sciences and paleontology, for example. There are Web pages for most collections such as North American Ethnography, where you can browse more than 50,000 artifacts online.
(Alun Edwards)
Central Eurasian studies world wide: Central Eurasian Studies World Wide is an ambitious online resource constructed by Harvard University to provide a central information pool for scholars interested in the Central Asian states. It is connected to the Central Eurasian Studies Society with the aim of proving access to information on the scholarly field of Central Eurasian Studies. It is a very useful resource for those starting research within this field as it provides detailed information on current academic interest in the region. The countries covered by the site include: Armenia; Azerbaijan; Georgia; Kazakstan; Kyrgystan; Tajikistan; Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. There is a vast amount of information on libraries with specialist catalogues and archives; relevant periodicals; dissertations; scholars involved in the study of Central Asia and their specialism in the region; language programmes and employment and intern opportunities. There are also links to sites that concentrate on single Central Asian states. Some pages are still under construction. However, this is still a useful resource for those wishing to establish contacts and start to find resources concerning the region.
(Joanne O'Shea)
American Museum of Natural History: This is the dynamic and colourful Web site of The American Museum of Natural History, New York. The museum's collections, exhibitions, research centres, education programmes, and some of the 32 million specimens and artifacts, in the field of scientific research and education, are available through this resource. Recent online exhibitions include Life in Vietnam and Einstein. More permanent exhibits are displayed through a 3-dimensional floor-plan of the museum. The description of a hall or collection or subject offers links to some of the artifacts.
For example: from the Culture Halls you can look at: Indians of the Northwest Coast, Eastern Woodlands, and the Plains; African Peoples; Asian Peoples; Mexico and Central America; South American Peoples; and Pacific Peoples. Teachers' guides (mainly school-level) are available for each, providing PDF articles, evidence and analysis on subjects that range through the fields of anthropology (archaeology briefly features), history of astronomy, biology, earth sciences and paleontology, for example. There are Web pages for most collections such as North American Ethnography, where you can browse more than 50,000 artifacts online.
(Alun Edwards)
Vietnam : journeys of body, mind and spirit : American Museum of Natural History: "Vietnam : Journeys of Body, Mind and Spirit" is an online exhibition from the American Museum of Natural History. It accompanies an exhibition at the Museum from 2003-2004, which explores a changing Vietnam offering a glimpse of the diversity of its landscape and the different ethnic groups of its people. There are audio and video presentations which require Real One Player. The exhibition is the result of a collaboration between the American Museum of Natural History and the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology. School-level education resources have been created organised around major themes in the exhibition, such as: journeys through time; journeys of peoples and goods; life journeys through rites of passage like weddings and funerals; and journeys of deities and heroes as performed and celebrated in traditional village festivals.
(Humbul Staff)
American Museum of Natural History: This is the dynamic and colourful Web site of The American Museum of Natural History, New York. The museum's collections, exhibitions, research centres, education programmes, and some of the 32 million specimens and artifacts, in the field of scientific research and education, are available through this resource. Recent online exhibitions include Life in Vietnam and Einstein. More permanent exhibits are displayed through a 3-dimensional floor-plan of the museum. The description of a hall or collection or subject offers links to some of the artifacts.
For example: from the Culture Halls you can look at: Indians of the Northwest Coast, Eastern Woodlands, and the Plains; African Peoples; Asian Peoples; Mexico and Central America; South American Peoples; and Pacific Peoples. Teachers' guides (mainly school-level) are available for each, providing PDF articles, evidence and analysis on subjects that range through the fields of anthropology (archaeology briefly features), history of astronomy, biology, earth sciences and paleontology, for example. There are Web pages for most collections such as North American Ethnography, where you can browse more than 50,000 artifacts online.
(Alun Edwards)
Vietnam : journeys of body, mind and spirit : American Museum of Natural History: "Vietnam : Journeys of Body, Mind and Spirit" is an online exhibition from the American Museum of Natural History. It accompanies an exhibition at the Museum from 2003-2004, which explores a changing Vietnam offering a glimpse of the diversity of its landscape and the different ethnic groups of its people. There are audio and video presentations which require Real One Player. The exhibition is the result of a collaboration between the American Museum of Natural History and the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology. School-level education resources have been created organised around major themes in the exhibition, such as: journeys through time; journeys of peoples and goods; life journeys through rites of passage like weddings and funerals; and journeys of deities and heroes as performed and celebrated in traditional village festivals.
(Humbul Staff)
Literature and performance: This Web site outlines a performance literature project, one of 8 research projects supported by the AHRB (Arts and Humanities Research Board) Centre for Asian and African Literatures, a joint SOAS/UCL project (The School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London). The questions, aims, context (which includes poetry, narrative storytelling, drama, and popular fiction), and methods of the project are briefly examined, and there is a bibliography and links to relevant Web resources. Documentation from the events and workshops organised by the project are presented.
(Humbul Staff)
Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian studies, Stanford University: This is the homepage of the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian studies at Stanford University (CREEES). CREEES was founded in 1969, and specialises in the interdisciplinary study of the nations and peoples of the former Soviet Union, East Central Europe and Central Asia. CREEES is one of sixteen American government-sponsored institutes which together make up the National Resource centers for Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The others are located at: Columbia ; University of Chicago ; Duke ; Harvard ; Indiana University ; Ohio State ; Berkeley ; UCLA ; Georgetown ; University of Illinois ; University of Kansas ; University of Michigan ; University of Pittsburgh ; University of Texas ; and University of Wisconsin. There are links to the related institutes at these universities ; to relevant professional associations ; to Russian government sites ; and to useful Web portals.
The site describes CREEES's interdisciplinary Master of Arts and undergraduate minor programmes ; affiliated faculty ; fellowships and grants ; course offerings ; and public events, including lectures, seminars and conferences in a monthly calendar. Current and past newsletters going back to 2001 are posted.
The site also describes Stanford's impressive archival and library holdings in this field, with links to important repositories such as the Hoover Institution of War, Revolution and Peace. Special library collections outside the Hoover but within the university total over half a million volumes.
There is a good teacher outreach project described on the site, based on CREEES's lending library of documentary films on Russia, Eastern Europe and Eurasia. All titles are offered in an alphabetical list. Reports on previous workshops for local teachers -- held annually -- are given going back to 2000. Each workshop report constitutes a well-illustrated subsite in and of itself, with good links pages and information on panel sessions and participants.
(Larissa Douglass)
Georgetown University library's guide to research in Russian, Eurasian and East European area studies: This site, a subsite of the Georgetown University Library, provides a guide to the library's holdings and research tools in Russian, Eurasian and East European Studies. The site offers a search engine for the library's holdings of secondary English-language sources in the field, which could prove useful for syllabus design and other teaching purposes. Other sources listed include: encyclopedias ; handbooks ; atlases ; statistics ; key monographs ; and bibliographies.
There are also links to periodical indexes and abstracts. But these online sources require institutional subscriptions, as well as user registration. Perhaps the most helpful resource on the site -- approriate for potential researchers -- are online film and music bibliographies of the library's primary source holdings in Slavic, East European, and Central Asian classical music, popular music, feature films and documentaries. The site also posts several links to relevant news services, Web portals and fact sheets.
There is an online form for posting electronic questions to the reference librarians. However, in a disclaimer the library apparently refuses to answer reference enquiries posed by non-members of the university, an unusual stance for an academic library of international standard.
(Larissa Douglass)
Literature and performance: This Web site outlines a performance literature project, one of 8 research projects supported by the AHRB (Arts and Humanities Research Board) Centre for Asian and African Literatures, a joint SOAS/UCL project (The School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London). The questions, aims, context (which includes poetry, narrative storytelling, drama, and popular fiction), and methods of the project are briefly examined, and there is a bibliography and links to relevant Web resources. Documentation from the events and workshops organised by the project are presented.
(Humbul Staff)
Transitions online: Transitions Online (TOL) is a well-known online journal and magazine which has won several Web site awards. The site defines TOL as a media development NGO. Its proclaimed mission is to use "Internet technologies to help strengthen the professionalism, independence, and impact of journalism--and individual journalists--in post-communist Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and the former Soviet Union." In this capacity, it trains and showcases the talent of upcoming journalists in these regions.
TOL focusses on current journalistic accounts of political and cultural developments in the post-Soviet order of East Central Europe. But it also provides a historical grounding for these reports in specialised subsites such as the Central Europe Review ; a subpage of opinion pieces, entitled Balkan Report ; the Week in Review ; and the EU Observer. There is a strong emphasis on book and arts reviews. The site publishes letters to the editor.
Abstracts of feature articles, columns and reviews are archived going back to 2000, but full text versions are available only to subscribers. Back issues are available for purchase and there are instructions on how to acquire them. There is a good index page to previous TOL reports throughout East Central Europe ; Southeast Europe ; Russia ; the Caucasus ; and Central Asia. These can be searched on a country-by-country basis. Online newsletters and annual reports, job postings, advertisements, as well as frequently asked questions, are posted. There is a good annotated links page listing TOL's partners. TOL publishes mainly in English.
(Larissa Douglass)
Salman Rushdie: an overview: This site is dedicated to the British novelist Salman Rushdie. Famous for the scandal surrounding the publication of The Satanic Verses, Rushdie is one of the most respected British novelists to have emerged in the last 20 years.
The site is divided into many sections: biography; literary relations; history; politics; religion; genre and style etc. Each section contains further links to articles and images. Clicking on 'Literary Relations', the reader will be directed to links concerned with other writers who fall under the 'post-colonial fiction' heading: Timothy Mo; Anita Desai; Kazuo Ishiguro.
(Stuart Allen)
Slavic research center, Hokkaido University: This site is the homepage of Hokkaido University's Slavic Research Center (SRC). While the site is in both English and Japanese, this review takes in only the English content of the site. The basis of the institute lies in academic study of Japan's relations with Russia, going back to the 1950s. The emphasis remains on Slavic Eurasian countries, rather than those of Central and Southeast Europe.
The site includes full text articles from the SRC's various online journals, with articles in Japanese, English or Russian (some provide summaries in English). These include Slavic Studies ; Acta Slavica Iaponica ; SRC occasional papers ; and proceedings of SRC's Symposia. There is also a Directory of Japanese Slavic and East European Scholars available in Japanese only.
The site provides information about its foreign visiting fellowship program and other exchange programmes with Slavonic institutes at prominent universities. There are links to bibliographical databases in Japanese and Russian relating to academic research in the field of Eurasian Slavonic studies -- as well as the SRC library catalogue, and other indexes, including internet databases on Russian and Ukrainian elites, writers and notable statistics. Full schedules are available of all SRC symposia and conferences going back several years.
Finally of interest to outside scholars is the SRC's wonderfully constructed calendar of forthcoming conferences in the world in all related fields. The calendar is easy to use and runs from 1997 and two years in advance.
(Larissa Douglass)
Soyuz : the research network for postsocialist studies: Soyuz is an interest group of the American Anthropological Association. Formed in 1993, it is a network which brings together anthropologists and other scholars working in postsocialist studies. The group meets formally and regularly at various conferences in Europe and North America.
The homepage features a review of a book of the month, with a link to the publisher in order that site visitors can order the book. Former books of the month are archived with their reviews. The site offers a calendar of both Soyuz and non-Soyuz related events. These are mainly relevant international colloquia. An archive on the site offers full Soyuz newsletters from 1994 to 1997, as well as reports and programmes of past conferences going back to 1996.
The site gives an excellent address list of its members with their institutional affiliations. This information is bolstered by a well-updated bibliography of members' research. The bibliography indicates that members' main interests concentrate on political, economic and cultural development in Russia, East Central Europe and Central Asia. The site provides good employment, postgraduate and postdoctoral funding announcments. Soyuz has several annotated links pages, which are clear, extensive, and should be very helpful for academics working in this field.
(Larissa Douglass)
Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European studies, Georgetown University: The Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies (CERES) is an institute based at Georgetown University which specialises in the study of politics, societies and cultures from "Central Europe to the Pacific and from the Baltic to the Mediterranean, Black and Caspian Seas." CERES takes note of the post-Soviet order, seeking to concentrate on the Cold War, its immediate aftermath, and the coming world order. The Center sees Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia as now standing at "a political and cultural crossroads" with the affairs of these regions collectively bound up with the histories and fates of the rest of Europe, the Middle East and East Asia.
CERES has three subsites devoted to resources. The Center's research resources range from Georgetown University Library's Guide to Research in Russian, Eurasian and East European Area Studies, to its specialised Ion Ratiu Library holdings and its Map and Audio-Visual collections. Another subsite describes resources available in the Washington D.C. area, notably the Library of Congress and the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area. CERES provides another list of links of web resources. There is a good Opportunities and Careers subsite for CERES graduates.
The site has an excellent set of calendars of events, available in a wonderful monthly format, or in an overview of the previous year. Events are listed for the Washington D.C. area. Special events are listed for K-12 educators in the region, as the Center's faculty seeks to support local pre-university education with talks and bibliographies for teachers.
The CERES Newsletter is posted online monthly going back to late 2001. CERES also provides information on its various academic programmes and their admissions procedures, from the undergraduate to doctoral levels. Course descriptions are posted for the Center from 1997 to the present, and are available in the disciplines of Art, Music and Theatre ; Economics ; Government ; History ; International Affairs ; Russian and East European Studies ; Language and Literature ; and Sociology. There is a link to funding opportunities, but the link was broken at the time of review.
(Larissa Douglass)
Journal of Slavic military studies: This is the homepage of The Journal of Slavic Military Studies, a refereed academic quarterly published by Frank Cass Publishers. The editors are supported by a large editorial board, whose affiliations are listed. The site gives a broad description of the journal's field of specialty, claiming that the quarterly embraces the entirety of military affairs of the Slavic nations of East Central Europe, with a historical and political focus. It also offers "a vehicle for central and eastern European security and military analysts to air their views ... [making] the journal a must for academics, military figures and civilians alike who are interested in this region's security and military affairs." In practise, the journal's reliance upon newly released Soviet and Russian archival documents and tables of contents point to a more specific interest in Soviet history and recent Russian military policy.
Tables of contents are back-published to Volume 8. Abstracts are also posted for recent issues. Information is given for those wishing to subscribe, send in submissions, or advertise.
(Larissa Douglass)
South Asia resources: The South Asia Resources web page is part of the South/Southeast Asia Library at the University of California Library at Berkeley. The resources page has been compiled to aid research into contemporary and historical South Asia, covering Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The resources are grouped under the headings Collections and Acquisitions, Bibliographies and Webliographies, South Asian Studies at Berkeley, Catalogs and Indexes, Internet Resources, South Asian Diaspora
(Institute of Historical Research (IHR))
Radio free Europe -- Radio liberty: This is the main site of Radio Free Europe -- Radio Liberty. Self-described as "a private, international communications service to Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Middle East, funded by the United States Congress," the site gives online regional and in-depth news reports on all these regions. It also provides news from further afield as it pertains to these areas. The site provides an overview of the service's fifty-year history, its influence and its mission to promote "democratic values and institutions by disseminating factual information and ideas."
The site offers audio broadcast services in an impressive range of languages including: Afghan ; Albanian ; Arabic ; Armenian ; Azerbaijani ; Belarusian ; Bosnian ; Bulgarian ; Croatian ; Estonian ; Georgian ; Kazakh ; Kyrgyz ; Latvian ; Lithuanian ; Macedonian ; Moldovan ; North Caucasus ; Persian ; Romanian ; Russian ; Serbian ; Slovak ; Tajik ; Tatar-Bashkir ; Turkmen ; Ukrainian ; and Uzbek.
Site visitors can subscribe to receive free E-mail reports on particular regions. Special reports are archived going back to 1996. The site also advertises jobs within Radio Free Europe -- Radio Liberty. The site has its own search engine and time converter.
(Larissa Douglass)
Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian studies, University of Texas at Austin: This is the homepage of the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin (CREEES). The Center was established in 1984 and its site provides both the history of the institute and lists its some 50 faculty members. There is information on the Center's diverse language courses, as well as its broad variety of courses in the social sciences, humanities, and professional schools related to the study of the former Soviet Union and East Central Europe. These courses are offered for specialised Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts programmes. Instructions for application are available on the site.
The site describes the various professional academic associations which support CREEES and help to fund its exchanges and outreach programme ; colloquia ; visiting lectureships ; and many other notable academic events. There is a good internal events calendar of events for the present year. There is also an online Newsletter for the Center in PDF format, with old issues going back to 1998. The site has an imaginative and outstanding photo gallery which profiles the ageing of the Russian population ; catalogues photos taken mainly by the Center's own staff and students while on research in Russia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Siberia ; and posts photographs from CREEES events.
Additional useful content is stored in the site's archive, where there are descriptions and calls for papers from past colloquia, with short biographies of presenters. Some of these subsites have their own links pages. The main page has a short careers resources links page with links to important job announcement sites.
Some problems were encountered in uploading the PDF-based pages.
(Larissa Douglass)
Subaltern studies : working bibliography: This simple site, compiled by two academics at Georgetown University, provides a bibliography of books and articles relating to Subaltern Studies, and imperial and post-colonial history. The bibliography covers Subaltern Studies volumes and anthologies, monographs, related essays and criticism, book reviews, and the tables of contents for volumes I-IX of the Subaltern Studies series published by Oxford University Press. Most of the titles listed are concerned with the social, political and cultural history of 'subaltern' groups in South Asian, and primarily colonial Indian, history. There is also reference to the extension of Subaltern Studies to other post-colonial societies such as Africa, and works that cover the historiography of this field.
(Institute of Historical Research (IHR))
Radio Free Europe -- Radio Liberty: This is the main site of Radio Free Europe -- Radio Liberty. Self-described as "a private, international communications service to Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Middle East, funded by the United States Congress," the site gives online regional and in-depth news reports on all these regions. It also provides news from further afield as it pertains to these areas. The site provides an overview of the service's fifty-year history, its influence and its mission to promote "democratic values and institutions by disseminating factual information and ideas."
The site offers audio broadcast services in an impressive range of languages including: Afghan ; Albanian ; Arabic ; Armenian ; Azerbaijani ; Belarusian ; Bosnian ; Bulgarian ; Croatian ; Estonian ; Georgian ; Kazakh ; Kyrgyz ; Latvian ; Lithuanian ; Macedonian ; Moldovan ; North Caucasus ; Persian ; Romanian ; Russian ; Serbian ; Slovak ; Tajik ; Tatar-Bashkir ; Turkmen ; Ukrainian ; and Uzbek.
Site visitors can subscribe to receive free E-mail reports on particular regions. Special reports are archived going back to 1996. The site also advertises jobs within Radio Free Europe -- Radio Liberty. The site has its own search engine and time converter.
(Larissa Douglass)
Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies, University of Texas at Austin: This is the homepage of the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin (CREEES). The Center was established in 1984 and its site provides both the history of the institute and lists its some 50 faculty members. There is information on the Center's diverse language courses, as well as its broad variety of courses in the social sciences, humanities, and professional schools related to the study of the former Soviet Union and East Central Europe. These courses are offered for specialised Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts programmes. Instructions for application are available on the site.
The site describes the various professional academic associations which support CREEES and help to fund its exchanges and outreach programme ; colloquia ; visiting lectureships ; and many other notable academic events. There is a good internal events calendar of events for the present year. There is also an online Newsletter for the Center in PDF format, with old issues going back to 1998. The site has an imaginative and outstanding photo gallery which profiles the ageing of the Russian population ; catalogues photos taken mainly by the Center's own staff and students while on research in Russia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Siberia ; and posts photographs from CREEES events.
Additional useful content is stored in the site's archive, where there are descriptions and calls for papers from past colloquia, with short biographies of presenters. Some of these subsites have their own links pages. The main page has a short careers resources links page with links to important job announcement sites.
Some problems were encountered in uploading the PDF-based pages.
(Larissa Douglass)
ABIA : annual bibliography of indian archaeology: The ABIA (Annual Bibliography of Indian Archaeology) is a bibliographic database detailing South and Southeast Asian art and archaeology. Compiled by a panel of international specialists, first brought together by the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) in 1997 at Leiden, the Netherlands, the database deals with scholarly publications by specialists.
The database itself covers a variety of topics from a number of regions. Topics included: pre- and protohistory; historical archaeology; both ancient and modern art history; material culture; epigraphy and palaeography and numismatics, while regions include: South Asia and culturally related regions (eg. Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Tibet); Southeast Asia and culturally related regions (eg. South China and the Pacific). The database also contains material in many different languages.
To date, two hard-copy publications containing selections from the database have been made available, published in 1999 and 2002. Both are available to order via this webpage. The database itself is accessed via this webpage.
(Archaeology Data Service (ADS))
Tiger tales: 'Tiger Tales' is a BBC Radio 4 programme investigating the twentieth-century histories of four Far-Eastern countries: Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Each of the four programmes is available as a streaming audio file lasting half an hour. The programmes include interviews with eyewitnesses of the events described, and archive recordings, with the narrative provided by presenter Chris Gunness, formerly the BBC's UN correspondent.
The web site provides a text summary of each episode, with links to related reports and contemporary images. The audio files of the radio broadcasts require the Real Player plug-in or a suitable equivalent.
(Humbul Staff)
Tiger tales: 'Tiger Tales' is a BBC Radio 4 programme investigating the twentieth-century histories of four Far-Eastern countries: Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Each of the four programmes is available as a streaming audio file lasting half an hour. The programmes include interviews with eyewitnesses of the events described, and archive recordings, with the narrative provided by presenter Chris Gunness, formerly the BBC's UN correspondent.
The web site provides a text summary of each episode, with links to related reports and contemporary images. The audio files of the radio broadcasts require the Real Player plug-in or a suitable equivalent.
(Humbul Staff)
Tiger tales: 'Tiger Tales' is a BBC Radio 4 programme investigating the twentieth-century histories of four Far-Eastern countries: Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Each of the four programmes is available as a streaming audio file lasting half an hour. The programmes include interviews with eyewitnesses of the events described, and archive recordings, with the narrative provided by presenter Chris Gunness, formerly the BBC's UN correspondent.
The web site provides a text summary of each episode, with links to related reports and contemporary images. The audio files of the radio broadcasts require the Real Player plug-in or a suitable equivalent.
(Humbul Staff)
The International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World (ISIM): The International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World (ISIM),
Leiden, The Netherlands; (Supplied note:) On the new site there is updated information about the
ISIM and all its fellowships (including online application forms), events, projects, programmes and current fellows. Current and past issues of the ISIM Newsletter and the ISIM Paper series are now available online in .pdf format and hard copies can also be ordered. There is an entirely new and extensive events section for non-ISIM events related to the study of Islam and Muslim Societies, and an
expanded links section with subsections for online resources, academic institutions, Muslim organizations and information about Islamic countries. The new site is more interactive as users can submit links and events via online forms. We hope that the new site will become a valuable resource to our
readers and colleagues in the field of Islamic Studies and of course we welcome your feedback. Please email Noel Lambert at n.lambert@isim.nl with your comments. [Indexed May 2003: Source: Asian Studies WWW Monitor - http://coombs.anu.edu.au/asia-www-monitor.html]
Indonesia: Recent Work [from ALC] and Legislation: Asian Law Centre (ALC), University of Melbourne, Australia: Site contents: (Recent Work) - 'Fortress Outlook No Answer' by Howard Dick; Indonesia's New Anti-Terrorism Law: Damned if you Do, Damned if you Don't, by Tim Lindsey; 'Bali Bombings: The Future of Islam and Politics in Indonesia'
- Transcript of Public Forum on the Bali Bombings held on 25 October 2002; 'Megawati Needs Us, We Need Her', by Tim Lindsey; '1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia: Pre and Post Amendment Comparative Table'. 'Too Prosperous?' Indonesian Responses to Australian Asylum-seeker Policies' by
Tim Lindsey; 'Who Killed the Judge - and why?' by Tim Lindsey. 'Civil Liability for Criminal Acts at Indonesian Law' by Tim Lindsey and Simon Butt. ( Indonesian Legislation in Translation - 1999 Translation) - Law of the Republic of Indonesia No. 25 of 1999 concerning Financial Balance Between the Central and Regional Government, Translation - Elucidation on Law of the Republic of Indonesia No. 25 of 1999 concerning Financial Balance Between the Central and Regional Government; Translation - Law No. 35 of 1999 amending Law No. 14 of 1970 on Judicial Power); (2002 Translation - Government Regulation in Lieu of Legislation of the Republic of Indonesia No. 1, 2002 on Combating Criminal Acts of Terrorism, Translation - Government Regulation in Lieu of Legislation of the Republic of Indonesia No. 2, 2002 on the Enactment of Government Regulation in Lieu of Legislation of the Republic of Indonesia Number 1, 2002 on the Elimination of Criminal Acts of Terrorism in Relation to the Bombing Incident in Bali on 12 October 2002; Translation - Government Regulation No. 37 of 2002 concerning the Rights and Obligations of Foreign Ships and Aircraft when exercising the Rights of Archipelagic Sea Lanes Passage Through Established Archipelagic Sea Lanes). [Indexed May 2003: Source: Asian Studies WWW Monitor - http://coombs.anu.edu.au/asia-www-monitor.html]
NIRA's World Directory of Think Tanks: Center for Policy Research Information, The National Institute for Research Advancement (NIRA), Tokyo, Japan: Supplied note: 'The National Institute for Research Advancement (NIRA), an
independent policy research body in Japan publishes annually NIRA's World Directory of Think Tanks. The 2002 version is also available on the web at http://www.nira.go.jp or directly at [the URL below]. The directory is updated every three years. - myh.' Self-description: NIRA's World Directory of Think Tanks provides a systematic introduction [think tanks' Organizational Status, Background/Scope,
Areas of Research, Geographic Focus, Funding Sources, Staff, Executive Officers, Chief Researchers, Research Findings, Periodicals - ed.] to the world's most prominent and innovative public policy research institutes, better known as think tanks. This completely revised edition contains up-to-date information
available on 320 specially selected think tanks from 77 countries and regions. It also provides a convenient index of institutes by English names, acronyms and non-English names. This directory is an unusually detailed collection of carefully compiled information on public policy research institutes worldwide. [...] Think tanks are one of the main policy actors in democratic societies. Think tanks could be regarded as the intellectual and knowledge-based 'soft infrastructure' of the policy community, assuring a pluralistic, open and accountable process of policy analysis, research, decision-making and evaluation. [Indexed May 2003: Source: Asian Studies WWW Monitor - http://coombs.anu.edu.au/asia-www-monitor.html]
Statistics Indonesia: Started in 1997, the Badan Pusat Statistik (BPS-Statistics Indonesia) is a
non-departmental Indonesian government institution directly responsible to the Indonesian president. As the law that created this valuable institution stipulates, the BPS is intended to provide data to the government and the public, along cooperating with other international statistical institutions.
Visitors looking for statistics on any number of topics will not be disappointed, as the areas covered include agriculture, consumer price indices, employment, energy, foreign trade, mining, population, public
finance, tourism, and social welfare. Additionally, there are monthly macro-economic statistical reports for the years from 1998 to 2001 that can be downloaded and viewed as well. The site is rounded out by a collection of some 21 papers from the past four years that analyze various economic data
from the country, such as earning data and manufacturing production. [Indexed May 2003: Source: KMG - Scout Report - http://scout.wisc.edu]
Philippine Golden Links: Designed by Kenneth Y. Ilio, Philippine Golden Links (also known as
Tanikalang Ginto) has been online since 1994. The site contains numerous links, divided into thematic areas in an attempt to provide a broad range of online resources dealing with the Philippines. Two nice features on the site are the Golden Links of the Day and the Noteworthy Discovery of the Day. The
Golden Links of the Day profile important links dealing with the Philippines, while the Noteworthy Discovery profiles new material on the Web. While the site does feature some commercial advertisements, there are some important resources covered here, and in particular, the sections dealing with travel and tourism throughout the area are thorough and authoritative. [Indexed May 2003: Source: KMG - Scout Report - http://scout.wisc.edu]
The rise and fall of Communist nations, 1917-1994: The Web site "The Rise and Fall of Communist Nations, 1917-1994" is an online version of a work by the much-respected Professor Anna Ciencala of the University of Kansas. This is a useful site for students of History, Politics, or regional studies. It explains the nature of the Communist regimes in East and Central Europe in comparison with those of China, North Korea, the Caribbean, Central America, Africa and the Middle East. The aim of the text, as the author points out, is to provide "a historical background" to the communist states before 1917, and then to trace their development throughout the twentieth century. The work was born out of lecture outlines and has been updated as events have merited.
The Web site is, in reality a book placed online, and therefore employs a similar format. Chapters address subjects such as: Marxism; the Russian Revolutions; Soviet Russia; Polish-Soviet War; Cold War; China since 1949; and Nationalism and Communism in Africa, the Middle East and Afghanistan. The themes pertinent to the examination of Communism are woven into individual national naratives.
(Wanda Wyporska)
Mountain voices : oral testimonies from mountain and highland regions round the world: Mountain Voices is a Web site developed by the Panos Institute to coincide with the International Year of Mountains 2002 and the Oral Testimony Programme (OTP). An online archive is hosted of over 300 interviews from mountain and highland communities in six countries (Ethiopia, Lesotho, Kenya, Nepal, Peru, and Poland). A further four collections (India, China, Mexico, and Pakistan) will be added to the site in the coming months. Visitors to the site can search material by country and by theme. To date, some 250 interviews have been conducted by local people in local languages, recorded, transcribed, translated, and summarised. To access the transcriptions you must register.
(Humbul Staff)
The Hunterian collection: "The Hunterian Collection" Web site provides a brief overview and guide to the vast library of rare books collected by Dr William Hunter (1718-1783), doctor to Queen Charlotte and eminent anatomist. The collection, housed at the University of Glasgow, is one of the most significant in the UK, and contains over 10,000 printed books and 650 manuscripts. The manuscript collection includes substantial medieval and Renaissance materials, and over 100 Persian, Arabic and Sinilogical documents. The printed books include 534 incunabula (ten Caxtons) and a vast quantity of sixteenth century volumes.
Unsurprisingly, a large proportion of the materials are of a medical nature (including editions of Hippocrates, Galen and Harvey), however literature is also well-represented, as is travel. There are materials on the East Indies and the South Seas. The Hunterian Collection also contains Hunter's own materials as well as those of his mentor James Douglas. This is one of the most interesting collections, and the Web site also provides useful hints for locating works within the Library's search engine. There are also links to other sites of interest to those wishing to know more about Hunter.
(Wanda Wyporska)
SOAS library : archives and manuscripts: The Web site "SOAS Library : Archives and Manuscripts" provides an overview and practical information about this section of the School of Oriental and African Studies' Library (SOAS). The extensive holdings of one of the foremost institutions in its field, include materials relating to Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific. A particular strength of the collection is the documentation of individual missionaries. There are also the papers of such luminaries as Robert Wellesley Cole, Andrew Hake, William Sewell, and A.J. Arkell. SOAS has a large collection of documents on Chinese Maritime Customs, and former members of the China Consular Service. Language and literature are also well-represented with a combination of the papers of authors, scholars and critics.
There is also a regional guide to the archives and manuscripts, an oral archive collection and a guide to photographic sources. Some of the latter resources are displayed in an image gallery. Opening hours, access conditions and reprographic details and prices are available on the site, as well as direction to the library.
(Wanda Wyporska)
UK database of Chinese research materials: The aim of the UK Database of Chinese Research Materials was to provide a single access point to all research material in Chinese held in the United Kingdom. The database is now known as the UK Union Catalogue of Chinese Books, and consists of over 240,000 records for over 200,000 individual titles. The retrospective record conversion has concentrated on digitising the most recent (post Cultural Revolution) records first. The project has paid particular attention to the issue of incorporating the original Chinese script into fields as well as the equivalent Romanised text. The catalogue may be searched from this web site via a reasonably sophisticated search engine. The project has now officially ended and funding has ceased, though the database is still being added to and revised. The database does not claim to be fully comprehensive and it is recommended that users regard it as a supplement to the catalogues of participating institutions rather than a replacement.
The project received funding from the Research Support Libraries Programme (RSLP).
(Humbul Staff)
International Dunhuang project: The International Dunhuang Project (IDP), based at the British Library, is an international collaboration which is carrying out research on over 100,000 manuscripts, artefacts, and paintings from Dunhuang and other Silk Road sites. The project is placing these textual and image resources on the internet, together with information on their provenance, history, and cultural context. The site is aimed at both the layman and the specialist. By providing bibliographies, maps, photographs, site plans, and contemporary images, the site provides a wonderful insight into life on the Silk Road during the first millenium AD.
The site provides information on collections of material from the Silk Road sites in other countries: Sweden; Finland; Taiwan; and others. There is a list of publications which is regularly updated, and an IDP Newsletter. An excellent map section and a manuscript search which enables both simple and quite sophisticated subject searches to be made within a catalogue of over 40,000 items. Images of the search results are displayed along with metadata about the objects. "My Space" is a facility that will enable a record to be kept of the reader's personal searches and information. There are also links to special topics such as Chinese bookbinding, Buddhism in Central Asia, and an account of Sir Aurel Stein's dogs and travelling companions. The site provides comprehensive information on the sponsors of the project, its objectives, activities in conservation, digitisation and other aspects of the project, both educational and practical.
The site is easy to navigate and provides a contact form for feedback about the site. The project received funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB) within the Resource Enhancement scheme.
(Humbul Staff)
AHRB centre for cross-cultural music and dance performance: The Web site of the AHRB Research Centre for Cross-Cultural Music and Dance Performance, inaugurated on 1 September 2002, details the collaboration between three pioneering and established departments eminent in their respective academic fields in Britain: the Department of Music at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS); the Department of Dance Studies; part of the School of Performing Arts at the University of Surrey (UniS); and the School of Arts at University of Surrey Roehampton (USR). The Centre brings together experts in Asian and African artistic practice and in ethnomusicology, ethnochoreology, dance anthropology, and musicology. It is of interest to students, researchers and those interested in performance arts or African and Asian artistic practices.
The Web site provides information on current projects, detailing their aims and objectives, schedules, contributions and researchers. Current research includes: work with resident performer-researchers, documentation, music analysis (applying Western analytical techniques to Asian traditions), interpreting and reconstructing dance and music heritage, transformations in African music and dance performance, the performance of ritual in Asian music and dance, and new directions in South Asian dance:Postcolonial identity construction.
The Web site is a well-constructed site and easy to navigate. The centre has received funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB) within the Research Centre Awards scheme.
(Humbul Staff)
Mapping Asia in UK libraries: The Mapping Asia project provides a database of holdings in UK libraries of collections relating to Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. A separate database provides details of Asian newspapers held at UK libraries. Search results give details of each collection including: a description of its history and particular strengths; the subjects and dates covered; geographical and linguistic information; the size of the collection and the types of material it includes; and access information for scholars and researchers. The newspaper collections likewise include relevant bibliographical details.
The web site also provides a section on Asian language skills in UK libraries. This is intended to enable librarians to devise brokering arrangements for exchange of Asian language expertise between libraries.
Mapping Asia received funding from the Research Support Libraries Programme (RSLP).
(Humbul Staff)
AHRB centre for Asian and African literatures: The Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB) Centre for Asian and African Literatures is based at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. It aims to be a centre of excellence for research and teaching relating to the literatures of Asia and Africa. The Web site includes a list of research projects supported by the Centre, newsletter, events, and general information about the Centre. It is of particular interest to students and postgraduates who wish to find out more about these cultures. The AHRB Centre for Asian and African Literatures receives funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB) within the Research Centre Awards scheme.
(Humbul Staff)
E-journal on Hong Kong cultural and social studies (eHKCSS): The E-Journal on Hong Kong Cultural and Social Studies (eHKCSS) is a devoted to publishing the work of students in the field of Hong Kong culture. The interest of the journal extends from the local to global and, interdisciplinary in methodology, includes work found under the headings of sociology, history, literature, film studies, geography, political science, economics, and cultural studies.
A truly international undertaking, recent articles include a study of prostitution under colonial rule, a study of the work of Ellen Pau, and a consideration of contemporary action movies.
It is published bi-annually, in January and August.
(Stuart Allen)
The Daozang (Taoist canon): Somewhat oddly nestled inside Fabrizio Pregadio’s site on Chinese alchemy is the Daozang, an excellent general bibliographic resource on Taoist (Daoist) belief and practice. The ‘Daozang’ or Taoist Canon is divided into two main sections, both of which will be of interest to advanced researchers on Taoist writings, belief and culture. The first is a lengthy text index to the almost 1,500 works in the ‘Daozang’ itself. The second is a larger introductory guide to the Canon, which takes the form of a bibliographic essay and explores the not only its history, but various modern reprints, catalogues, studies and bibliographic material.
The Index will only be of use to those with knowledge of Chinese and to a lesser extent Japanese, however much of the background material in the bibliographic essays, along with a substantial chunk of the citations are in English. Thus, undergraduates or those with a general interest in Taoism (Daoism) but who lack the necessary language skills may still be able to gain much useful material from these pages. At the very least these pages will provide an important foundation to Taoist literature and its development.
(Jeff Dubberley)
Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association: Web site of the Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association, providng information about the work of CBETA in making available the scriptures of Chinese Buddhism in electronic form, and links to related sites, as well as access to an electronic version of the Taisho Tripitaka (the Chinese canon of Buddhist scriptures). Some introductory pages are in English, but most pages and the electronic Tripitaka itself require Chinese fonts.
(Adrian Hale)
Digital Buddhist library and museum : comprehensive cyberspace for Buddhist studies: The Digital Buddhist library and museum is a collection of online resources for the study of Buddhism. It includes links to sites providing online texts in Chinese, Pali, Sanskrit and Tibetan, online courses in Pali, Sanskrit and Tibetan, fonts, and reference material for Buddhist studies. Introductory pages are available in English and Chinese (Big-5) versions. The site is hosted by the National Taiwan University.
(Adrian Hale)
Shurangama sutra : text, commentaries, and articles: Chinese text of the Shurangama Sutra (Surangama Sutra), an early text of Mahayana Buddhism, together with an English translation of the sutra by the Buddhist Text Translation Society, comment on the sutra and mantra by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua, and articles by Ron Epstein. The sutra is also given its Chinese title Da Fo Ding Shou Leng Yan Jing (Leng Yen Ching). This is part of the Chinese Buddhist canon(Taisho Tripitaka, No. 945).
(Adrian Hale)
The internet classics archive: The Internet Classics Archive offers access to online editions of classical texts. It currently offers over four hundred works by over fifty different authors, primarily Greek and Roman but also some Chinese (for example Confucius) and Persian (for example Omar Khayyam). All texts are in translation.
The site offers a facility by which texts can be searched by work, author or by the entire archive. Users can pull up brief biographical information on each author through links to the online Encyclopaedia Britannica.
The site has been affected by some technical problems which mean that searches can be slow. The site would mainly be of use to undergraduates looking for translations of major texts. It would be less useful for advanced or specialist research.
(Sarah Watson)
Slavic Research Center, Hokkaido University: This site is the homepage of Hokkaido University's Slavic Research Center (SRC). While the site is in both English and Japanese, this review takes in only the English content of the site. The basis of the institute lies in academic study of Japan's relations with Russia, going back to the 1950s. The emphasis remains on Slavic Eurasian countries, rather than those of Central and Southeast Europe.
The site includes full text articles from the SRC's various online journals, with articles in Japanese, English or Russian (some provide summaries in English). These include Slavic Studies ; Acta Slavica Iaponica ; SRC occasional papers ; and proceedings of SRC's Symposia. There is also a Directory of Japanese Slavic and East European Scholars available in Japanese only.
The site provides information about its foreign visiting fellowship program and other exchange programmes with Slavonic institutes at prominent universities. There are links to bibliographical databases in Japanese and Russian relating to academic research in the field of Eurasian Slavonic studies -- as well as the SRC library catalogue, and other indexes, including internet databases on Russian and Ukrainian elites, writers and notable statistics. Full schedules are available of all SRC symposia and conferences going back several years.
Finally of interest to outside scholars is the SRC's wonderfully constructed calendar of forthcoming conferences in the world in all related fields. The calendar is easy to use and runs from 1997 and two years in advance.
(Larissa Douglass)