IRP/PSC 300 - War and Peace in the Nuclear Age (Spring 2024)

Welcome to an SU Libraries subject guide for IRP/PSC 300!

Use the tabs at the left margin or the links below for access to some selected resources from Syracuse University Libraries for this course.  The guide presents you far more starting point options that any one student will need, but select judiciously, depending on your own specific topical and geographic focus.  Here's an overview of the contents:

Background
Find out where to get in-depth background information from online and encyclopedia sources, including access to archival television news video.

Research Methods
Includes useful general discussion about search strategies and tutorials with refreshers on how to navigate some of the primary Library search tools.

Evaluating Sources
Guidance offering concepts to consider when critically evaluating your sources.

Books
Tips for locating books within SU Libraries collections.

Articles, Video & Primary Sources
Recommendations on finding articles using specific Library databases relevant for subject matter covered in this course.  Also provides a few links to unique collections of primary source documentation some IRP/PSC400 students may find useful. An important subpage on this guide, and a central portal that can lead all IRP/PSC400 students into search tools likely to uncover applicable source material, especially discussion published within scholarly journal articles.

Interlibrary Loan (ILLIAD)
If SU Libraries lack specific articles or books you are looking for, those can be borrowed for you from another Library - for free.

Europa World
Background on countries including political and economic information in over 250 countries and territories, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.
 

E.I.U. Economist Intelligence Unit
Objective and timely analysis and forecasts of the political, economic and business environment for almost 200 countries.  Also produces in-depth annual country commerce reports.  E.I.U.'s reporting is more lengthy than Europa World's briefer, encyclopedia style content.  See especially the report category within E.I.U. called 'country report.'  Under the country reports, select the "blue site."

Example of one (of many) specific eBooks - available via SU Libraries

And an example of one of a great many print book titles in the SU Libraries collection

CQ Researcher - A terrific starting point for obtaining historical background discussion, chronologies and references to further readings and websites.  Many CQ Researcher reports cover domestic U.S. politics.  However, for IRP/PSC 400 relevant encyclopedia style overviews will be available in response to entry of search words such as "Nuclear War," or "Nuclear Weapons" or "Cold War" or "Proliferation" or "North Korea" or "Iran."  In addition, you can use the "browse topics" pull down menu near top margin of the database - to select categories that show all reports in this database under categories such as "Defense & National Security" and/or "International Relations" (under "International Relations" are subcategories for "Regional Political Affairs: East Asia and the Pacific," "U.S. at War: Cold War" and "War and Conflict."). 

Encyclopedia style reports here are sometimes very recent, but others date back into the 1920s (chronologies dating back further).  Search terms you type in might also focus on a region or country such as "Asia," or "North Korea,"  "European Union," or "Europe" or "Turkey" or "Arab World" or "Middle East" or "North Africa" or "China." Finally IRP/PSC 400 students who locate a promising CQ Researcher report may also wish to explore some of the websites appearing under the "contacts" segment of each relevant report, for links to relevant government agencies, international organizations and the like.

U.S. Coalition Forces Liberate Kuwait City - Feb 27, 1991 NBC Nightly News Report Uploaded to YouTube, Jan 28, 2014

Your review of such historical footage is not limited to the idiosyncracies of YouTube.  Want to watch archived U.S televised news reports about news worthy events covered in IRP/PSC400, Both CNN (1995-present) and NBC News video (1968-present) can be viewed - via the  SU Libraries licensed database - TELEVISION NEWS ARCHIVE (SEARCH KEYWORDS, OR BROWSE BY AIRDATE).  

War, peace, nuclear energy and weapons have often been treated within numerous fictional forms.  In social media, we see this continuing via formats such as remixed mashups.  While often not strictly legal for creators to upload these, they are in their own way primary source commentary.  Frequently, such videos will be taken down in response to take down demands from copyright owners of background music used improperly (e.g., without permission or payment of licensing fees).  Exchange of such content across international borders addS further complexity.  For instance, this tribute to Stanley Kubrick's esteemed 1964 cold war era satirical film, "Dr Strangelove," is not to be found on YouTube despite residing there at one time.  However, with irony looming perhaps, a copy appears on a Russian website.  The film is considered one of the classic movie satires commenting on cold war conflict between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union.  Background music by The Ramones NOT part of that film's original soundtrack 

To identify specific known titles (of videos/feature films or books) and see if they are available via SU Libraries - enter that title search into the Library's Classic Catalog (or, alternatively, into the advanced search page of SUMMON (e.g., one might enter a title search for "Missiles of October" to retrieve location information in the Library's collection for the video containing that 1974 fictional TV movie portrayal of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis confronted  by John F. Kennedy's Presidential administration).  Perhaps represents the closest the U.S. has literally come to some of the darker outcomes satirized in Dr. Strangelove actually taking place.

Via the Library's advanced search page of SUMMON, to explore other videos available via the Library, documentaries as well as fiction, you can also combine a search phrase - such as "cold war" (or perhaps search terms such as "war" and "korean"), variations pertinent to your specific topic and region, with a selection from SUMMON's "content type" pull down menu - that limits your search results to the content type category called "video recording."  IMPORTANT ACCESS NOTE:  Documentary films as well as some feature film and television public affairs program content is also available via large licensed streaming video databases the library makes available, such as Kanopy and Academic Video Online.

STREAMING VIDEO DATABASES VIA SU LIBRARIES

These three database collections include a wide variety of educational and documentary films, including some coverage of international affairs, war and weapons, U.S. tensions with North Korea, Iran and the like. Enter keyword searches or browse subject categories.  The Kanopy collection also includes some feature films, while Academic Video Online content includes historical newsreels as well as a cross section of historical U.S. televised public affairs programming from shows like "60 Minutes" and "Meet the Press."

IRP/PSC 400 students who choose to browse the subject category options in Kanopy, will want to look at categories such as

• Documentaries:  Politics and Current Affairs
• Global Studies
• Social Sciences, Political Science
• History - Modern

In Academic Video Online, one can search for content or browse the collection menu (to get to specific historical TV programs like 60 Minutes) or other collections (e.g., World Newsreels Online, etc.)

In Docuseek2, one can search for content or browse to subject categories for those video documentaries, such as "international relations and geopolitics," or "international law" or click on a country name of interest