STPEC (Social Thought and Political Economy) Research Guide

Use this guide to find information and research on topics in social thought and political economy

Welcome!

As the library liaison to the STPEC Program, I consult with students and faculty, instruct classes, and provide one-on-one research assistance in person, by telephone, and email. Please contact me with any questions you may have.

Email is always the best way to contact me at maccourt@umass.edu.

STPEC Databases

Alt-Press Watch This link opens in a new window
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Several hundred U.S. alternative newsweeklies, covering issues like the environment, labor, public policy, and the peace movement, 1970-present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Archives of Human Sexuality and Identity: LGBTQ History & Culture since 1940 This link opens in a new window
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Historical records of political and social organizations founded by LGBTQ individuals; publications by and for lesbians and gays, and extensive coverage of governmental responses to the AIDS crisis. Also contains personal correspondence and interviews with LGBTQ individuals; gay and lesbian newspapers from more than 35 countries, reports, policy statements, and other documents related to gay rights and health; materials tracing LGBTQ activism in Britain from 1950 through 1980, and more. Documents span from 1940 to 2014, with the bulk from 1950 to 1990.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Black Studies Center This link opens in a new window
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Combines key indices (Schomburg, IIBP, etc) to scholarship and primary sources in Afro-American studies.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Black Studies Center This link opens in a new window
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Combines key indices (Schomburg, IIBP, etc) to scholarship and primary sources in Afro-American studies.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
CQ Congress Collection This link opens in a new window
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The Congression Collection analyzes the history and development, legislation, powers, and personalities of the U.S. Congress. Learn how Congress works. Retrieve floor vote data. View biographical profiles of every member of Congress.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
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Comprehensive reporting and analysis on issues in the news, including coverage of health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology and the economy, 1923-present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
CRS Reports This link opens in a new window
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Reports by the public policy research arm of the U. S. Congress on current issues and their legal and legislative status, 1970-present. Library doesn't subscribe to tabbed extras like Bills, Memebers & Votes, etc.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Declassified Documents Reference Service This link opens in a new window
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78,000 government documents declassified by the 1967 Freedom of Information Act.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Ethnic NewsWatch This link opens in a new window
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Full-text articles from newspapers, magazines and journals of ethnic communities in the United States. In several languages, 1965-present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
GenderWatch This link opens in a new window
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Articles from magazines and scholarly journals concerning masculinity, feminism, homosexuality, and gender roles, 1970-present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
Use to access many UMass online journal subscriptions.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.

You can access Google Scholar with UMLinks buttons from outside the UMass Amherst IP range ("off campus") by two methods:

1. Access Google Scholar through the Library web site by using this link.
2. Go to generic Google Scholar.
a. Click on "Settings."
b. Click on Library links.
c. Type in "University of Massachusetts" or "UMass Amherst" (or a few other variations).
d. Check "University of Massachusetts Amherst - UMass Check for Full Text" and Save.
e. You will be asked to authenticate somewhere along the way to full text.
Handbook of Latin American Studies This link opens in a new window
Citations to works published internationally on Latin America, produced by the Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress, 1936-present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Historical Newspaper: Boston Globe This link opens in a new window
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Massachusetts' newspaper of record, 1872-1991. Additional content is added yearly.

Users must limit their search to "full text" on the left side of the screen to make sure they only get results that include the Full Text. Without the limiter, the "abstracts" will be indexed as well.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Historical Newspaper: New York Times This link opens in a new window
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Full-text of The New York Times, with coverage from 1851 to three years ago.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Historical Statistics of the United States This link opens in a new window
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Statistics gathered by the Census Bureau, with scholarly editing and essays, from colonial times to near present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Left Index This link opens in a new window
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Citations to articles in leftist periodicals, on labor, ecology & environment, race, social & cultural theory, 1982-present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
LGBTQ+ Source This link opens in a new window
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References, and some full text, of articles in about 120 LGBT-specific core periodicals, as well as selective articles from 1,600 more periodicals, 1950-present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
North American Women's Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window
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Primary source material for life as it was lived by 1,325 women in North America, 1675-1950.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
PAIS International This link opens in a new window
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Articles, government documents, reports in the fields of political science, public and social policy, international relations 1915-.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Perdita Manuscripts This link opens in a new window
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Reproductions of 250 early British women's manuscripts: accounts, diaries, prose, cookery books, and more.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
PolicyFile This link opens in a new window
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Full text policy papers from think tanks, research institutes, and agencies.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
ProQuest Social Science Database This link opens in a new window
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Citations and some full text for a diverse collection of journals, some 1920's-present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Social Explorer This link opens in a new window
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Maps illustrating Census data from 1790 to 2010, with recent community, religion, and carbon emissions data.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new window
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References to scholarly journal articles, dissertations, and conference papers on sociology and related disciplines, 1960-present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Supreme Court Yearbook This link opens in a new window
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Coverage of the Supreme Court and its decisions, 1999 to present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.