Reference Sources and Background Materials - GEOG 1110 - Introduction to Human Geography (Brownstein)

Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, and Handbooks

When starting your research, consulting reference sources like Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, and Handbooks can help create a strong foundation for your paper. These sources can help you better understand the background of your topic and make scholarly articles (which are very detailed) easier to read. While these resources may be vital to your understanding of particular concepts, they do not contain substative analysis of a topic. For that reason, they may not count toward a number of academic resources.

For this project, you may want to consult:

The dictionary of human geography (ebook)
Call Number: GF4 Online
Available online and in print - Call No: GF 4 D52 1994 (1st Floor Reference)
With clear, critical, and constructive surveys of key terms by leading researchers in the field, The Dictionary of Human Geography remains the definitive guide to the concepts and debates in human geography.
Heartland & hinterland: a regional geography of Canada
Call Number: FC 75 H42 1998
Available in print - Call No: FC 75 H42 1998 (2nd Floor)
This text applies the valuable heartland-hinterland perspective to Canada in the late 1990s. This framework not only defines Canada's position in the world system, but assigns geographical roles to the regions of Canada, accounts for the significant shaping forces of regional growth, and focuses attention on the current issues of regionalism.
Encyclopedia of North American Immigration by John Powell
Call Number: JV 6465 P68 2005
(1st Floor Reference)
Encyclopedia of North American Immigration is a solid, comprehensive one-volume encyclopedia consisting of more than 300 A-to-Z entries on events, themes, people, places, and legislation related to immigration.
Canada's Diverse Peoples: A Reference Sourcebook
Call Number: Online & Print
The Canadian Encyclopedia
Call Number: Online
Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada
Call Number: PS 8015 E53 2002
(1st Floor Reference)
In over 2000 entries, acknowledging Canada's cultural plurality, this book discusses literature in English and French, and also in such other languages as Yiddish, Spanish, Haida and Cree; authors and their work; related literary and social issues; professional institutions that play a role in the lives of Canadian writers; and the major historical and cultural events that have shaped Canada.

Gale Virtual Reference Library This link opens in a new window
Available online
This vast online colletion specialized reference works covers a number of topics. Search the entire collection at once or select specific books to browse through. Suggested works include:

Immigration and Multiculturalism: Essential Primary Sources
Call Number: Online
Government, Politics, and Protest: Essential primary sources
Call Number: HN 13 Online
A collection of primary source documents that focus on leading social issues of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. International in scope, each title is devoted to one topic.

Encyclopedias and Dictionaries available here at Langara
A full listing of available encyclopedias and dictionaries can be found here.