ENGL 301: Critical Methods in the Study of Literature

Professor Randy Ontiveros, Spring 2008
Web page created by Timothy Hackman, UM Libraries

This guide will assist you in locating resources for English 301. E-mail Tim Hackman, the subject area specialist, or call 301-314-8521 for more information.

For a complete list of electronic resources available to University of Maryland faculty, staff, and students, as well as information about the full range of library materials and services, consult Research Port and the UM Libraries' home page.

Contents

Literary Handbooks, Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Biographies

Literary Criticism: Books and Journal Articles

Background Research

Web Sites

Interlibrary Loan

Preparing Your Bibliography

Questions?

Oxford English Dictionary
Comprehensive dictionary of the English language. Traces the development of English words from approximately 1150 AD up to the present day.

The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory & Criticism
McKeldin Reference PN81.J55 1994

Dictionary of Concepts in Literary Criticism and Theory
McKeldin Reference PN41.H36 1992

A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory
McKeldin Reference PN41.C83 1998

Encyclopedia of Contemporary Literary Theory: Approaches, Scholars, Terms
McKeldin Reference PN81.E43 1993

Encyclopedia of Literary Critics and Criticism
McKeldin Reference PN86.E53 1999 2 volumes

A Glossary of Contemporary Literary Theory, 4th ed.
McKeldin Reference PN44.5.H37 2000

A Glossary of Rhetorical Terms

A Handbook to Literature, 10th ed.
McKeldin Reference PN41.H355 2006

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Biographies

Literature Resource Center
Full-text database of author biographies, criticism and reviews of authors' works.

Catalog
Find book-length biographies available in the UM libraries
Use the Subject Word/s search option or the Word/s anywhere search option and type in the author's name and the word "biography": EX: zora neale hurston biography.

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Literary Criticism: Books and Journal Articles

Catalog
Resources available in the University System of Maryland Libraries

To locate books by and about an author use the word/s anywhere search option and type in the author's name. This type of search works well for authors for which there is not much material available.

To locate books by an author use the author beginning with... search option and type in the author's last name, first name: EX: hurston, zora neale.

To locate books of criticism on an author use the subject word/s anywhere or the word/s anywhere search option and type in the author's and the word "criticism": EX: zora neale hurston criticism.

For information about authors for which there is a large body of criticial work try the subject beginning with search option and type in the author's last name, first name: EX: keats, john. Browse the list of subject headings and select relevant categories.

WorldCat
This huge catalog will lead you to resources available in major libraries around the world. Books not owned by UM can be requested via Interlibrary Loan.

Articles

When using the databases below, be sure to follow the link. This will direct you to the available full text, the catalog, or Interlibrary Loan if full text is not available and if the Libraries do not subscribe to the journal or needed volume and issue.

If the database does not have the link go to the Journals subset of the Catalog and search for the title of the journal. If you are able to locate an entry for the journal, use the link to determine if an electronic, paper, or microform version of it is available. If the Libraries do not own the journal or the specific volume and issue you need, you can request it through Interlibrary Loan

MLA International Bibliography
Information on articles, books, essays, and dissertations on language and literature topics published from 1963 to the present

Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature (ABELL Plus)
Information about articles, essays, books, dissertations, and book reviews on language and literature topics from 1920 to the present

Humanities Abstracts
Information on articles and book reviews on humanities topics published from 1984 to the present.

Arts & Humanities Search
Information on articles and book reviews on arts and humanities topics published from 1980 to the present.

Literature Resource Center
Full-text database of author biographies, criticism and reviews of authors' works.

Literary Index
Indexes the Gale Literary Criticism Series. This series contains excerpts of important criticism from hundreds of magazines, scholarly journals, and books. The database will identify the titles, volumes, and page numbers within the series that include entries on your author and/or text. Much of the material in this series can also be found in Literature Resource Center.

Electronic Journal Collections: JSTOR and Project Muse are collections of electronic journals, not databases. You can search them for full-text articles on your topic but your results may not represent all (or even the best) of the available scholarship. Search the MLA International Bibliography and ABELL instead, and use the links to connect to the full-text articles wherever they are available.

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Background Research

Book Reviews

Book reviews provide detailed critical evaluations of works and help one determine how a scholar's work has been judged by his or her peers.

Below are listed both print and electronic sources for locating book reviews. Because most print book review indexes are arranged by date, the first step in finding a review is determining the book's date of publication. This can be done by looking at the back of the title page or by checking the Catalog or Books in Print, WorldCat or the RLG Union Catalog. Begin with indexes published around the time the book was published and work a number of years forward.

Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature (ABELL-Plus). 1920-.
Annual bibliography of books, articles, essays, dissertations, and book reviews pertaining to English, American and Commonwealth languages, literature, and folklore.

Arts and Humanities Search 1980 -.
Indexes articles from over 1,100 of the world's leading arts and humanities journals, plus relevant articles from an additional 5,000 social science and science journals. Includes book reviews published in these periodicals.

Book Review Digest. 1905 - .
LOCATION: McKeldin Reference Stacks
CALL NUMBER: Z1219.C96
Indexes book reviews from over 100 English language popular periodicals.

Book Review Index Plus 1965 -.
Indexes book reviews appearing in general and scholarly periodicals.

Farber, Evan Ira, ed. Combined Retrospective Index to Book Reviews in Scholarly Journals, 1886-1974. Arlington, VA: Carrollton Press, 1979.
LOCATION: McKeldin Reference Stacks
CALL NUMBER: Z1035.A1C6
Indexes book reviews appearing in 459 older scholarly journals in History, Political Science, and Sociology.

Humanities Abstracts 2/84- .
Indexes approximately 400 publications that make up the core literature in the field of the humanities, covering such topics as archaeology, area studies, art, classics, film, folklore, journalism, linguistics, music, performing arts, philosophy, religion, history and literature. Includes book reviews published in these periodicals.

Index to Book Reviews in the Humanities. 1960-1990.
LOCATION: McKeldin Reference Stacks
CALL NUMBER: Z1035.A1I63
Indexes book reviews in approximately 440 scholarly journals in the following areas: literature, language, philosophy, the arts, travel biography, dance and folklore.

Periodicals Index Online
Indexes the tables of contents of thousands of periodicals, both U.S. and international, in the humanities and social sciences from their first issues (coverage extends as far back as 1770 for some periodicals) to 1990/91. It provides excellent coverage of scholarly book reviews.

Romantic Circles Reviews [http://www.rc.umd.edu/reviews/index.html]
This online book reviewing site, is a feature of Romantic Circles, a major website devoted to the literature and culture of the romantic period.

For additional book review sources see the Book Reviews guide. See also the guide for locating Play Reviews.

Reception Histories

Information on the reception of an author's work can often be found in Biographies of the author. You can also search the article Databases above using your author's name and keywords such as "reception," "critical reception," "reception history," "reception study," or "literary reputation."

For general information on the publishing industry, try searching the Catalog using different combinations of the following subject headings:

Historical Background

Reference Sources
American Decades
McKeldin Reference E169.12.A419
9 volumes (1900-1989)

American Eras
McKeldin Reference E169.1.A471979
8 volumes (Early American civilizations-1899)

Encyclopedia of the United States in the 19th Century
McKeldin Reference E169.1.E626 2001 3 volumes

Encyclopedia of World History (Facts on File)
McKeldin Reference D21 .E577 2000

Encyclopedia of World History (Oxford)
McKeldin Reference D21.E53 1998

Facts on File World News Digest Yearbook
McKeldin Reference D410.F3 (2001-Present)
Previously: Facts on File Yearbook (1941-1999)

A History of Book Publishing in the United States
McKeldin Stacks Z473 .T42 (4 volumes)

The New Cambridge Modern History
McKeldin Reference D208 .N4
14 volumes (1493-1945)

Oxford Companion to United States History
McKeldin Reference E174.O94 2001

Reader's Companion to American History
McKeldin Reference E174.R43 1991

Timelines of the 20th Century
McKeldin Reference D422.B76 1996

Databases

America: History and Life
Information on articles, books, book reviews, and dissertations on U.S. and Canadian history from prehistory to the present. Covers more than 2000 international publications. Includes links to full text of selected journal articles.

Historical Abstracts
Information on articles, books, and dissertations about non-U.S. and non-Canadian history from 1450 to the present. Covers more than 2000 journals in 50 languages. Includes links to full text of selected journal articles.

Periodicals Index Online
Access to 4,500 arts/humanities & social science journals published since the 19th-century in 40 languages, on 37 key subjects, e.g., architecture, archaeology, area studies, business, law, & linguistics, containing a full-text archive to over 300 periodical titles and direct linking to JSTOR.

Web Sites

Evaluating Web Sites

American Authors on the Web [http://lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~matsuoka/AmeLit.html]
This site links to hundreds of Internet sites on American authors and is arranged chronologically by author's birth date.

English Literature on the Web [http://lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~matsuoka/EngLit.html]
This site links to hundreds of Internet sites related to English literature and is arranged by literary time period, from medieval times through the 20th century.

The eserver.org [http://eserver.org/]
This site links to Internet resources in the humanities, including many full text documents, in the following areas: art, architecture, drama, fiction, poetry, cultural theory, feminism, film & television, gender & sexuality, history, music, and philosophy.

Humbul Humanities Hub
An extensive catalog of online humanities resources.

Literary Resources on the Net [http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Lit]
Links to sites dealing with literature. The following areas are covered: classical & biblical, medieval, renaissance, restoration & eighteenth century, romantic, Victorian British, 20th-century British & Irish, American, and other national literatures, theater and drama, and literary theory.

The Voice of the Shuttle [http://vos.ucsb.edu]
This page links to Web sites in the humanities including American Studies, cultural studies, history, literature, literary theory, linguistics, media studies, and more.

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Interlibrary Loan

Material not held in our libraries can be requested through Interlibrary Loan.

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Preparing Your Bibliography

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
Resources for students on academic integrity and plagiarism.

How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography


Citing Sources Using the MLA Handbook


Citation Styles Handbook: MLA

A Guide for Writing Research papers based on Modern Language Association (MLA) Documentation


Using MLA Style to Cite and Document Sources


MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.
Location: McKeldin Quick Reference Shelf
Call Number: PN147.G53 2003

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Questions and Feedback

If you have any questions about these or other library resources, contact Patricia Herron or Tim Hackman.

Please help us improve our library instruction sessions by filling out the following Feedback Form. Be sure to fill in your course and section number, your instructor's name and (if you would like a response) your email address in the correct boxes. Thank you!