Subject Encyclopedias
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Subject encyclopedias are great for:
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Literature Reference Resources
- Gale LiteratureA literature database combining biographical, bibliographical, and contextual
information on authors and their works (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, history, and journalism). Includes both textual and visual material from the Dictionary of Literary Biography, Contemporary Authors, and Contemporary Literary Criticism.
Encyclopedia of Literary and Cultural TheoryCall Number: Olin Reference PN 81 E435 2011Publication Date: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011Arranged in three volumes covering Literary Theory from 1900 to 1966, Literary Theory from 1966 to the present, and Cultural Theory, this encyclopedia provides accessible entries on the important concepts, theorists and trends in post-1900 literary and cultural theory.
Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and CriticismCall Number: Olin Reference PN81 J554 2005+ (print version)Publication Date: 2004Contains signed, in-depth overviews of the major schools of literary theory Useful for understanding literary concepts, e.g., Postcolonial Cultural Studies, Multiculturalism, Race and Ethnicity, etc.
Oxford Encyclopedia of Literary TheoryCall Number: Print copy: Olin Reference PN81 .O94 2022 +Publication Date: Oxford UP, 2022Illustrates the problems, the concepts, and the methodologies that arise when we discuss literary criticism. Around 180 full-length essays written by international experts discuss the theoretical categories and formal structures; the institutions that support the production, dissemination, interpretation, and valuation of literary texts; the identities of the real and textual persons who interact in the study of texts; and the systematic methodologies of literary interpretation and understanding.Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature
Call Number: Print: Olin Reference PS21 E537 2004 +Publication Date: Oxford UP, 20044 vols. Contains essays on US poets, playwrights, essayists, and novelists. Figures such as Whitman, Melville, and Morrison are discussed in detail and examined in the context of their times, with an assessment of the writer's current reputation, a bibliography of major works, and a list of major critical and biographical works about the writer.
Oxford Encyclopedia of British LiteratureCall Number: Print copy: Olin Reference PR19 O95 2006Publication Date: Oxford UP, 2006"Covers the entire history of British literature from the seventh century to the present, focusing on the writers and the major texts of what are now the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. In five hundred substantial essays written by major scholars, the Encyclopedia includes biographies of nearly four hundred individual authors and a hundred topical essays with detailed analyses of particular themes, movements, genres, and institutions whose impact upon the writing or the reading of literature was significant." Table of contents.
Some Basic Research Tools
Use authoritative dictionaries and reference sources.
Wikipedia might be a handy tool in some cases, but it's not what your professors would call a reliable or authoritative reference source. The library resources listed below provide access to scholarly information on a range of subjects. Use the Library Subject Guides to find many more.
Multidisciplinary Reference Sources
- Oxford ReferenceContains the texts of more than 100 reference titles published by Oxford University Press.
- Oxford Bibliographies OnlineDeveloped cooperatively with scholars and librarians worldwide, Oxford Bibliographies offers exclusive, authoritative research guides. Combining the best features of an annotated bibliography and a high-level encyclopedia, this cutting-edge resource guides researchers to the best available scholarship across a wide variety of subjects.
New Dictionary of the History of IdeasCall Number: Print: Olin Reference CB9 .N49 2005 +Publication Date: Detroit : Charles Scribner’s Sons, c2005.This thoroughly re-envisioned New Dictionary of the History of Ideas brings fresh intelligence and a global perspective to bear on timeless questions about the individual and society. A distinguished team of international scholars explore new thinking in areas previously covered (communism, linguistics, physics) and present cross-cultural perspectives on more recent topics such as postmodernism, deconstruction and post-colonialism.
Encyclopedia of Postcolonial StudiesCall Number: Print: Olin Reference PN849.U43 E535 2016 +Publication Date: Wiley-Blackwell, 2016Covers the period from 1492 to the present, including the dynamics of European conquest from Columbus to China, and critiques of colonialism. Entries are written by leading scholars in the field.
How to Read Citations
Learning how to interpret citations you find in scholarly books and articles is a critical research skill and essential to efficiently finding the material you need for your assignments. Watch this video to learn how.