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Michaelyn Burnette
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Research Tools for English and American Literature
Use these research tools to find information related to English and American Literature from sources such as scholarly articles, books and encyclopedias.
Archival Collections and Primary Sources
Article Databases and Indexes
Atlases, Maps and Gazetteers
Bibliographies and Subject Guides
Biographical Sources
Book and Film Review Sources
Book and Text Collections
Dictionaries, Thesauri and Quotations
Directories
Dissertation and Thesis Sources
Encyclopedias and Almanacs
Handbooks, Manuals and Yearbooks
Library and Book Catalogs
News Databases, Indexes and Web Sites
Organizations
Web Gateways and Search Engines
Archival Collections and Primary Sources
Resources that list, or provide access to, materials typically found in archives and used for primary source research. Examples include manuscripts, diaries, letters, first-hand accounts or documentary sources on a subject, person, event or issue.
Article Databases and Indexes
Listings of articles in journals, magazines, newspapers, etc. Many include abstracts (article summaries). Some include, or link to, the full text of articles.
- Article Databases for English and American Literature
- Print Indexes for English and American Literature
- MLA international bibliography of books and articles on the modern languages
and literatures New York. New York University Press [etc.] 1921/25-
Doe Reference PB 25 .A12 M6 Periodical Indexes.
- Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals, 1824-1900
Wellesley is an index to the authorship of articles and to the articles written by each contributor in 45 key journals. Most of these articles were unsigned, and Wellesley identifies authors for many of the anonymous pieces. Wellesley gives some biographical information and identifies the sources used to attribute the piece. The Edinburgh Review is indexed from 1802, its first issue. Poetry is not covered. One of the original Wellesley editors, Eileen Curran, has continued the work of identifying authors and contributes her updates to the published Wellesley on the Curran Index section of the Victorian Research Web.
Doe Reference PR447.A12.W44 1999 and CD-ROM
Atlases, Maps and Gazetteers
Resources that provide maps or tools you can use to generate maps. Gazetteers
are geographical dictionaries, giving information about cities, mountains,
rivers, etc.
- Print Resouces
- Literary Landscapes of the British Isles : a Narrative
Atlas. David Daiches. New York : Paddington Press : distributed by Grosset & Dunlap, 1979.
Main Stack PR 109 .D34
- An Atlas of Anglo-Saxon England. Oxford, England : B.
Blackwell, 1981. David Hill.
Main Stack G 1815 .H555
- The Atlas of Literature. London : De Agostini, 1996.
Main Stack PN
164 .A85 1996
Bibliographies and Subject
Guides
Lists of materials in any format (books, articles, videos, web sites, etc.)
organized around a common theme or topic. Subcategories as appropriate, i.e.,
chronological, language, geographic, etc.
- Print Resources
Literary research guide : an annotated listing of reference
sources in English literary studies. James L. Harner. 4th ed. New York
: Modern Language Association of America, 2002.
Doe Reference PR 83 .A12 .H34 2002
Moffitt Reference PR 83 .A12 .H34 2002
The essential guide to reference sources for British literature, literatures
of the United States, other literatures in English, and related topics. The
annotations describe and evaluate important bibliographies, abstracts, surveys
of research, indexes, databases, catalogs, general histories and surveys, annals,
chronologies, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and handbooks. Harner also lists
major journals and background studies.
Biographical Sources
Information about people, including biographical dictionaries, profiles of
people or "Who's Whos", personal narratives, and other resources with significant
biographical information.
- Electronic Resource Finder
- Print Resources
- A Critical dictionary of English literature and British and American
authors living and deceased, from the earliest accounts to the latter half
of the nineteenth century.
Containing over forty-six thousand articles
(authors), with forty indexes of subjects. By S. Austin Allibone ... and
Supplement by John Foster Kirk.
Doe Reference Z 2010 .A56 1874 Biographies; v.1-5 (1874-92)
- An Encyclopedia of British women writers. Edited by Paul and June
Schlueter. Edition Rev. and expanded ed. New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers
University Press, 1998.
Doe Reference P R111 .E54 1998 Biographies
- The Feminist companion to literature in English : women writers from the
Middle Ages to the present. Ed. by Virginia Blain, Patricia Clements,
Isobel Grundy. New Haven : Yale University Press, 1990.
Doe Reference PR 111 .F45 1990b Biographies
Main Stack PR 111 .F45 1990b
- The Writers directory
Main Stack PR 106 .W75; Latest volume in Doe Reference
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Book and Film Review Sources
Listings of book [and film] reviews in journals, magazines, newspapers, etc. included in article databases and indexes, book review indexes, or review journals.
- Electronic Resource Finder
- Book Review Digest
Doe Reference Z1219.B8 1905-present Web version, 1983-
Indexes and excerpts reviews of English-language fiction and non-fiction.
-
Book Review Index
Doe Reference Z1035.A1.B62 1965-present
More inclusive than Book Review Digest, but does not include excerpts of review.
- Combined Retrospective Index to Book Reviews in Humanities Journals 1802-1974
Doe Reference Z1035.A1.C62 1982
- Combined Retrospective Index to Book Reviews in Scholarly Journals, 1886-1974
Doe Reference Z1035.A1.C63
Book and Text Collections
Early Modern Literary Studies
Links to selected electronic versions of 15th-17th century materials on the Internet.
Dictionaries, Thesauri, and Quotations
General and subject specific dictionaries in any language, dual language dictionaries,
thesauri, dictionaries of quotations, and acronym lists.
- Electronic Resource Finder
- Online Resources
- Dictionary of Old English (DOE)
The DOE covers all Old English with the exception of place and personal names.
Length of entry depends on commonness of the word. A full entry gives of the
headword, grammatical details, variants, occurrence and usage, definitions,
illustrative quotations, and other information connecting the word to Latin/Middle
English words.
Microform with paper guide: Dictionary of Old English. Toronto, Ont., Canada. Published for the Dictionary
of Old English Project, Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto,
by the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, c1986.
Doe Reference PE 279 .D53 1986 Dictionaries
Doe Reference PE 279 .D53 1986 guide
- Middle English Dictionary (MED)
Dictionary of Middle English from 1100-1475. The entries are based on the Southeast
Midland dialect and give variant and grammatical forms, part of speech, etymology,
meanings, and illustrative quotations.
Print: Middle English Dictionary. Ann Arbor, Mi. University of Michigan Press; London: G. Cumberledge, Oxford University Press, 1952 -
Doe Reference PE 679 .M54 Dictionaries
Graduate Services PE 679 .M54
- Oxford English Dictionary (OED)
The accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium, the OED serves as a guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past. It traces the usage of words through 2.5 million quotations from a wide range of international English language sources, from classic literature and specialist periodicals to film scripts and cookery books. It covers words from across the English-speaking world, from North America to South Africa, from Australia and New Zealand to the Caribbean, providing etymological analysis and variant spellings.
Print: The Oxford English dictionary. Prepared by J. A. Simpson and E. S. C. Weiner. 2nd ed. Oxford : Clarendon Press ; New York : Oxford University Press,1989. 20 v.
Doe Reference PE 1625 .O87 1989 Dictionaries; v.1-20
Moffitt Reference PE 1625 .O87 1989; v.1-20
Directories
Alphabetical or subject listings containing names, addresses, and identifying
data of persons, organizations, publications, web sites, etc.
- Electronic Resource Finder
- Print Resources
- Publications of the Modern Language Association.
Baltimore, MD. The Association, 1889 -
Current Periodicals PB 6 .M64; Current issues
Main Stack PB 6 .M64
Graduate Services PB 6 .M64
September issue
has an annual directory of the names and addresses of personal members of the
MLA, administrators of departments, selected staff of learned societies and
selected publishers.
- Indexed Periodicals: a Guide to 170 Years of Coverage in 33 Indexing Services,
by Joseph V. Marconi. Ann Arbor, Mich. : Pierian Press, 1976.
Main Stack PN4832 .A12M27
- The Writers directory
Main Stack PR 106 .W75; Latest volume in Doe Reference
An annual international directory of those who write novels, fiction, drama
and nonfiction. Often contains useful information for contacting the writer.
Dissertation and Thesis Sources
Sources for locating masters theses and doctoral dissertations.
- Electronic Resource Finder
- Print Resources
- Disertation Abtracts. Ann Arbor, Mich. : University
Microfilms, 1952-1956.
Education/Psychology Library AC 801 .M45
Main Stack AC 801 .M45
Dissertation Abstracts International: Part A, the Humanities and Social Sciences. Ann Arbor, Mich. : University
Microfilms International, 1969-
Education/Psychology Library AC 801 .M45 ser. A
Main Stack AC 801 .M45 ser. A
Lists U. S. dissertations from 1861-present. Those from 1980 have abstracts
written by the dissertation author. Includes some European dissertations. Recent
U. C. dissertations may be read online and others may be ordered (for a price)
from UMI online.
Encyclopedias and Almanacs
General or subject-specific encyclopedias, almanacs, and other collections
of factual information.
- Electronic Resource Finder
- Print Resources
- Encyclopedia of World Literature in the 20th Century. 3rd ed. Detroit
: St. James Press, c1999.
Doe Reference PN 771 .E5 1999
- The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature. Edited by Jay Parinin, editor-in-chief. Oxford :
Oxford University Press, 2004.
Doe Reference PS 21 .E537 2004
Moffitt Reference
PS 21 .E537 2004
- Encyclopedia of American Literature. New York : Continuum, 1999.
Doe Reference PS 21 .E53 1999
- The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 6th ed. New York : Oxford
University Press, 2000.
Doe Reference PR 19 .O94 2000
- The Oxford Companion to American Literature. James David Hart. 6th
ed. New York : Oxford University Press, 1995.
Doe Reference PS 21 .H3 1995
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Handbooks, Manuals and Yearbooks
Collections of information designed to help practitioners in a specific field or profession, or in the case of yearbooks, to provide annually cumulated information in brief descriptive and statistic form.
- Print Resources
- A Handbook to Literature.Willliam Harmon. 8th ed. Upper Saddle River,
N.J. : Prentice Hall, 1999.
Doe Reference PN 41 .H355 1999
- A Glossary of Literary Terms.M. H. Abrams. 7th ed. Fort Worth :
Harcourt Brace College Publishers, c1999.
Doe Reference PN 44.5 .A2 1999
Library and Book Catalogs
Listings of books and other items belonging to a particular library or, as with union catalogs, a group of libraries, and usually containing information on the locations and subject classification of each item. This category also includes national bibliographies, or lists of all books published in a particular country.
- Electronic Resource Finder
- Online Resources
- UC Berkeley, UC Systemwide, WorldCat and RLG Union Catalogs
- Specialized English and American Literature Catalogs
- Print Resources
- The National Union Catalog, pre-1956 imprints. (NUC) London, Mansell,
1968-1981.
Main Stack Z 733 .U57 .C22556
An author catalog of the Library of Congress and over a thousand other libraries.
WorldCat does not take the place of checking the NUC since many items in the
printed work are not reproduced online.
- The British Library General Catalogue of Printed Books to 1975. London
: C. Bingley ; New York : K. G. Saur, 1979-1987.
Main Stack Z 921 .B8542 1975
The printed catalog of the Department of Printed Books of the British Library.
Again, no online catalog takes its place for completeness. Entries are listed
by author.
News Databases, Indexes and Web Sites
Listings (may include abstracts or full text) of articles in newspapers, newsmagazines, broadcast news transcripts or wire services. Also includes web sites of these media, or directories of such sites.
- Electronic Resource Finder
- Google News Archive Search
Search a large collection of newspaper, magazine, news and legal archives. The results yield materials that are freely accessible to all users and also those that require a fee to read. Some of the for-fee resources may be available through library subscriptions. Advanced search offers not only more precise searching but also a way to exclude sources that charge a fee.
Organizations
Listings of subject-related associations, learned societies, or professional
organizations.
Web Gateways and Search Engines
Broad, subject-related sites and subject-specific search engines available without restriction on the World Wide Web.
- Voice of the Shuttle: English Literature
The place to begin noodling around on the web in the field of literature. Lists
full-text sources, online journals, listservs. A very useful resource; all
links have been vetted for scholarly worth.
- Literary Resources on the Net
Maintained by Professor Jack Lynch of Rutgers, this site has a multitude of links to literature from Classical times to the present with the focus on English and American literature.
- Labyrinth
Library
A very good web resources for medievalists; it's the product of
an international collaborative project.
- Middle English Compendium (UCB
only)
The Middle English Compendium offers easy access to and interconnectivity with
three major Middle English electronic resources: an electronic version of the
Middle English Dictionary, a HyperBibliography of Middle English prose and
verse, based on the MED bibliographies, and an associated network of electronic
resources, including a large collection of Middle English texts.
- NetSERF, the Internet Connection
for Medieval Resources
Information about all areas of medieval life.
- New Chaucer Society
The Society aims to "provide a forum for teachers and scholars of Geoffrey Chaucer and his age." The website supports that aim, and one does not have to be a member to have access. Of primary interest to nonmembers are the sections Links to Chaucer Resources, which has links to many other sites, and Chaucer Bibliography Online, which includes materials from the Annotated Chaucer Bibliography published annually in Studies in the Age of Chaucer.
- Chaucer Metapage
Organizes web resources on Chaucer.
- Geoffrey Chaucer
Created for use by Chaucer students at Harvard, this site gives an impressive overview of Chaucer and his times. It includes glossed texts, critical articles, and a bibliography. A truly useful site for the study of the period.
- ITER: Gateway to the Renaissance (UCB
only)
A bibliography of articles and reviews drawn from more than a thousand medieval
and Renaissance journal titles covering the years 400-1700.
- The English Renaissance in Context
A collection of tutorials and texts prepared with a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The texts come from the Furness Shakespeare Library at the University of Pennsylvania and include many early editions of Shakespeare as well as the writings of other authors. The multimedia tutorials, 4 on Shakeapearian plays and 4 on topics such as Editing and Unediting, are useful.
- Shakespeare's Staging: Shakespeare's Performance and His Globe Theatre
Created by Hugh Richmond, distinguished scholar, this site concentrates on Shakespeare in performance. Currently the site has two main sections; Performance Bibliography gives written responses to staging of Shakespeare, and the Performance Gallery, a visual outline of approaches to staging Shakespeare. The site also has links to other relevant websites.
- Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet
Created by Terry A. Gray, this site points to the best scholarly Internet resources about Shakespeare. The site gives useful context and, of course, many links. Very useful way to gather materials to study the age.
- Treasures in Full
The British Library has created the following pages: Shakespeare in Quarto, Caxton's Chaucer, Gutenberg Bible, Magna Carta, Renaissance Festival Books, and a preview of Malory's Arthurian manuscript. Users can compare different editions side-by-side and read supporting articles by Library curators and others.
- Eighteenth-Century
Resources
Guide to internet resources on the long eighteenth century.
- Victorian Web
Woven by George Landow at Brown, this is an example of what an intelligently
done web site can be. Useful for many aspects of Victorian life.
- Contemporary Postcolonial & Postimperial
Literature in English
Guide to resources about the United Kingdom and its colonies. Another Landow
site.
-
The Literary Gothic
This site is a "Web guide to all things concerned with literary Gothicism, which includes ghost stories, "classic" Gothic novels and Gothic fiction (1764-1820), and related pre- and post-Gothic and supernaturalist literature written prior to the mid-C20. Its target audience is all students and fans of the Gothic, regardless of age, academic level, profession, or just about anything else." There are many links to Web sites about individual authors, many primary texts, essays and book reviews, and links to related sites.
- PAL: Perspectives in American Literature--A Research and Reference Guide--An Ongoing Project
Created by Paul P. Reuben, Emeritus English Professor at California State University, Stanislaus, this site is a rich resource for tracking down information about trends in American literature and American authors. The site is easy to navigate from the home page and can also be searched. Author entries may have a photo or brief biographical information, a list of primary works (with links to online editions when available), a selected bibliography, and suggested study questions.
- Library of Southern Literature
Part of the University of North Carolina University Library's Documenting the American South, this site contains many literary works published before 1924. The texts, currently about 80 in number, can be browsed by subject or alphabetically.
- Storytellers: Native American Authors Online
Alphabetical and tribal listing of modern poets and novelists with links to websites designed with the collaboration and cooperation of the authors. Some biographies, lists of older authors with links to electronic versions of their work when available. Links to sites about Native American storytelling and to sites of interest to writers and readers.
- Poets.org
Founded in 1934, the Academy of American Poets works "to support American poets at all stages of their careers and to foster the appreciation of contemporary poetry." Their site is particularly rich and deserves careful exploration. The Poets & Poetry section has links to information about poets, audio clips, podcasts, poems for all occasions, essays, and reading recommendations. Also useful is the National Poetry Map with its listing of poets; poems; literary organizations, journals and presses; bookstores; readings and other poetry events. The For Educators section has such helpful information as tips about which poems to teach, essays on the teaching of poetry and a discussion forum.
- Poetry Portal
A gateway to all sorts of information about poetry such as explanations of poetry terms and concepts, events, publishing, competitions, book news.
- Poetry Society of America
The PSA , founded in 1910, is the oldest poetry society in the U.S. The Resources section features useful lists/links to poetry journals, publishers, literary organizations, independent literary bookstores, conferences and other events, contests, and creative writing programs. Also includes articles from the PSA's journal, Crossroads.
- Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Database
Hal W. Hal's creation, this database indexes writing about science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural and weird fiction. History, criticism, commentary, fan writings and a few reviews are all included. It combines Science Fiction and Fantasy Reference Index 1878-1985, Science Fiction and Fantasy Reference Index 1985-1991, and Science Fiction and Fantasy Reference Index 1992-1995 updates with recent materials. The quick search allows simple searches in a single category: author, title, imprint, or subject. The advanced search allows searching of two or more categories or fields, using Boolean operators as connectors. Hall includes a list of magazines regularly indexed and a thesaurus of terms.
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The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
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Last updated
10/06/2009
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