Literary Research: Strategies and Sources - Böcker

Recognizing that every literary era presents scholars with particular challenges, this volume covers the best practices and describes important reference resources, both print and electronic, that can be used in conducting literary research of the British Renaissance and Early Modern period. Although the primary emphasis is on literature produced in England, the guide also covers literature from Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. This book addresses specific research characteristics integral to studying the period, including a more inclusive canon and the predominance of Shakespeare, a dual environment of print and manuscript production, the challenges of reading early modern handwriting, a lack of reviewing media, the role of translations, and researching non-standardized genres, among others. Central to this volume and to literary research of the era are the equally valid approaches to studying this literature through the more traditional Renaissance lens or through the varying theoretical approaches falling under the rubric early modern.Bowers and Keeran explore primary and secondary research resources of this era, including general literary research guides; union library catalogs; print and online bibliographies; scholarly journals; manuscripts and archives; microfilm and digitization projects; 17th-century periodicals; contemporary reception; translations and lexicons; genres; and electronic texts, journals, and Web resources. A final chapter, entitled "Researching a Thorny Problem," demonstrates how many of the research tools and strategies presented in the volume can be employed to explore a question that perhaps has no definitive answer. Each chapter addresses how research methods and tools are best used to extract relevant information and compare and evaluate sources. The strengths and weaknesses of core and specialized electronic and print research tools and standard search techniques are also examined, making this book an invaluable guide to any scholar of the Renaissance and early modern era.

The early years of American nationhood, beginning at the close of colonial rule and ending with the onset of the Civil War, saw both a young country and its literature grow in confidence and develop an awareness of self-identity. Pride in the new nation was a primary characteristic of much literary output in the early years of the country, whether in the form of fiction, poetry, drama, essay, travel writing, or journal. As the country grew and generations began to be born on the new land, Romanticism took hold, lauding not only the construct of the nation but also the natural power and potential of the country. This era of American literary expression has left behind a rich legacy of traditionally canonized authors, as well as material published in the growing periodical press that was of immediate importance to the population at the time.Literary Research and the Era of American Nationalism and Romanticism: Strategies and Sources examines the resources that deal with the literature produced in the approximately 70 years of antebellum American literature. Covering all formats, the volume discusses bibliographies, indexes, research guides, archives, special collections, microform, and digital primary text resources and how they are best utilized for a literary research project. Suggestions are offered for best practices for research while exploring a wide selection of resources that run the gamut from classic standards of American literary bibliography through contemporary open-access digital resources.

Literary Research and Irish Literature: Strategies & Sources explores primary and secondary research resources relevant to the study of Irish literary authors, works, genres, and history. Sources covered include general literary research guides; union library catalogs; print and online bibliographies; manuscripts and archives; microfilm and digitization projects; scholarly journals; periodicals, newspapers, and reviews; and electronic and Web resources.To ease comparison and evaluation of references, each chapter addresses how to choose and utilize research methods and tools to yield the most relevant information. This guide also examines the strengths and weaknesses of core and specialized electronic and print research tools and standard search techniques and—when appropriate—covers the historical and cultural contexts and usability issues of unique reference sources. This volume, number 5 in the series, raises trenchant issues in Irish literary scholarship, such as the problem of defining what Irish literature is; gaps in criticism and secondary literature devoted to Irish literature; neglected areas of scholarly inquiry, including Irish literature by women and lesser-known writers; and the rewards of interdisciplinary research. It concludes with a brief consideration of a scenario illustrating how a scholar might use strategies and sources covered in the text to solve a research problem.

Literary Research and the Literatures of Australia and New Zealand: Strategies and Sources is a research guide to the literatures of the two major countries of Oceania: Australia and New Zealand. Covering over 200 years of these geographically and chronologically connected countries, this guide contains references to many different types of resources, illustrating how the researcher is best served by using the increasing variety of research tools in combination with each other.The book emphasizes research methodology and outlines the best practices for the research process, paying special attention to the unique challenges inherent in conducting research on the literatures of Australia and New Zealand specifically. The book includes commentary on general literary reference materials; library catalogs; print and online bibliographies, indexes, and annual reviews; scholarly journals; contemporary reviews; period journals and newspapers; microform and digital collections; manuscripts and archives; and web resources. It is an essential tool for anyone conducting research on Australia or New Zealand, and it is a helpful guide for readers with a special interest in these countries' literatures.

Focusing on work produced between 1880 and 1945, Literary Research and British Modernism: Strategies and Sources provides scholars with the necessary methods and tools for studying the literature of this period. This reference guide will facilitate research into the works of such major modernist writers as James Joyce, T. S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf, E.M. Forster, Joseph Conrad, and Somerset Maugham, as well as lesser known or forgotten authors of the era.The book discusses research methodology and the best practices for the research process, especially regarding the research challenges unique to works of British modernism. This resource includes commentary on general literary reference materials; library catalogs; print and online bibliographies, indexes, and annual reviews; scholarly journals; contemporary reviews; period journals and newspapers; microform and digital collections; manuscripts and archives; and Web resources. This book is an important and helpful guide for researchers of British Modernism and general interested readers alike.

The diverse literatures of Victorian and Edwardian Britain have provided a wealth of research materials for novice and expert researchers alike. Although the body of scholarship for the Edwardian Age is smaller than that of the Victorian, researchers should have no shortage of resources for learning more about the literatures of either time period. While many of the novels, plays, poetry, and prose from the Victorian and Edwardian Ages are still readily available in print, a vast amount of literature has long since fallen out of print. Recent efforts in digitization—the Victorian Women Writers Project; English Literary Periodicals, 1681-1914; Early British Periodicals, 1681-1921; 19th Century British Library Newspapers; 19th Century U.K. Periodicals; Times Digital Archives; Victorian Popular Culture; and even Google Books—have helped to make many texts more widely accessible.Literary Research and the Victorian and Edwardian Ages, 1830-1910 discusses traditional and new resources for researching this period of British literature and the ways in which those resources can be used in conjunction with one another. By helping readers navigate the resources and issues particular to these literatures, this book will serve as an essential guide to researching the literatures of the Victorian and Edwardian Ages.

Canada's rich literary heritage, dominated by a multicultural and multilingual presence, reflects the country's unique history and experience. In addition, an emerging body of new writers is redefining both the geographic and metaphorical boundaries of Canadian literature. Coupled with the propagation of digital technologies, Canada's burgeoning publishing industry presents unique challenges for both the introductory and seasoned literary researcher. Literary Research and Canadian Literature: Strategies and Sources provides researchers with the tools to navigate Canada's multifaceted literary scene.This guide addresses the tools and best practices for selecting and evaluating print and electronic sources related to the extensive and varied literature of Canada. Beginning with an overview of the strategies needed to conduct online research, individual chapters examine general literary reference materials; relevant online library catalogs, including national and union library catalogs; scholarly journals; archival collections; microform and digital collections; periodicals, literary magazines, newspapers, and reviews; and Web and electronic resources. Special topics discussed include "little magazines," scholarly gateways, and cultural resources. The guide culminates in a chapter that illustrates the application of the strategies explored to solve a research problem. The strategies discussed within the guide are applicable to both canonical and lesser-known authors, therefore making this work relevant to anyone interested in researching Canadian literature.

Postcolonial literatures can be defined as the body of creative work written by authors whose lands were formerly subjugated to colonial rule. In previous volumes of this series, the research literature of former British colonies Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand have been addressed. This volume offers guidance for those researching the postcolonial literature of the former British colonies in Africa, the Caribbean, and South Asia. Among the forty nations represented in this volume are South Africa, India, Pakistan, Ghana, Jamaica, Swaziland, Belize, and Namibia. With the exception of South Africa (which formed the Union of South Africa in 1910), this guide picks up its coverage in 1947, when both India and Pakistan gained their independence. The literature created by writers from these nations represents the diverse experiences in the postcolonial condition and are the subject of this book. The volume provides best-practice suggestions for the research process and discusses how to take advantage of primary text resources in a variety of formats, both digital and paper based: bibliographies, indexes, research guides, archives, special collections, and microforms.

The 18th century in Britain was a transition period for literature. Patronage, either by a benefactor or through subscription, lingered even as the publishing and bookselling industries developed. The practice of reviewing books became well established during the second half of the century, with the first periodical founded in 1749. For the literary scholar, these gradual changes mean that different search strategies are required to conduct research into primary and secondary source material across the era.Literary Research and the British Eighteenth Century addresses these unique challenges. It examines how the following all contribute to the richness of literary research for this era: book and periodical publishing; a growing literate society; dissemination of literature through salons, private societies, and coffee houses; the growing importance of book reviews; the explosion of publishing; and the burgeoning of primary source material available through new publishing and digital initiatives in the 21st century.This volume explores primary and secondary resources, including general literary research guides; union library catalogs; print and online bibliographies; scholarly journals; manuscripts and archives; 18th-century books, newspapers, and periodicals; contemporary reception; and electronic texts and journals, as well as Web resources. Each chapter addresses the research methods and tools best used to extract relevant information and compares and evaluates sources, making this book an invaluable guide to any literary scholar and student of the British eighteenth century.

Literary Research and American Postmodernism is a guide to scholarly research in the field of American postmodern literature, which this volume defines as the period between 1950 and 1990. This work aims to provide advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and scholars of literature with a comprehensive view of the print and online resources available in literature and related subject areas. The volume offers best practices for research, especially for the challenges inherent to the field of American postmodernism, and provides scholars with a path toward success in their research endeavors. The opening chapters describe the state of academic research in the literary field and how to formulate an appropriate research topic, develop keywords, and use advanced search techniques to improve search results. One chapter is devoted to how to navigate library catalogs, read a catalog record, and locate materials in libraries worldwide. Subsequent chapters describe general reference resources, print and electronic bibliographies, and scholarly journals that focus on literature in the second half of the twentieth century. The author identifies resources for locating the book reviews and historical magazines and newspapers that can offer insight into the history of particular author’s publications. The unique challenges and promises of archival research are outlined, along with tips for getting the most out of a trip to a special collections library to perform primary research. Web resources and techniques for finding scholarly resources on the Internet are addressed in addition to subscription-based or library-owned materials. The final chapter synthesizes the information described in the previous chapters by taking the reader through a real-life research question and demonstrating how a scholar might locate resources on a difficult topic. An appendix of resources in related fields suggests additional directions the researcher might explore.

Literary Research and British Postmodernism is a guide for scholars that aims to connect the complex relationships between print and multimedia, technological advancements, and the influence of critical theory that converge in postwar British literature. This era is unique in that strict boundaries between fiction, nonfiction, multimedia and print are not useful. Postmodern literature is defined by the breaking down of boundaries as a reaction to modernism and requires an innovative, multifaceted approach to research. In this guide the authors explore these complex relationships and offer strategies for researching this new period of literature.This book takes a holistic approach to postmodern literature that recognizes the way in which digital media, film, critical theory, popular music and more traditional print sources are inextricably linked. Through this approach, the authors present a broad view of “postmodernism” that includes a wide variety of British authors writing in the last half of the twentieth century. The book’s definition of “postmodern” includes any British literature following World War II that engages issues central to postmodern theory, including the social construction of gender, sexuality, and power; the subjectivity of truth; technology as a social force; intertextuality; metafiction; post-colonial narrative; and fantasy. This guide aims to aid researchers of postwar British literature by defining best practices for scholars conducting research in a period so broadly varied in the way it defines literature.

Literary Research and British Postmodernism is a guide for scholars that aims to connect the complex relationships between print and multimedia, technological advancements, and the influence of critical theory that converge in postwar British literature. This era is unique in that strict boundaries between fiction, nonfiction, multimedia and print are not useful. Postmodern literature is defined by the breaking down of boundaries as a reaction to modernism and requires an innovative, multifaceted approach to research. In this guide the authors explore these complex relationships and offer strategies for researching this new period of literature.This book takes a holistic approach to postmodern literature that recognizes the way in which digital media, film, critical theory, popular music and more traditional print sources are inextricably linked. Through this approach, the authors present a broad view of “postmodernism” that includes a wide variety of British authors writing in the last half of the twentieth century. The book’s definition of “postmodern” includes any British literature following World War II that engages issues central to postmodern theory, including the social construction of gender, sexuality, and power; the subjectivity of truth; technology as a social force; intertextuality; metafiction; post-colonial narrative; and fantasy. This guide aims to aid researchers of postwar British literature by defining best practices for scholars conducting research in a period so broadly varied in the way it defines literature.

Literary Research and the Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Eras: Strategies and Sources is a guide to scholarly research in the field of medieval English literature covering the period 450 CE to 1500 CE. Graduate students and scholars researching this period face many challenges: working in two distinct literary traditions, comprehending multiple languages (Old English, Middle English, Latin, Anglo-Norman, and French), knowing the manuscript tradition for a particular title and the research methodologies for discovering and locating primary sources in the print and digital realms, and the awareness of the overlap and assimilation of literary themes with religious, historical, cultural, and political perspectives. The volume presents the best practices for building a foundation of sound scholarship practices in the field of medieval English literature.This volume explores primary and secondary resources, including general literary research guides; types of library catalogs; print and online bibliographies and indexes; scholarly journals and series; manuscripts, archives, and digital collections; genres; tools for understanding Old and Middle English such as dictionaries, lexicons, thesauri, glosses, etymologies, palaeographies, and text mining tools; and Web resources. The final chapter researches the shifting reputation of the poet, Thomas Hoccleve. Given the interdisciplinary nature of medieval studies, an appendix of additional readings in art, history, music, philosophy, religion, science, social sciences, and theater is provided.