ENG 273: American Novel
To present information about your novelist, you will want to explore both print and online information. This guide will give you some pointers, but feel free to dig deeper - and ask questions at the reference desk as they arise.
biographies / historical context / articles / images
Look up your author in MnPALS and browse the shelves, paying attention to publication dates.
. . . or check these reference books:
American National Biography. 24 vols with supp. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. (Ref CT 213 .A68 1999) Offers over 17,000 scholarly biographical sketches of significant Americans who died before 1996. The definitive source for American biography.
Dictionary of Literary Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1978-- (Ref PS 221 .A5) This set provides lengthy articles of biographical information and some critical appraisal of literary works. The volumes are arranged thematically, with a cumulative index in the last volume.
American Literary Scholarship. Durham, NC: Duke UP, 1963-- (Ref PS 3 .A47) This annual publication surveys research in American literature and gives the reader a critical look at the trends in literary studies as well as citations to current research on writers and periods. There are sections specifically on some of the writers covered in this course. You can get a sense of changing critical reputations by sampling earlier volumes back to 1963.
American Writers. 4 vols. with many supplements. New York: Scribner's, 1979-- (Ref PS 129 .A55) This series gives analyses of the life and work of major American writers, arranged chronologically and with an alphabetical index.
Columbia Literary History of the United States. New York: Columbia UP, 1988. (Ref PS .C64 1987) The most recent in a series of standard literary histories, this work emphasizes contemporary approaches to literature and the rediscovery of literatures previously marginalized. Arrangement is thematic and chronological. If you want to see how reputations have changed over the years, compare this volume with information found in The Cambridge History of American Literature (1917 - Ref PS 88 .C3) and Literary History of the United States (1953 - Ref PS 88 .L5 1953)
For historical events and context check these reference books:
American Decades. 10 vols. Detroit: Gale, 1994. (Ref E 169.12 .A419 1994) Presents social and cultural history in ten-year periods, covering the arts, business, fashion, law, medicine, religion, and more.
Dictionary of American History. 3rd ed. 9 vols. New York: Scribner's, 2003. (Ref E 174 .D52 2003) An encyclopedia of political, cultural, social, economic, and military history in the United States. The ninth volume contains historical maps and primary documents.
Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History. 5 vols. New York: Simone and Schuster Macmillan, 1996 (Ref E 185 .E54 1996) A wide-ranging encyclopedia covering people, places, events, concepts, and topics of all sorts. Articles are written by specialists and have useful bibliographies. Edited by Jack Salzman, David Lionel Smith, and Cornel West.
Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History. 3 vols. New York: Scribner's, 2001 (Ref E 169 .E624 2001) Provides in-depth articles on American thought and culture. Topics covered include historical approaches, cultural groups, major cultural regions, and political thought.
Encyclopedia of American Social History. 3 vols. New York: Scribner's, 1993. (Ref HN 57 .E58 1993) Filling in the holes left in conventional political/biographical history sources, this set covers topics such as religion, class, gender, race, popular culture, regionalism, and every day life from pre-Columbian to modern times in lengthy and well-documented articles.
Encyclopedia of American Studies. 4 vols. New York: Grolier, 2001. (Ref E 169.1 .E625 2001) Published under the auspices of the American Studies Association, this set covers concepts key to the interdisciplinary field, issues related to class, race, and ethnicity, cultural institutions, popular culture, social history, and more.
Encyclopedia of the United States in the Nineteenth Century. 3 vols. New York: Scribner's, 2001.(Ref E 169.1 .E626 2001) Covers major ideas and issues in American social, political, and military history, with articles as specif as "The Chinese Exlusion Act" and as broad as "Domestic Life."
Encyclopedia of the United States in the Twentieth Century. 4 vols. New York: Scribner's, 1996. (Ref E740.7.E53 1996 ) An ambitious survey of American cultural, social, and intellectual history in broad articles arranged topically. Each essay/article is followed by a thorough and very useful bibliography for further research.
Academic Search Premier - an all-purpose database that includes current articles and citations from both popular magazines and scholarly journals. This will provide better coverage of contemporary, popular writers (e.g. Boyle and Franzen) than the databases listed below.
JSTOR - a full-text archive of scholarly journals in many fields including history and literature. Pay attention to the publication dates - many of these articles were published decades ago and reflect outdated critical or historical approaches. JSTOR does not include the most recent three-five years.
MLA Bibliography - the most complete listing of books, articles, book chapters, and dissertations in language and literature. Does not link to full text. Because it is so thorough, most of the books and articles found here have to be ordered through Interlibrary Loan.
The Making of America - a digital library of primary sources in 19th century American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. Includes the text of over 8,000 books and 50,000 journal articles. Only useful for writers who fall within this time-frame (e.g. Hawthorne)
The Dictionary of Art. 34 vols. New York: Grove's Dictionaries, 1996. (Ref N 31 .D5 1996) An exhaustive encyclopedia of world art, containing articles written by scholars on artists, movements, works, and subjects, each followed by a selective bibliography.
...browsing the books that cover Amercan Literature (PS) American history (E - F) and art (N); check the Oversized section (third floor, southwest corner) for coffee-table books that include lots of images.
...browsing the atlas cases (behind the Hasselquist Room) for historical atlases.
...or browsing these Web resources:
Barbara Fister 2/06