Basic Literary Research - FYS 1399 - 20th Century Novel

Starting Points

It's useful when you are first reading a new author to take a look at background information sources on the literary culture s/he was writing from. The online sources listed below will give you reliable and authoritative information on specific authors, genres, or terms and movements in literature. Spending time with these as you start reading will repay itself in a better understanding of what you are reading.

Gale Literature This link opens in a new window
Simultaneously searches Contemporary Authors (CA), Contemporary Literary Criticism Select (CLC) and Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB). These databases contain in-depth information on the lives and writings of nearly 120,000 authors along with critical reaction to their works. Includes integrated indexes to both the DLB and CLC print series.

Scribner writers series
Includes 15-20 page signed essays on more than 2,000 authors and literary genres drawn from the acclaimed Scribner print series. Essays discuss the writer's life, what influenced him/her, major works written, and the influence of each writer on the time. Each signed article was written by a noted scholar and concludes with a bibliography of primary and secondary sources for further study.
Johns Hopkins guide to literary theory & criticism
The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism is recognized as the most authoritative and even-handed reference to the intellectual traditions of literary theory, from the margins to the mainstream. Contains articles on various literary styles and trends, regional literature (Irish literature, for example), and definitions of the various ways to critique literature (semiotics, psychoanalytic, etc.)
Fiction Theory and Criticism: 3. Early Twentieth-Century British and American
I've added this specific article from the "Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism" because it is so appropriate to the scope of this class.
The Cambridge Companion to the Twentieth-Century English Novel
Provides a "comprehensive" survey of 20th century British novel and novelists in essays covering feminist literature, fantasy, detective fiction, WWI and WWII, working class fiction, and theories of literature.
There are also companions to twentieth century literature of other countries and genres in this collection.
Postmodernism | The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism
This article from the well-respected literary guide provides a history to the use of the term "postmodernism," the chief proponents of it's application to literature and culture, and a bibliography of primary sources on the topic.

Finding Scholarly Journal Articles

Among the expectations of college research is that you will find and use the best scholarly literature for the topic you are working on. To do that, don't use any of the Internet search engines like Google or Bing. You'll get too many results and most of those will be personal opinion rather than educated opinion. To find what scholars (like your professors here at Baylor) are writing about a topic, use the subject database for that field. The two major ones for literature are described below.

MLA international bibliography This link opens in a new window
Provides a subject, author, and title index for books and articles published on modern languages, literatures, folklore, and linguistics. MLA indexers review books, journals, and Web sites for material that relates to all forms of human communication. Coverage includes literature from all over the world--Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America. Other topics include literary theory and criticism, dramatic arts (film, radio, television, theater), and history of printing and publishing. MLA does not provide abstracts for the articles and is not a full-text database, so use the BU InfoLinks button to find how we own a specific article in a journal.

Literature Online (LION)
Covers literary criticism, biography, and reviews of authors from all genres and around the world. Overlaps MLA International Bibliography but has fuller coverage of scholarly journals from Great Britain. Does provide abstracts of the articles and some full text.

FYS 1399 - 20th Century Novel: Basic Literary Research

Starting Points

Finding Scholarly Journal Articles

University Libraries