COD Library - Research Guides

Introduction to Humanities: The Arts

Research Guide

Reference Works | Library Catalogs | Indexes | Internet Sites | Writing | Citing Sources

Reference Works

General Sources | Art and Architecture | Film | Literature & Theatre

Specialized reference works like the ones listed below are very useful for research. Specialized encyclopedias can provide useful overviews or convenient explanations. Specialized dictionaries give a more precise defination of terms as they are used by a particular field of study. Concordances can help you locate exactly where particular words appear in texts. The print titles here are located on the first floor of the Library. Browse around the same areas to find other useful titles. To access online sources, just click on the title.

General Sources

Civilization of the Ancient Mediterrean
  Reference DE 59 .C55

Dictionary of the History of Ideas
  Reference CB 5 .D52

Dictionary of the Middle Ages
   Reference D 114 .D5

Encyclopedia of Aesthetics
  Reference BH 56 .E53

Encyclopedia of Greece and the Hellenic Tradition
  Reference DF 757 .E53

Encyclopedia of the Renaissance
   Reference CB 361 .E52

Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium
   Reference DF 521 .O93

World Eras: Classical Greek Civilization, 800-323 B.C.E.
   Reference DF 77 .K49

World Eras: European Renaissance and Reformation, 1350-1600
   Reference CB 359 .W67

World Eras: Roman Republic and Empire, 264 B.C.E.-476 C.E.
   Reference DG 77 .W726

Art and Architecture

Dictionary of Art
  Reference N 31 .D5

Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography
  Reference N 7560 .E53

Encyclopedia of World Art
  Reference N 31 .W6

Grove's Dictionary Of Art Online
Full-text of scholarly articles covering the visual arts from prehistory through the 1990s. Links to images of artistic works and to selected Web sites.

Modern Art Criticism
  Reference N 40 .M63

New York Times Guide to the Arts of the Twentieth Century
  Reference NX 456 .N49

Oxford Guide to Classical Mythology in the Arts, 1300-1990
  Reference NX 650 .M9 R45

Film

Film Review Annual
  Reference PN 1995 .F465

Magill's Cinema Annual
  Reference PN 1993.3 .M34

Magill's Survey of Cinema: Foreign Language Films
  Reference PN 1993.45 .M34

New York Times Film Reviews
  Reference PN 1995 .N4

Variety's Film Reviews
  Reference PN 1993 .V36

Literature and Theatre

American Writers
  Reference PS 129 .A55

Contemporary Literary Criticism
  Reference PN 771 .C59

The Critical Perspective: 20th Century Criticism of British and American Literature to 1904
  Reference PR 85 .C76

Dictionary of Literary Biography: British Philosophers, 1500-1799
  Reference PN 451 .D5 v.252

Dictionary of Literary Biography: British Rhetoricians and Logicians, 1500-1600
  Reference PN 451 .D5 v.236

Dictionary of Literary Biography: Elizabethan Dramatists
  Reference PN 451 .D5 v.62

Dictionary of Literary Biography: Sixteenth Century British Nondramatic Writers
  Reference PN 451 .D5 vols. 132, 136, 167

Dictionary of Literary Biography: Shakespeare, a Documentary Volume
  Reference PN 451 .D5 v.263

Dictionary of Literary Biography: Twentieth Century American Dramatists
  Reference PN 451 .D5 v.7

Drama Criticism
  Reference PN 1601 .D59

Drama for Students
  Reference PN 1601 .D595

Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800
  Reference PN 86 .L56

New York Times Theater Reviews
  Reference PN 2266 .N48

Oxford Companion to Shakespeare
  Reference PR 2892 .O94

Shakespearean Criticism
  Reference PR 2965 .S44

Library Catalogs

Use the catalogs below to locate print and audio-visual materials.

COD Library Catalog
Items in the COD Library only
Illinet Online
Materials at 45 Illinois libraries. You may borrow directly from North Central College Library and Elmhurst College
WorldCat
A large number of US and some world libraries

Indexes

Although the College of DuPage Library has no online indexes specifically for topics in the humanities, many of these general sources cover the topic well. In many cases, the databases will have the full text article available online. If you are using these databases from off-campus, please be sure to have your library card available.

Online Indexes
- Academic Search Premier (1984-present)
- Essay and General Literature Index (1985-present)
  Indexes chapters or essays in books.
  Indexes over 3,000 journals and magazines..
- Expanded Academic Index (1980-present)
  Indexes over 2500 journals and magazines.
- Historical New York Times (1851-1999)
  Full text of the New York Times, excellent for reviews of film, theatre, and art exhibits
- JSTOR
  JSTOR is an archive of digitized journal articles ranging in date from the 1700's to the early 2000's. These collections span a variety of subjects in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Physical Sciences..
- Newspapers (1980s-present)
  Full text of the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times (last 90 days only).
Print Indexes
- Art Index (1929-present)
  Indexes articles in art magazines and journals.
- Essay and General Literature Index (1900-present)
  Indexes chapters or essays in books.
- Humanities Index (1974-present)
  Indexes articles in journals. Earlier titles are Social Sciences and Humanities Index and The International Index.
- Readers Guide to Periodical Literature (1890-present)
  Indexes magazine articles. Particularly good for film and theatre reviews.

Internet Sites

Writing Aids

Dartmouth Writng Program, Materials for Students: Writing the Academic Paper
How to Study and Write for Art
How to Study Theatre
Short Guide to Writing About Art N 7476 .B37
Thinking and Writing About Art History N 380 .R438 2004
Writing About the Humanities PE 1408 .D593 2000

Citing Sources

The MLA format (Modern Language Association) is commonly used to create bibliographies or works cited pages. The sources below may help you.

Marianne Berger, Reference Librarian
630.942.2338
berger@cdnet.cod.edu

21 April 2003