Hum 120B
Course Research
Collins Library

 

Hum 120: Rome & Paris

This web pages is intended as a research guide for students enrolled in Humanities 120.  For research help, contact Lori Ricigliano, Art Liaison Librarian, or Peggy Burge, Humanities Liaison Librarian.

Developing a Research Strategy

When beginning a research project, a good strategy is to begin with general resources that provide an overview of the topic to assist your understanding of the context. Once your question is more focused, review the literature for books and articles on the topic. Finally, locate special resources, including primary sources.

 

Background Information

Use these sources to find an overview of subjects; broad definitions of terms, styles, and historical periods; and examples of works. your topic, define terms, or suggest other sources. Reference books are shelved on the main floor, near the I-Commons.

Chronologies

Chronologies help illustrate the chosen topic's relationship to events of the period. Here are some examples from the reference collection.

Books

To find books in the library, use SIMON, the online catalog. You can search by author, title, subject or keywords. Some suggested subject terms are listed below. Check this call number chart to find the book's location.

 

SIMON subject terms
Copy and paste these terms into SIMON's subject search box. 
Art Renaissance Italy French Literature 17th Century History And Criticism
Architecture Renaissance Italy France Intellectual Life 17th Century
Sculpture Renaissance Italy France Civilization 17th Century
Painting Renaissance Italy France Social Life And Customs 17th Century
Art Patronage Italy Women France History 17th Century
Rome Italy History Siege 1527  

To find books in other libraries, search Summit, a consortium of academic libraries in Washington and Oregon. Books arrive within three days and may be checked out for three weeks.

Databases

ART

Art Index, 1984+
Includes journal abstracts on art, architecture, photography, graphic arts, and related areas.
Restsrictions: 12 simultaneous users

Art Index Retrospective, 1929-1984
Complements Art Index by providing coverage for earlier years.

Bibliography of the History of Art 1973+
Covers European and American art from late antiquity to the present. 
Restrictions: 5 simultaneous users among 4 universities

HISTORY

Historical Abstracts 
World history, excluding the United States and Canada. Scope of historical coverage is 1450 to the present; article citations date from 1955.

Iter 
Scholarly articles relating to the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Focus is on European history, including Eastern Europe and Russia, although some articles devoted to Asian and African history are also included. Scope of historical coverage is 400 through 1700; article citations date from 1842.

HUMANITIES

Humanities International Complete
Covers art, world history, literature, philosophy, religion and the performing arts from 1984 to the present.
Search tip: limit record type to article

Arts & Humanities Search, 1980+
Provides citations to articles, bibliographies, editorials, letters, and reviews. Also allows cited reference searching

GENERAL

JSTOR
a full text journal archive

Academic Search Premier  

 LITERATURE

Literature Resource Center        
Provides full-text bio-critical essays on authors, as well as excerpts from selected works of literature criticism.  Useful for gaining an overview of an author's life, times, and works.                                                    

MLA International Bibliography, 1926+
Indexes research on modern languages, literature, linguistics, and folklore. It includes citations drawn from books, journal articles, essays in books, proceedings, and dissertations.

PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION

Philosopher's Index
Provides indexing and abstracts from books and journals of philosophy and related fields, including ethics and religion.

ATLA Religion Index
covers the intersection of art and religion

 

Article Not Available in the Library?

  If a journal is not available in the library, request it through ILLiad, an interlibrary loan service. You'll need to set up an ILLiad account if you are first time user. Interlibrary loan requests take about 6-10 days so it's important to begin your research early.

 

Primary Sources

The phrase primary source means first hand information: the letters and diaries of an individual, eyewitness accounts, personal interviews, and the original works of art and literature. Below are some examples of primary sources.

Iconography

Iconography is the study of the meaning of a work's subjects and symbols and any literary references from which they derive. The following sources are good starting points.

Citing Sources Using

RefWorks, a tool designed to import references from multiple databases and automatically format your papers and bibliographies in a variety of style guides, including Chicago, APA and MLA.
 

Access http://ezproxy.ups.edu/login?url=http://www.refworks.com and then enter your personal login name and password. First time users need to sign up for an individual account.

For tips on how to use RefWorks with different databases, go to http://www.ups.edu/x14864.xml.

Content Contact: Lori Ricigliano
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