LibGuides: FYWB 1126: Reading the Future (Shelichach): Reference Resources

Using Encyclopedias in your Research

Wikipedia

As the world's largest encyclopedia, Wikipedia's coverage is vast. You are more likely to find articles on obscure topics in Wikipedia than you would anywhere else. But is Wikipedia accurate? While Wikipedia can be edited by anyone in the world (including you!), scholarly encyclopedias like Encyclopedia Britannica are written and edited by experts in their fields. However, 2005 study in the journal Nature weighed the accuracy of science articles on Wikipedia against the more scholarly Encyclopedia Britannica, Wikipedia was found to be nearly as accurate in the 42 articles investigated. Encyclopedia Britannica refuted these claims. When using Wikipedia, or any encyclopedia for that matter, it is wise to verify what you find.

Strengths of Wikipedia

Wikipedia is updated frequently. New information can be, and often is, added to the site within minutes. Due to editorial limitations, scholarly encyclopedias are usually updated annually.
Because Wikipedia crowd sourced, there is the potential for a broader authorship than is found in academic publications.
Citations in Wikipedia offer a wider array of materials, including articles and resources that are available for free and online.

Weaknesses of Wikipedia

Editors on Wikipedia are not necessarily experts. Authorship on Wikipedia is often anonymous or obscured.
Articles are always changing, making them difficult to cite in your research. An article you read today, may look quite different tomorrow.
Articles can be vandalized, providing wildly inaccurate information.

Ways to use Wikipedia

Use Wikipedia to get a general idea about a topic you are interested in.
Wikipedia is great for generating keywords for further searching in CLIO and elsewhere.
Check the citations, recommended resources and external links to guide you to more scholarly work.

Scholarly Encyclopedias

Similar to Wikipedia, these resources provide an overview on a given topic, but the authors are experts in the fields they are covering. Below you will find a few general encyclopedia collections with coverage across a wide variety of fields.

Credo
Credo is a database of background content. It's full-text and can help you learn the basics of any topic. Start your research here to focus your topic, find keywords and people, and discover more in-depth books and articles.
Gale Virtual Reference Library
Gale Virtual Reference Library is a database of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research.
Oxford Reference Library
Brings together digitized entries from Oxford's Dictionaries, Companions and Encyclopedias, spanning multiple subject areas.

Sage Knowledge
A database of ebooks and reference books published by SAGE covering the social sciences and education, including such areas as African American Studies, Aged & Gerontology, Anthropology, Communication and Media Studies, Criminology and Criminal Justice, Economics, Education, Gender & Sexuality Studies, History, Politics, Psychology, Social Issues, Social Work & Social Policy, and Sociology.

[image] Suze Meyers, Feminist Wikipedia, 2016.

Science Fiction and Environmental Narrative Companions

The Cambridge Companion to American Science Fiction by Gerry Canavan (Editor); Eric Carl Link (Editor)
Call Number: Ebook
ISBN: 9781107052468
Publication Date: 2015-01-26
The Cambridge Companion to American Science Fiction explores the relationship between the ideas and themes of American science fiction and their roots in the American cultural experience. Science fiction in America has long served to reflect the country's hopes, desires, ambitions, and fears. The ideas and conventions associated with science fiction are pervasive throughout American film and television, comics and visual arts, games and gaming, and fandom, as well as across the culture writ large. Through essays that address not only the history of science fiction in America but also the influence and significance of American science fiction throughout media and fan culture, this companion serves as a key resource for scholars, teachers, students, and fans of science fiction.
The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction by Edward James (Editor); Farah Mendlesohn (Editor)
Call Number: Ebook
ISBN: 0521816262
Publication Date: 2003-11-20
Science fiction is at the intersection of numerous fields. It is a literature which draws on popular culture, and which engages in speculation about science, history, and all types of social relations. This volume brings together essays by scholars and practitioners of science fiction, which look at the genre from these different angles. After an introduction to the nature of science fiction, historical chapters trace science fiction from Thomas More to more recent years, including a chapter on film and television. The second section introduces four important critical approaches to science fiction drawing their theoretical inspiration from Marxism, postmodernism, feminism and queer theory. The final and largest section of the book looks at various themes and sub-genres of science fiction. A number of well-known science fiction writers contribute to this volume, including Gwyneth Jones, Ken MacLeod, Brian Stableford Andy Duncan, James Gunn, Joan Slonczewski, and Damien Broderick.
Environment and Narrative by Erin James (Editor); Eric Morel (Editor)
Call Number: Butler PN98.E36 E55 2020
ISBN: 9780814214206
Publication Date: 2020-01-22
Never before has a collection of original essays strived to create such constructive, shared discourse between ecocritical, narrative scholars and environmental humanities scholars interested in narrative. Erin James and Eric Morel's volume Environment and Narrative: New Directions in Econarratology explores the complexity of pairing material environments and their representations with narrative forms of understanding. To explore the methodological possibilities within "econarratology," the contributors evaluate the mechanics of how narratives convey environmental understanding via building blocks such as the organization of time and space, characterization, focalization, description, and narration. They also query how readers emotionally and cognitively engage with such representations and how the process of encountering different environments in narratives stands to affect real-world attitudes and behaviors. By positioning narratives as important repositories of values, political and ethical ideas, and behaviors that determine how we engage with our ecological homes, the authors in this volume suggest that to change the way that we interact with the environment requires not only new stories but also a better understanding of the ones that have long been in circulation.
Reconfiguring Human Nonhuman and Posthuman in Literature and Culture by Sanna Karkulehto; Aino-Kaisa Koistinen; Essi Varis
Call Number: Ebook
ISBN: 9780367197476
Publication Date: 2019-09-01
The time has come for human cultures to seriously think, to severely conceptualize, and to earnestly fabulate about all the nonhuman critters we share our world with, and to consider how to strive for more ethical cohabitation. Reconfiguring Human, Nonhuman and Posthuman in Literature and Culture tackles this severe matter within the framework of literary and cultural studies. The emphasis of the inquiry is on the various ways actual and fictional nonhumans are reconfigured in contemporary culture - although, as long as the domain of nonhumanity is carved in the negative space of humanity, addressing these issues will inevitably clamor for the reconfiguration of the human as well.
The Routledge Companion to Science Fiction by Mark Bould (Editor); Sherryl Vint (Editor); Adam Roberts (Editor); Andrew Butler (Editor)
Call Number: Ebook
ISBN: 9780415453783
Publication Date: 2009-03-16
The Routledge Companion to Science Fiction is a comprehensive overview of the history and study of science fiction. It outlines major writers, movements, and texts in the genre, established critical approaches and areas for future study. Fifty-six entries by a team of renowned international contributors are divided into four parts which look, in turn, at: history - an integrated chronological narrative of the genre's development theory - detailed accounts of major theoretical approaches including feminism, Marxism, psychoanalysis, cultural studies, postcolonialism, posthumanism and utopian studies issues and challenges - anticipates future directions for study in areas as diverse as science studies, music, design, environmentalism, ethics and alterity subgenres - a prismatic view of the genre, tracing themes and developments within specific subgenres. Bringing into dialogue the many perspectives on the genre The Routledge Companion to Science Fiction is essential reading for anyone interested in the history and the future of science fiction and the way it is taught and studied.

General Reference Resources

Cambridge Companions
Cambridge Companions are a series of authoritative guides, written by leading experts, offering lively, accessible introductions to major writers, artists, philosophers, topics, and periods.
Credo
Credo is a database of background content. It's full-text and can help you learn the basics of any topic. Start your research here to focus your topic, find keywords and people, and discover more in-depth books and articles
Gale Virtual Reference Library
Gale Virtual Reference Library is a database of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research.

The Cambridge Companion to Feminist Literary Theory by Ellen Rooney (Editor)
Call Number: Butler Stacks PN98.W64 C35 2006 & ebook
ISBN: 0521807069
Publication Date: 2006-07-06
Feminism has dramatically influenced the way literary texts are read, taught and evaluated. Feminist literary theory has deliberately transgressed traditional boundaries between literature, philosophy and the social sciences in order to understand how gender has been constructed and represented through language. This lively and thought-provoking Companion presents a range of approaches to the field. Some of the essays demonstrate feminist critical principles at work in analysing texts, while others take a step back to trace the development of a particular feminist literary method. The essays draw on a range of primary material from the medieval period to postmodernism and from several countries, disciplines and genres. Each essay suggests further reading to explore this field further. This is the most accessible guide available both for students of literature new to this developing field, and for students of gender studies and readers interested in the interactions of feminism, literary criticism and literature.

Dictionary of Literary Biography Complete Online
Provides access to biographical essays focusing on all genres and time periods of American and British literature and selected other literatures. Essays discuss the lives and careers of authors and summarize critical responses to their work.

A Dictionary of Philosophy by Antony Flew (Editor); Stephen Priest (Editor)
Call Number: Offsite B41 .D52 2002g & ebook
ISBN: 0330487302
Publication Date: 2002-08-01
Comprehensive and up-to-date, this new edition of A Dictionary of Philosophy spans 2500 years of philosophical thought and offers a reference to the student of philosophy and the general reader alike. It has extensive coverage of modern and historical fields, encompassing personalities, terminology, and vocabulary; it extends from the classical thinkers through Aquinas, Escartes, Spinoza, and Kant to Russell, Wittgenstein, Husserl, Baudrillard, and Derrida; and particular attention is given to continental philosophy. There are over 2000 entries, with full cross-references.

Literature Criticism Online
Literature Criticism Online brings together up to 10 acclaimed multidisciplinary series representing a range of modern and historical views on authors and their works across regions, eras and genres. Multiple search options are combined with an engaging format that matches the look and feel of the print originals.

Dictionary of Literary Themes and Motifs by Jean-Charles Seigneuret (Editor); A. Owen Aldridge; Armin Arnold; Peter H. Lee
Call Number: Butler Reference R803 D559
ISBN: 0313229430
Publication Date: 1988-11-21
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Consists of 143 essays contributed by 98 specialists in world literature. Topics covered include themes relating to adventure, family life, the supernatural, eroticism, status, humor, idealism, terror, and many other categories of human experience. Each entry begins with a definition and a sketch on the origin and historical background of the literary theme. The topical essay discusses the significance and occurrence of the theme in world literature and supplies information on geographical area, genre, style, and chronology. Entries conclude with a selected bibliography of scholarship in the area. A cross-index to themes and motifs will enable the reader to find information on secondary or related topics.
Encyclopedia of Feminist Literary Theory by Elizabeth Kowaleski-Wallace (Editor)
Call Number: ebook
ISBN: 0815308248
Publication Date: 1996-11-01
An essential resource for scholars and students of feminist literary studies. The book offers a new, extended introduction outlining recent developments in the field such as ecofeminism, globalism and diaspora, defining emerging terms such as cisgendered and documenting the evolution of queer theory.
Encyclopedia of Literary Critics and Criticism by Chris Murray (Editor)
Call Number: Butler Reference R803 En191
ISBN: 1579581447
Publication Date: 1999-12-01
The two-volume set includes 375 entries on both Western and non-Western literary traditions, from the start of criticism with the Greeks through postmodernism. Varying in length from a couple of long paragraphs to several pages, the entries are of four different types: on individuals, surveys of literary periods, essays on critical theories, and definitions of key concepts. The entries on individuals, such as Roland Barthes and Jacques Derrida, investigate in detail the critic's thinking and influence. The surveys of literary periods cover different schools or time periods, including 20th-century French, British, and American theory. The criticism essays explain 28 different schools such as reader-response and semiotics, while terms covered in the short-definitions sections range from the surreal to the pastoral. More extensive in scope (both in geographical range and time periods) than other like references.