Guides: ENG 330 American Literature: Home

Researching American Authors and Their Works

American National Biography This link opens in a new window
Access to portraits of more than 18,700 men and women, updated quarterly, features hyperlinked articles from The Oxford Companion to United States History.
Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window
Provides up-to-date biographical information, overviews, full-text literary criticism and reviews on writers in all disciplines, from all time periods and around the world.
MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
Coverage is international and includes literature, language and linguistics, folklore, literary theory and criticism, dramatic arts, as well as the historical aspects of printing and publishing.
In addition, the MLA Directory of Periodicals and their proprietary thesaurus used to assign descriptors within the Bibliography are included.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Archive of interdisciplinary journals and books, covering the Arts, Business & Economics, History, Humanities, Law, Science & Mathematics, Social Sciences, and Religion.
Project MUSE This link opens in a new window
Full-text current and archival articles from scholarly journals covering literature and criticism, history, performing arts, cultural studies, education, philosophy, political science, gender studies, and more.

A Companion to American Literary Studies by Caroline F. Levander (Editor); Robert S. Levine (Editor)
ISBN: 9781405198813
Publication Date: 2011-10-03
Addresses the most provocative questions, subjects, and issues animating the field. Essays provide readers with the knowledge and conceptual tools for understanding American literary studies as it is practiced today, and chart new directions for the future of the subject.
Gale Contextual Encyclopedia of American Literature
Call Number: Online in Gale Virtual Reference Library
ISBN: 9781414431307
Publication Date: 2009-07-03
Covers American authors from many periods and genres

American Authors, Literary Movements, Sites, and Timeline
The purpose of all the American literature pages is to provide useful, interesting, advertising-free information on the subject and to provide links to the best information available for American literature from the earliest days through the 1920s.
more...less...
Created and maintained by Donna Campbell, a tenured associate professor of English at Washington State University.
PAL: Perspectives in American Literature
Organized into ten chapters on the major literary and historical perspectives, cycles, or movements in American literature; each chapter has an Introduction, a Selected Bibliography, and a list of representative authors.
more...less...
Created and maintained by Paul P. Reuben Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, Department of English
California State University, Stanislaus

Naxos Music Library This link opens in a new window
Over 1.45 million tracks of music from the Naxos and other independent music labels; includes background information.
Classical Music Library This link opens in a new window
Streaming access to over classical music recordings. Includes the Music Library Association listing of essential sound recordings.

Use these subject headings to find books in the library catalog:

The Meaning of Superhero Comic Books by Terrence R. Wandtke
ISBN: 9780786490158
Publication Date: 2012
For decades, scholars have been making the connection between the design of the superhero story and the mythology of the ancient folktale. Moving beyond simple comparisons and common explanations, this volume details how the workings of the superhero comics industry and the conventions of the medium have developed a culture like that of traditional epic storytelling.
Contemporary Comic Book Superhero by Angela Ndalianis (Editor)
ISBN: 9780203873090
Publication Date: 2008
Over the last several decades, comic book superheroes have multiplied and, in the process, become more complicated. In this cutting edge anthology an international roster of contributors offer original research and writing on the contemporary comic book superhero.
Captain America and the Struggle of the Superhero by Robert G. Weiner (Editor)
ISBN: 9780786437030
Publication Date: 2009
For more than 60 years, Captain America was one of Marvel Comics' flagship characters, representing truth, strength, liberty, and justice. The assassination of his alter ego, Steve Rogers, rocked the comic world, leaving numerous questions about his life and death.

Comics Databases and Web Sites

Marvel Comics Database
Covers the contents of Marvel comics published since 1939, including cover images, story synopses, credits, etc. Searchable and browsable by title, year, etc.
CBR (Comic Book Resources)
Collection of news, previews, reviews, blogs, etc.
ImageTexT
A peer-reviewed, open access journal dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of comics and related media
Superhero Database | Superheroes, Villans, Teams and Superpowers
Ultimate List of Superheroes and Villains on ComicVine
SANE journal: Sequential Art Narrative in Education
Open access journal
The Comics Grid: Journal of Comics Scholarship
an open access, open peer review academic journal dedicated to comics scholarship.

Helpful information, including examples, can be found on the Purdue OWL MLA Formating and Style Guide (9th ed.)

Additional information about the 9th edition of the MLA Style Handbook can be found in the MLA Style Center, including A Quick Guide to Works Cited, and Ask the MLA