Assignment Guide | English 2322 | Professor Joan
Samuelson
Discretion,
Piety, Charity, and Prudence
instruct
Christian at the Palace Beautiful.
(from Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, With Over One Hundred
Illustrations Designed by Frederick Barnard and Others, Engraved by
Dalziel Brothers
(Philadelphia: John C. Winston Company, 1894).
The best library assignments are ones that
use a variety of resources including books, newspaper and journal articles,
internet sites, and even videos or audiocassettes. We encourage you to use
a variety of sources for your paper. Books should provide some of the best
information for literary and historic topics. You may apply for a library card and request
materials online. We hope you will take full advantage of the many resources
our libraries offer.
A critical or historical study of one of the following (meaning that the
focus has a purpose for showing the importance and influence of the topic
in British history, art, and culture):
Medieval or Renaissance music
Medieval art or architecture
Castles or cathedrals
Medieval armor
The Crusades
Plagues
Crime and/or use of public executions
The Great London Fire
Arthurian materials
Rise of the sonnet, satire, periodical essay, or English novel
The English Church and any part of its development from the medieval period
through the eighteenth century
Inventions, medicine, or science from the medieval period through the age
of enlightenment
William Wallace (Braveheart)
The Plantagenets
The Black Prince
Henry VIII
Elizabeth I
Mary Queen of Scots
Oliver Cromwell
Other topics in British culture
or history must be approved by your instructor. These topics must focus
on Britain during the course timeline
(medieval through 18th century).
You may also write a critical analysis of one of the following works: The Canterbury Tales, King Lear, Dr. Faustus,
Volpone, Pilgrim's Progress, Clarissa Harlowe, Tristram Shandy, or Joseph
Andrews.
Librarian Talk . . . About Getting Started!
As you begin,
narrow your topic to a size that you can manage. Consider keywords
that will help you find the information you need. These can be names of people,
literary works, events, or broader identifying terms. Use these keywords
for locating information in the library catalog, electronic databases, and
on the internet.
Sample Keywords:
Medieval Art; Crusades; Black Death - England; Medieval History - Great
Britain; Medieval Architecture; Renaissance - England; Alexander Pope; Samuel
Johnson; Renaissance Literature; Music - 16th Century; Mary, Queen of Scots;
Pilgrim's Progress - Criticism; Church of England - History.
BOOKS
Librarian Talk . . . About Books!
Books offer helpful information about historical background, settings, authors, and many other topics related to your research.. Literary criticism may be compiled in a book. The catalog is online at Kingwood College Library Catalog. If you want criticism of a literary work, try searching the title of the work andcriticism.
Electronic books, or eBooks, are available at NetLibrary. You will need a library card barcode number to read eBooks from off-campus.
Apply online for a library card (for Distance Learning students). For quicker results, after you submit the application, call the circulation desk at 281-312-1691 and ask them to process it. Use your card to:
Place a hold on a book.
Request a book listed in the catalog but available from another location.
Access databases from home.
Books may be among the greatest resources
for your research. Here are a few suggested reference books:
REF CB361 .B43 1987 The
Encyclopedia of the Renaissance. NY: Facts on File, 1987.
REF D114 .D5 1989Dictionary of the
Middle Ages. NY: Scribner, 1989. | 13-volume set covering all aspects
of the Middle Ages -- people, events, art, literature, religion, music, law,
and everyday life.
REF D208 .N4 v.1 The New Cambridge
Modern History: vol. I, The Renaissance, 1493-1520. London: Cambridge
University Press, 1957. | Covers art, literature, religion, education -- worldwide,
not just Great Britain.
REF DA315 .T753Tudor England: an Encyclopedia. NY:
Garland, 2001.
REF DA320 .E48The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in Renaissance
England. Cincinnati, OH: Writer's Digest Books, 1996.
REF DA357 .W34Historical Dictionary of the Elizabethan
World. Phoenix: Oryx Press, 1999.
REF
PN50 .M625World Literature
and Its Times. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999-. | Multi-volume reference with profiles of notable literary
works and the historical events that influenced them. Volume 3 covers
British and Irish literature from the beginnings through the 1830s.
REF PN86 .L553 Literature Criticism
from 1400 to 1800. Detroit: Gale, 1984-. | Multi-volume collection
of excerpted literary criticisms with introductory essays about
the authors and their critiqued works.
REF PN610 .C53 Classical and Medieval Literature
Criticism. Detroit: Gale, 1988-. |
Multi-volume collection of excerpted literary criticisms of writings
through the 14th Century with introductory essays about the authors
and their critiqued works.
JOURNALS AND NEWSPAPER ARTICLES (ONLINE ACCESS)
Librarian Talk . . . About Finding
Journal and Newspaper Articles!
Electronic
databases are purchased by the libraries for your research use. To find articles
in newspapers and journals, letters, reference books, illustrations, photographs
and more, use your updated library card to log in to the following databases. If you find an interesting article that is not full-text, you may request it through interlibrary loan (I.L.L.) Contact the librarian if you need help getting an article. There is some overlap of articles in the databases, but all are excellent sources of information for research. We encourage you to use more than one.
Literature
Resource Center | Includes most of the information in Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800 and Classical
and Medieval Literature Criticism. It also has links to scholarly
journal articles and appropriate Internet sites.
History
Study Center | Contains journal articles, primary sources & reference
books.
Biography Reference Bank | information on more than 500,000 people from antiquity to the
present with links to175,000+ full-text articles with more than 30,000 images.
Academic Search Complete | Collection of journal, newspaper, and magazine articles.
Limit your search to "Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals" and "Full Text."
Proquest Research Library
| Collection of journal, newspaper, and magazine articles. Limit your search to "Scholarly journals, including peer-reviewed" and "full text documents only."
Project Muse | Search and browse the full text of more than 380 scholarly journals in the arts, humanities and social sciences.
JSTOR Arts & Sciences | Search and browse the complete back issues of more than 250 scholarly journals in literature, economics, history, social sciences, science and mathematics.
INTERNET SITES
Librarian Talk . . . About the Internet!
The internet will be a wonderful source
of original documents. Browse the sites we have suggested below. Remember,
you do want to find reputable sites. Look at:
Accuracy - The information should be researched and
show proof that it has been.
Source - Who wrote the information? Look at the domain -
.edu .gov. org .net are usually valid research sources.
Authority - What are the author's credentials?
(Don't quote from another college freshman's paper.)
Coverage - Does the page have the information you need
for your research?
Objectivity - If a work is biased, use it - just make
sure your professor knows YOU know. And offer both sides of issues, where
applicable.
Discretion,
Piety, Charity, and Prudence 
A critical or historical study of one of the following (meaning that the
focus has a purpose for showing the importance and influence of the topic
in British history, art, and culture):
Librarian Talk . . . About Getting Started!