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CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES November 23, 2008

Posted by Ms. Klemundt in Help with Assignments, Web Resources.
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Students in English II classes, here are some suggestions about how to begin your search. Don’t hesitate to talk with Res library staff if you need more help finding resources.

Background Reading
Before you start marshalling your arguments, take the time to do some background reading on your topic. Look for a balanced overview that will give you a sense of the key issues and points of debate as well as some history on the topic. One of the most important reasons to do background reading is to help you find subject terms, names, and keywords that you can use when searching for further resources on your topic.

Some places to look for overviews: books (they will often use the term “overview” or “history” in the title or subtitle), any of the databases listed below, a general encyclopedia (depending on your topic), general news magazines like Time or Newsweek.

Evidence to Support Your Argument
There are different types of evidence that might support your argument:

Think about what kind of evidence will best support the various points you are raising. If you are having trouble finding sources for evidence, see the Res Library staff.

Citation Information
Collect the citation information for your bibliography as you do your research.

Books
Some series that present articles on various controversial topics are:

Most public libraries will have at least some of these. You can get others through InterLibrary Loan.

Use a library catalog to find books on your topic. Use the bibliographies in books and articles to find more resources. Use the call number of a good book to browse the shelves for more books.

In the Res library, books in the Opposing Viewpoints series can be found in REF 002 OPP and books in the Issues in Focus series can be found in REF 001 ISS. Also search the Res Library catalog.

Res Library Subscription Databases (See the blue sheets for user IDs and passwords)

Web Resources
If you use web sites, you must absolutely know who the author is!

ROMAN NEWSCAST PROJECT November 13, 2008

Posted by Ms. Klemundt in Help with Assignments, Web Resources.
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For students in Ms. Boe’s Honors World History classes, here are some ways to find good resources for your newscast segment.

THE RES LIBRARY OR YOUR LOCAL PUBLIC LIBRARY:

Do a Subject search in the library catalog for the following subject headings:

You can also browse the shelves at these call numbers. Don’t forget to look in the Reference section under the same call numbers.

You might also want to look at travel books on Italy and Rome. They usually have a section on history and will have some information on Roman times.

Use the Table of Contents and index of the books to find specific information.

WEB RESOURCES

Until November 30 we have access on a trial basis to the Daily Life Online : Daily Life Through History database by Greenwood Publishing. Go to: http://dailylife.greenwood.com. In the Quick Search box, enter either “Daily Life of Ancient Romans” (include the quotation marks) or “Daily Life in the Roman City” (again, include quotation marks). You will be asked to login when you try to click into an article in your Results list. The username and password is on the handout you received in the library.

Don’t forget Britannica Online (http://www.school.eb.com) for basic information. The Username and Password is on the blue sheets which are available in the library.

Another good place to start is the BBC’s pages on Ancient Roman history
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans)

Also try the Librarians’ Internet Index (http://www.lii.org) section on Italy and Rome. At the main page, choose “Arts & Humanities,” then “History,” then “History by Place,” then “Italy and Rome.”

The British Museum (http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/online_tours.aspx) has a number of online tours. Scroll down to the bottom of the right side column for the tour on Rome.

The University of Evansville sponsors a site called Exploring Ancient World Cultures (http://eawc.evansville.edu/www/ropage.htm) and they have an interesting set of links to other web sources that might be useful for you.

Rome : From Republic to Empire (http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/romanpages.html) is a site put together by a professor at the College of New Rochelle for a course she taught.

The Classics Unveiled site (http://www.classicsunveiled.com) has two sections that might be helpful: Rome Unleashed covers the political situation and Rome Exposed covers daily life.

Selected Resources on Roman Social History (http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/rome_social.html) has some good resources, but be warned that not all links are still active. The link for Recipes looked interesting.

The Nova Roma website (http://novaroma.org/) is sponsored by an organization “dedicated to the restoration of classical Roman religion, culture, and virtues.”

Aquae Urbis Romae : The Waters of the City of Rome (http://www.iath.virginia.edu/rome/) is sponsored by an affiliate of the University of Virginia.

The Roman Empire in the First Century (http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/) is a companion website to a PBS documentary series.

The Digital Roman Forum (http://dlib.etc.ucla.edu/projects/Forum/) is sponsored by the UCLA Cultural Virtual Reality Laboratory.

There are also 2 DVDs that might be useful if you are researching sports: Colosseum : A Gladiator’s Story (produced by the BBC) and The True Story of Gladiators (produce by the History Channel). Check your local public library system for either of these.

LITERARY CRITICISM November 8, 2008

Posted by Ms. Klemundt in Help with Assignments.
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Here are some suggestions for students in American Lit, World Lit, and Brit Lit who are beginning their literary criticism research papers.  Don’t hesitate to stop by the library if you need more help finding resources.

BACKGROUND READING

Background reading on your author can provide information on the author’s life, the publishing history of the book, literary terms associated with the author and his/her works (genre, literary movements, themes, style, etc.) and any adaptations of the work.  Use Britannica Online or a print encyclopedia (find them in the Res Library at REF 031).  If you use a print encyclopedia, look up your author in the index volume.  That way you’ll find all of the references to your author in the entire set and you will have a greater understanding of their writing and their significance.  If you use an online encyclopedia, read all of the entries that come up in the Results list, not just the first one.

Check if there is an entry for your author in American Writers (REF 810.9 AME) or British Writers (REF 820.9 BRI).  These entries are a terrific introduction to your author so although they might be quite long, they are well worth the effort.  If you print out the information on your novel or play from the Gale Literary Index, you will know exactly which volume to check.

REFERENCE BOOKS

There are several series of reference books you can consult, either in the Res Library or at your local public library.  The printout from the Gale Literary Index will come in handy here once again, especially to find critical essays in Contemporary Literary Criticism, Nineteenth Century Literature Criticism, and Twentieth Century Literary Criticism.

Browse the 800s in the Reference section for other possible sources.  Your public library has many more sets and series that will be useful, so don’t neglect a trip there.

CIRCULATING BOOKS

Depending on your author and title, you may find entire volumes of literary criticism devoted to that work.  Or you may find books about your author containing a chapter or two about the particular work you are researching.  The Subject Heading format for finding literary criticism about an author or about a particular work is as follows:

[author's last name, author's first name] — Criticism and interpretation
[author's last name author's first name]. [title of the work] — Criticism and interpretation

Use the Res Library catalog or your local public library catalog to search for books of literary criticism by selecting the Browse feature and entering a Subject search for the author’s name (last name, first name).  The Browse features lists all of the Subject headings in a row and you can scroll down the list to see if there are Subject headings that match the formats shown above.  Then click on that Subject heading to get the list of books.  It sounds complicated but it’s really a quick way to find critical essays.  If you need a demonstration, stop by the library.  Here are the web addresses for some of the local public libraries:

There are several series of books of literary criticism, either about all of the author’s works, or about a single work.  There are even some books that focus on a specific literary character.  Search for books edited by Harold Bloom or for books in the Twayne’s series, e.g. Twayne’s United States Authors, Twayne’s English Authors, Twayne’s World Authors, etc.

RES LIBRARY DATABASES

The Res Library subscribes to a number of databases and two of them will be of particular use to you in this research project.  If you don’t have the usernames and passwords for these databases, stop by the library and pick up a blue sheet.  We’d be happy to give you a little demonstration if you’re having trouble using either one of these databases.

This is just a basic introduction to these two databases.  If your class doesn’t come to the library for an introduction to finding critical essays, stop by the library on your own for some help.  We are open from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on most days.  And don’t forget to use the databases available through your local public library.

CITING YOUR SOURCES

Your Writing Stylus will help you follow the MLA format in citing your sources and creating your bibliography.  The library has the latest edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (REF 808 GIB).  In addition, here are two websites that can help:

So take a deep breath and get started!  It’s going to be a great deal of work but it will also be a tremendous learning experience.  Stop by the library when you need some help or even to just keep us posted on how it’s going.