Jennifer La Vine
LIS 620
1. What will each source tell you about: William of Occam, Pythagoras?
a. Encyclopedia.com
i. William of Occam, c.1285–c.1349, English scholastic philosopher. A Franciscan,
Occam studied and taught at Oxford from c.1310 until 1324, when he was
summoned to the papal court at Avignon to answer charges of heresy in his
writings. He waited there until 1328 for a judgment. When it appeared that Pope
John XXII was about to condemn his position Occam fled to the protection of
Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV, whom he supported in his struggle with Pope
John. He is thought to have died in the black plague that swept Europe in the
middle of the 14th cent.
b. Benét’s Reader’s Encyclopedia
i. This source was brief about him and it merely gave a quick biography and talked
about the Ockham’s Razor very briefly (merely saying it was he that made it).
c. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
i. William of Ockham (c. 1287–1347) is among the most prominent figures in the
history of philosophy during the High Middle Ages. He is probably best known
today for his espousal of metaphysical nominalism; the methodological principle
known as “Ockham's Razor” is named after him. But Ockham held important
view in areas of medieval philosophy—logic, physics or natural philosophy,
theory of knowledge, ethics, and political philosophy—as well as in theology.
2. Look up Freud in one or two general encyclopedias to get some idea how the information
they give differs from what is found in subject encyclopedias.
a. Encyclopedia.com
i. Sigmund Freud was born May 6, 1856, in Freiberg, Moravia (now
Czechoslovakia), and died September 23, 1939, in exile in London. When the boy
was three, his father, a small wool merchant, was forced by economic reverses to
move for a year to Leipzig and thence to Vienna, where Freud spent the rest of his
life—1860 to 1938— except for his last year. His biographers agree that the
unusual structure of the family into which he was born was partly responsible for
his interest in intimate human relationships: Freud’s father had two sons by his
first wife; when he remarried after her death, it was to a woman of their age. Sig
mund, her first child, often played with his year-older nephew. A brother who was
born when Sigmund was not yet a year old died after eight months; then came
four sisters and another brother.
b. International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences
i.
This source talked about his theories into the human brain and psycho-analysis of
the social being. It was not as in depth about Freud himself but more so about the
psycho-analysis theory.
c. McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology
i. I did not see him in this source. I found this surprising because I thought there
would be something about the technological advances in made with psychoanalysis.
d. Benét’s Reader’s Encyclopedia
i. This source talks about Sigmund Freud as an Austrian psycho-analyst, regarded as
the founder of the science of psycho-analysis, which grew out of his experiences
in treating sufferers from hysteria and neurosis. (pg 407).
3. What sort of information does each give you on "Music"?
a. Encyclopedia of Religion
i. This source merely talked about the importance of music in religion. Music
allows one to express their faith to the Holy Spirit. This type of music is called
Hymnals
b. McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology
i. This source talks about musical instruments. The different kinds, how they were
made, and the importance of having the different musical instruments for science
purposes.
c. The Dictionary of Art
i. This source gave the history of music and different musicians. It categorized
music as an art form.
d. New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
i. This source talks about musica, music comedy, music parties, musical during the
war, music glasses, music halls, and musicology.
e. Encyclopedia of Southern Culture
i. This source talks about music with slavery, southern balls (coming out parties),
and it talks about southern music as a whole. It also talks about the importance of
music during the civil war. It talks about music keeping the slaves spirits high,
and the difference between slave music and slave owner music.
4. Could I find anything on "Revisionist history" [meaning reinterpretation of the history of
the whole field, sometimes with respect to previously ignored minorities] in these
sources? How about "social democracy"?
a. It was very difficult to find these terms in any of the encyclopedias.
b. Encyclopedia.com
i. Social democracy is a political ideology that officially has as its goal the
establishment of democratic socialism through reformist and gradualist methods.
Alternatively, social democracy is defined as a policy regime involving a
universal welfare state and collective bargaining schemes within the framework of
a capitalist economy. It is often used in this manner to refer to the social models
and economic policies prominent in Western and Northern Europe during the
latter half of the 20th century
c. International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences
i. Social Democracy: principle of gradual shift to socialism: the political belief that
a change from capitalism to socialism can be achieved gradually and
democratically
d. Benét’s Reader’s Encyclopedia
i. Historical revisionism, the reinterpretation of orthodox views on evidence,
motivations, and decision-making processes surrounding a historical event
5. Think of one person and one general topic that you would expect to find in at least three
of the listed sources. Look them up in all pertinent sources and see what you find.
a. Encyclopedia of Religion
i. Luther was a German theologian whose doctrinal conflicts with the papacy led to
the Protestant Reformation. His reform of medieval theological anthropology
from a body-soul dichotomy toward an individuated person and conscience led to
new ways of understanding, as in the following: (1) the equality of secular and
sacerdotal orders and a functional understanding of ministry and secular vocation
thus "the priesthood of all believers"; (2) salvation as based on the individual's
faith relation to God as opposed to the medieval penitential system; (3) the role of
secular order and authority in the providence of God and the individual's obedient
relation to it; (4) the individual conscience before God as the basis of ethical
action.
b. New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
i. This source briefly talks about music parties and music during the slave. It also
briefly talks about religious music in reference to Lutheran music.
c. Encyclopedia of Southern Culture
i. This source talks about slavery a lot. The topics consist of cotton production,
architecture, defense, white supremacy, religion, literature, geographical
boundary, historic preservation, politics, Thomas Jefferson, isolation, colonial
south, taxation on owners, films and television, poverty, effect on immigration,
women and slavery, escaping/runaway slaves, marriage, civil war, tobacco, and
interracial relationships.
d. Benét’s Reader’s Encyclopedia
i. Martin Luther is in this source is a German religious reformer. Professor of
Biblical exegesis at Wittenerg. He nailed to the front door of a church his ninetyfive theses questioning the value of indulgences.