Contemporary Fiction:
Research & Resources
Frederic Murray
Assistant Professor
MLIS, University of British Columbia
BA, Political Science, University of Iowa
Instructional Services Librarian
Al Harris Library
frederic.murray@swosu.edu
ENG 3113
Spring 2010
Narrative Knows No Bounds
Critical Analysis
•
Toscano, Margaret M. "Homer
Meets the Coen Brothers: Memory
as Artistic Pastiche in O Brother,
Where Art Thou?." Film & History
(03603695) 39.2 (2009): 4962. Communication & Mass Media
Complete. EBSCO. Web. 23 Mar.
2010
•
The article discusses memory as an
artistic pastiche in the 2000 film "O
Brother, Where Art Thou," directed
by Joel and Ethan Coen. The
author states that the film
questions whether historical
accuracy is important in films that
use classical antiquity as an indirect
reference point. She explains that
the Coens used key elements from
the Greek epic by Homer, "The
Odyssey," but set their film in the
American south during the Great
Depression. The article compares
the classical text to the film and its
portrayal of 1930s southern
culture.
Texts’ Under Question
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
A Character by Felipe Alfau
Ladies Almanack by Djuna Barnes
You Must Remember This by Robert Coover
Is It Sexual Harassment Yet by Cris Mazza
A Little Novel by Gertrude Stein
Little Expressionless Animals by David Foster Wallace
Bonanza by White
Surfiction by John Edgar Wideman
Menelaid by John Barth
Create a Thesis Statement
• Thesis Statements
• Think about
questions your
– Make an assertion
research might help
– Take a stand
you answer.
– Explain what
• State your topic as
you’re going to
a question first,
write about
then revise it to be
– Are narrow and
a statement.
specific
– Have one main
point
Identifying Keywords
• Identify the significant terms and
concepts that describe your topic from
your thesis statement or research
question.
• These terms will become the key for
searching catalogs, databases and
search engines for information about
your subject.
How do I pick the right keywords?
• Here is an example of a visual word
search tool:
– Visuwords
– Use the suggestions made in the
databases
– Use keywords provided by abstracts
– Use your imagination
Possible Topic
Coover’s Casablanca and the reality of
melodrama: Passion, Sex and Comedy.
Possible Topic
Coover’s Casablanca and the reality of
melodrama: Passion, Sex and Comedy.
Boolean
• AND = Narrow
• OR = Expand
• NOT = Exclude
Database: Definition
• A large, regularly updated file of
digitized information related to a
specific subject or field.
• Communication and Mass Media Complete
This resource provides in-depth coverage of communication
and mass media journals and literature. It includes over 380
full text journals and indexing for hundreds more. CMMC also
include author profiles for the most prolific, most cited, and
most frequently searched for authors in the database.
Library Subject Databases
Possible Topic
Coover’s Casablanca and the reality of
melodrama: Passion, Sex and Comedy.
McKee, Alison. "What's Love Got To Do
With It?: History and Melodrama in the
1940s Woman's Film." Film & History
(03603695) 39.2 (2009): 515. Communication & Mass Media
Complete. EBSCO. Web. 23 Mar. 2010.
Abstract
• The article discusses history and melodrama in the 1940s
woman's film. The author begins by providing some
background information on melodrama studies and feminist
criticism of films. The author examines how historical figures
and events are represented within specific cinematic
categories. The disregard for historical accuracy in melodrama
is mentioned. The author focuses on the historical moment of
a film's production and the historical period it represents. The
gender and subjectivity in women's films of the 1940s are also
discussed. The film "That Hamilton Woman," directed by
Alexander Korda, is used as a case study.
Research
• Interdisciplinary Approach
– Looking for information on an idea
– Not restricted to textual criticism or
references to the work under investigation
– In fact if you search by author or title in
databases outside of literature….
…Good night, and good luck.
JSTOR
• JSTOR is a full-text scholarly journal
archive. JSTOR specializes in making
available the back issues of journals in
a wide variety of humanities and social
science disciplines.
• Search by scholarly discipline
Change up your
Keywords….
Abstract for Article
• The article discusses kisses in the motion pictures of the U.S.
at various dimensions from the first screen kiss to the modern
screen kiss. The extreme close-ups, swelling music, and
mysterious fade-outs indicate a grand communion in the
screen. The touch, and taste, of a kiss is displayed to a great
intensity. Screen kisses of various celebrities from different
motion pictures are discussed including "Cinema Paradiso,"
"The Kiss," "The Widow Jones." The kiss in American motion
pictures underwent through various level of changes including
technological innovations. The screen kiss does not have as
much importance as compared to the first screen kiss. More of
lust and various forms of sex became the trend in the modern
screen.
Possible Topic
Coover’s Casablanca and the reality of
melodrama: Passion, Sex and Comedy.
Or Passion and Casablanca and Sex and Film
Project Muse
• Project Muse contains the full text of
over 40 Johns Hopkins Press scholarly
journals in the humanities and social
sciences
• Search by scholarly discipline
Research
• Interdisciplinary Approach
– Looking for information on an idea
– Not restricted to textual criticism or
references to the work under investigation
– In fact if you search by author or title in
databases outside of literature….
…Good night, and good luck.
Break Out Session
• Discuss synopsis
– Brainstorm Thesis
• Where are you going to look
– List two Scholarly Fields
• i.e. History, Film Studies
– List three databases in each field
• Why these choices?
– What did you find?
Brainstorming Tool Web 2.0
Writing Your Paper
• Writing Center
– Located in the basement of the library
– Call for appointment #774-7083
• MLA Style
– Style Sheets
– MLA Handbook at Reference & Circulation
Desk
– http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/
Questions?
• Contact me:
• Frederic Murray
• 774-7113
• frederic.murray@swosu.edu
Thanks!